I started 2 things today. I started working on a treadmill desk, and I started my first blog.
Why Blog?
First I'll tell you why I created this blog. About a month ago I saw another article about how sitting for long periods of the day both make you fat and result in a shorter lifespan. Like most people I'm not real keen on either of those. This particular article mentioned standing desks and also mentioned treadmill desks. I ended up doing a little bit of research on them and found some pretty interesting blogs about them.
Each of those blogs started of a lot like this one will. It talked about how they got the idea, how they built their treadmill desk because they couldn't see laying out the thousands of dollars it would take to buy a pre-made desk. Then it would go on to talk about the benefits they received from the treadmill desk. How they felt it improved their concentration, their energy throughout the day and after. How they lost weight, ate better and slept better. How their farts smelled like flowers and it solved world hunger.
This would go on for a month's worth of posts, and then they would stop posting. Each time I wondered what happened. Did they get tired of the treadmill desk and go back to sitting? Did they still walk every day, but just didn't blog about it anymore? Did they trip and suffer debilitating treadmill burn and vow never to be in the same room with one again?
I tried to search for people who started with treadmill desks and stopped. I only found 2. One was a blog, and he had a skiing accident and shattered his lower leg. The other was a guy I found on a tech forum I frequently visit when I asked if anyone had given up on a treadmill desk. He still used his occasionally, but found he had difficulty concentrating while treading.
In review, I found dozens of blogs and forum posts from people who loved their treadmill desks. Dozens of blogs from people who loved it, but who were later abducted by aliens and two people who didn't like it. My goal with this blog will be to continue to update it is clear that I will always work from a treadmill, or until I quit for any reason. Full disclosure I will not update if I stop do to my own death, or if I am abducted by aliens unless they allow me access to the internet.
Why Treadmill Desk?
As I said before there have been a number of studies recently that found that sitting for extended periods each day increase weight gain and shorten lifespan. It even shortens your lifespan if you keep your weight in check and work out regularly. Longer lifespan definitely plays a role.
The simplest solution would be to get up from my desk and walk for 10 minutes every hour. I wasn't doing a good job with that even after I installed an application to remind me to take breaks. Next up would be a standing desk, but I generally end up aching if I stand for any extended period of time. Others reported that walking was actually easier on the body than standing because our bodies are designed for walking. Plus you burn more calories while walking (even slowly) than standing. I put on about 10 pounds before my wife got pregnant, another 15 while she was pregnant, and about 5 since my son was born a year ago. If you're 30 pounds over your ideal weight you are considered obese, and I wasn't at my ideal weight when I started so...
So here I am 6 feet, 236lbs. I swim an hour plus 3 times a week, but with a 1 year old, that's about as much working out as I can fit into my schedule. Walking 7 hours a day at 2 mph would burn over 1400 calories a day. There's about 3500 calories in a pound of fat, so that means if I didn't change anything else in my life I lose about 2 pounds a week. If I don't add calories I would be almost 100 pounds a year later.
If I experience any other benefits other have reported such as improved concentration, improved creativity, improved energy during and after work, or better sleep, those are all just bonuses.
This blog was written at .7mph. The first half hour on the treadmill (surfing the net) I really noticed it, but it hasn't interfered with writing this blog at all.
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