Over the past few years of working from home online, I’ve first hand felt the effects of sitting all day. Not to mention the effects it’s had on my waistline. So when I came across this New York Times article a few days ago, it really gave me pause. So basically, according to several studies, “Your chair is your enemy“.
It doesn’t matter if you go running every morning, or you’re a regular at the gym. If you spend most of the rest of the day sitting — in your car, your office chair, on your sofa at home — you are putting yourself at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers and an early death. In other words, irrespective of whether you exercise vigorously, sitting for long periods is bad for you.
So now what? How can we possibly get all of our work done online without sitting? Anne-Marie Faiola, founder of Bramble Berry, has come up with her own unique solution. Anne-Marie has modified her personal treadmill to make it into a “treadmill desk”.
Now instead of sitting for long periods of time, Anne-Marie walks and works on her laptop at the same time. What an interesting and efficient idea. Killing two birds with one stone, exercising and getting work done at the same time!
I already own a treadmill so now I’m going to get my carpenter husband to work on my very own treadmill desk. But if you don’t want to go through the hassle of getting a custom piece made, you can always buy this TrekDesk version which is much larger and quite bulky.
Are there any unique precautions that you take to combat the negative effects of sitting all day long?
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Thank you for the shout-out for my treadmill desk! I love it and try to walk and work for at least 3 hours per day. Even though the calories may be low overall (200 calories for walking slowly for 3 hours, max), I love the metabolism boosting benefits of just moving at all (rather than sitting). I can’t wait to hear what you think of your treadmill desk when you implement it! =)
Actually not a bad idea, an even more convenient tip would be where you get a voice recognition software to speak as you exercise.
Amanda, you are right sitting all day is hazardous to the health. I do not own a TrekDesk (but would love one) so I make sure that I get up and take breaks to walk, stretch even do yoga. I tend to be a bit fidgety anyway which helps. I have heard of others that set a timer for every hour to get up and walk around a bit. It also gives your eyes a break.
I read a similar article/blog post about a year or so ago. One suggestion I found (which was helpful for me) was to us the leaf from a kitchen or dining room table …since I wasn’t using mine in the table anyway so it was the perfect solution for me.