Since moving to the suburbs, I’ve found myself sitting more than normal. In the City, when I needed a mid-day break (or wanted lunch), I’d walk two blocks over and find myself in the middle of Clement Street – the land of cheap Chinese food, cute cafes, and boutiques. Here, I walk two blocks and see…more houses and deer.
My body does not like sitting all day long and even though I run and lift weights daily, my lower back and hip have been aching. To combat this, I decided to build a DIY treadmill desk and turned to Google. I found this version and thought it looked manageable. Since I already own a much used and very loved treadmill, the cost to build my desk was only $17.46. It took all of ten minutes to assemble.
SUPPLIES: One board cut to the appropriate size, four eyehooks, two bungie cords that will stretch kitty-corner on your board (mine are 36-inches).
STEP ONE: This is my treadmill. Notice the straight arms? Your treadmill must have straight arms for this to work.
STEP TWO: Measure the outside distance between the arms and add two inches. This is the length of the board you’ll need. For example, my outer arms measured 34″ but I bought a board that was 12-inches wide by 36-inches long by 1-inch deep.
STEP THREE: With a drill, drill four pilot holes – two on each end of the board at the corners (My drill was stolen during our move, so I did this step by hand. It takes longer, but can be done. Just be careful not to crack your wood).
STEP FOUR: Lay the board across the arms.
STEP FIVE: It’s bungie time!
STEP SIX: Put your laptop on the board, fire up the treadmill and you’re ready to go! I have enough space on each side for a notebook, my phone, and other supplies.
I wrote this post while walking at a very easy 1.8. I normally run 10 minute miles, so 1.8 feels like crawling to me, but it does allow me to type without much bouncing. Also, it took me longer to write this post than build the desk 😀
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