My setup at work

My setup at work

Trekdesk

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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Treadmills

The Trekdesk is designed to fit over just about any treadmill that is out on the market. It is fully adjustable to adjust in height to allow you to have the optimum keyboard height while you are walking at your treadmill, and to span over the arms of the treadmill as well...  it is very adjustable and versatile.

Don't already have a treadmill to add your Trekdesk too?  what should you look for in a treadmill to use with your Trekdesk?  Look for one that fits your needs - if you just want to use it for your working, or if you want to use it for regular exercise as well...

Deck length:  Are you tall? Then you probably want to make sure that the walking deck is long enough to match your stride length when you are walking at a slower pace - which can sometime have a longer stride than that when you are running or walking quickly...

Motor:  Because it is harder on a treadmill motor to go for extended periods of time at a slower speed, you want to make sure you locate a treadmill that has a good motor - one that is at least 2 HP is what I would recommend. I have gone through 2 used treadmills before finding one that is "happy" with the long days at slow speeds... The first one I had the motor used to get "mad," overheating and stinking up my whole office... I would have to give it a "timeout" for awhile before it would run again.  I now use a Nordic Track Solaris that my husband found in disrepair at goodwill (it was just the incline bolt that had been sheared off inside the unit - a quick fix).  When I first got this one it was noisy - barked like a seal when I walked... That was annoying, so I tried to lubricate the belt and that didn't fix it, but then determined that it was the motor belt itself that needed replaced... It is nice and quiet now - all that can be heard is my footsteps on the deck of the treadmill...  The only other modification we have done to the treadmill is to add an additional fan in the housing next to the motor to help it stay cool...

Display: In having used two different treadmills I can tell you another thing that is really nice is having the controls up high enough that you don't have to reach under the Trekdesk surface to turn the machine on and off. The first one I used I had to lean under the desk to turn it on & to stop it - probably not the safest way to do it...  So when the newer treadmill ended up with controls that were above the desk surface - I was so much happier & find myself not waiting as long to start the machine again (after stopping to do something else) which means I am walking MORE!  In a "dream" world I would have a treadmill with a removable control module that just sits on the desktop or could mount on the wall - but then again, I might miss the cup holders and paper tray on the treadmill that hold papers and pens for me...

Timer reset:  Both treadmills I have used with my Trekdesk and my treadmill at home all stop at 99 minutes and 59 seconds... like a sort of reset. (the treadmill asking - do you really wanna keep going??)  Luckily they don't restart the miles when you restart the machine, but it can be a pain if it catches you off guard - so paying attention to where you are in that cycle, or being lucky enough to find a treadmill that doesn't do this could be nice... I am used to it now though...

That's the thoughts swirling around in my head about treadmills today...

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