Life @ 1.4mph

The college that I work for ran a brief blurb in the weekly newsletter. This is the accompanying picture, which I love because you can see the movement in my legs and fingers (blurry), but my head, face, and upper body look perfectly still. Life @ 1.4mph = pure bliss and total productivity.

stress fightin' machine

A week ago I attended my first giant staff meeting for my new branch of the college. As an ice breaker, we answered a serious of questions - How will your co-workers know if you are stressed? How will you combat stress? How will you work toward life balance? As I stared at the questions on the page, I realized that the treadmill desk has fundamentally changed my work persona. While the answer to the first was pretty easy - I will be frustrated about mundane things - it was difficult to craft answers to the other two which didn't include treadmill desk in the answer. How will I combat stress? - walk a few minutes on the tread. How will I strike balance in my life? - walk a few minutes on the tread. I realized that not only has my body responded physically to the demands of walking an average of 4.8 miles per day at work, but my psyche has also responded positively. Being able to put myself in a work zone is great - the increased productivity and focus washes away any stress that might otherwise build up. It can also be a johnny-on-the-spot remedy. As we finish up the second week of classes, I wonder if I will feel the same way once mid-semesters (and their associated d-slips) roll around.

FAQs

Since today's onslaught of students in our office ("do you have any more of those planner thingys") brought with it a maelstorm of questions, I thought I would take a few lines to address the most frequently asked of those:

Q: A treadmill desk in your office!  Really? In your office?

A: Yep, really, in my office.

Q: Does your boss know you have this in here?

A: Yep, my boss knows, and her boss knows, and his boss knows.  So short of a trustee dropping in and voicing a loud objection - I think I am good to go.  

Q: Do you walk on that all day long?
A: I walk on it when I can. Today I did 4.44 miles and 3 hours worth of office work aboard the tread.  Tomorrow I am packed with meeting after meeting -- so will probably only get in an hour.

Q: Don't you ever just want to sit down?
A: Not really. I actually feel very energized, productive, and focused -- whatever antsy-fidgety-doodle in the margin-link clicking part of me that often emerges when I sit, seems to have to just go along for the ride when I am walking.  Today I had to sign 300+ letters and while I could probably have signed them atop the desk, it was more practical to do it at the table.

Q: How fast do you walk?
A: 1.4 mph @ a 5% incline

Q: What kind of shoes do you wear?
A: Pretty much whatever I wear to work.  Yesterday 2" high clogs, today flats.  When I work at my home treadmill desk, I wear my treadmill tennis shoes (I bought them as a getting started present to myself last September).

Q: Don't you get dizzy?
A: Not anymore.  I did after the first day, but since then I am not bothered by the movement  plus reading or typing or writing.  As a person who still gets carsick as a adult, this is a monumental feat.

Q: Doesn't your office stink?
A: I don't think so.  Of course it is winter, so the office is a bit chilly.  Come spring and summer I might have to dial down the mph and incline to make it all work.

Q: Can I use your treadmill desk?
A: Absolutely.  However, you might have to fight off C or P who have dibs on the lunch hour.  I am always gone for an hour @ 9am so if you want to give it a go -- come on over.  If you want to use a laptop, bring one along -- I am wired for all.  (aside: When B helped me bring it into the building (under duress I might add), he suggested that I put it in the break room (does my building have a one of those?) so that everyone could use it.  He's missing the point on its purpose.)

Hope this clears up any unanswered questions.  Please stop by if you can, and as GBC regularly said to folks he encountered in his day "have an effective day."

An end to the discombobulation

I will start this post by publicly admitting that B was not very excited about helping me move Treadmill Desk 3.0 to its new home in my new office at my new job. It was only after two days of talking about it, a several hours of reassurance that if my new boss thought it was a bad idea, I would move it home. I had, however, done my homework. I measured the space, I played with floor plans (see earlier posts), and I cleared it by the appropriate folks. Since our larger office must meet ADA minimum clearances, I knew I could get it from the car to the office. It cleared all thresholds without incident. After the 2nd picture, B left. I think he still isn't sure this is a great idea. So here is a commentary on the set up from left to right. I will also add my panoramic video to the column on the right.

1. Space
2. Wheeling Pro-Form in to position
3. Foam insulation to put between tread and floor (although I am lucky enough to have a storage room below me, rather than a person).
4. Treadmill mat over the top of the insulation to hold it in position and to provide further quieting.
5. Done -- this part took me a whopping 5 or so minutes (I have not counted the time to get it in the car, drive to work, get it in the building, up the elevator, etc.)
6. Another view of the treadmill desk workspace.

7. I then added a pre-cut 3' piece of shelf board.
8. It is held in place with three bungee cords.
9. Underneath view of the bungees.
10. I added a 3' long kitchen shelf (for traditional use above one's kitchen sink). It is clamped in place
11. A piece of plexiglass rests between the kitchen shelf and the front of the treadmill controls.
12. Another view of the plexi. I rest my laptop on the plexi and use a wireless keyboard and mouse on the shelf below. Ergonomically it works great.

So, as all can imagine, I am psyched to head to work tomorrow morning and jump on first thing to help get me focused for the day ahead.

Half-way through the Holiday stretch

Yippee! Today marks the half-way point (for those of us that are keeping track) of the holiday stretch (Halloween to Valentine's Day).  I feel a renewed sense of energy and will power knowing that, like winter solstice, I have survived to the point at which it becomes easier (fewer candy and food gorge days and longer daylight hours).  I think the holiday stretch is equally challenging because we have to endure the urge to hibernate beneath huge fleecy blankets, add to our fat stores, and sleep the weeks away.   The treadmill desk has certainly done its part to keep the part of me who enjoys summer days, hiking, fruit salads, fresh vegetables awake.  I have raised enough curiosity with my new colleagues and neighbors in the administration building (see last post) that I think I will at least be able to bring the treadmill desk in on a trial basis.  My new office is quite a bit bigger  as compared to where I have been, so I am eager to get in and make it my own living-working-life balance laboratory.  As soon as I begin the set-up I will post pictures to detail my progress.

A day in the life...

I thought it would be interesting (at least to me, and hopefully to my readers) to see how this might work in real life.  So here is a series of snapshots of today's workday:

Got to work (read: stepped on to the treadmill desk) @ 7:58am

Walked for 56 minutes before heading out to a 9am appointment

Got back to the office (read: stepped back on...) @ 10:10am

Walked for 84 minutes before heading out for lunch with D
Got back to the office @ 12:50pm
Walked for 30 minutes before jumping off for an afternoon meeting
Got back to the office @ 2:05pm
Walked for 46 minutes before heading out the door to pick up kids
Got back to the office @ 4:15pm
Walked for 57 minutes and then went downstairs to think about cooking dinner.

So...on a typical day I might walk nearly 5 hours while at work, covering 6.82 miles, and burning (at least according to my tread) 1200 calories

45 calories

"45 calories," I could have shouted at the assisted living facility's activity director.  I almost did today as she was bounding up the stairs as I was following the kids down.  Yesterday, when we were in reverse roles (I bounding up, she walking down), I overheard a conversation between the activities director and one of the co-workers.  Something along the lines of "I don't need a treadmill, I walk these stairs a gazillion times a day."  It made me curious and so I looked up the number of calories burnt while ascending and descending a standard set of stairs (16 treads).  Turns out it is just short of .5 calories per tread -- 15 calories for up and down one flight.  Since I was coming down from the third floor and I assume she up from the first -- round trip would equal 45 calories. I clocked it on the treadmill desk and @ 5.0% incline, 1.5 mph, it took me ~ 9 minutes to burn 45 calories.  She is right -  she doesn't need a treadmill desk.  But for those of us that don't regularly ascend and descend 3 flights of stairs multiple times a day, the treadmill desk can do the trick.  I do think, however, that the stairs provide an important object lesson, particularly in this place where the elevator is the "default mode of transportation" for most of the residents.  When we are able we should take the stairs because it can prolong our need for the "default mode of transportation."

Become a gift that keeps on giving

As the Christmas season gets in full swing, I would like to challenge my readers to give yourself the gift of fitness.  As I work on my syllabi for Introduction to Sports Medicine and for Sports Studies Senior Seminar (S4), I am reminded about the continued importance of fitness and general well being. Particularly in this time of economic downturn, it is easy to see a gym membership or new gym equipment as an unnecessary expense, but I would challenge you to weigh the cost of reactive medicine versus preventative medicine.  In general preventive medicine costs much less than reactive medicine.  Putting money and time into your personal health and well-being equates to decreased personal spending for health care.  In workplace wellness programs, the figures are something like for every $1 spent on workplace wellness, employers will save $6 in decreased absenteeism, chronic illness care, etc.  Again, paying it forward doesn't need to cost any money. Take the stairs, park in a remote corner of the mall parking lot, or walk to a colleague's office instead of logging on to email.  I would also challenge you, as my parents have challenged our family to share your good fortune (however big or small) with those who have little.  This year my parents challenged my siblings and our family to help them give away $2k before the year's end.  When we posed it to our kids they came up with the following list of charitable organizations:  Cancer Special Needs Fund, YMCA Youth Sustainability Fund, Little League Scholarships, and Honor Flight.  I was struck by how each of these organizations has a connection to the gift of health and wellness -- either as preventative (YMCA and Little League scholarships), reactive (Cancer Special Needs Fund), or emotional (Honor Flight).  The gift of wellness is a gift that continues to give.  Give to yourself.  Give to others. Become a gift that keeps on giving.

The other side of the wall

What a delight to be on the other side of the wall and the feeling of satisfaction of pushing through my wall last night!  That, coupled with my weekly progress report, has reminded me that if I continue to stay on track, I will continue to move steadily toward my goals.  December 23 is shaping up to be an exciting day as I hopefully complete my revised goal of 500 miles and also cross the 1,000,000 seconds of walking mark.  Between now and then I have at least three winter holiday parties to attend and I am excited about picking out something to wear and show off the renovated me!  I have finished my sabbatical work, so the time I am putting in now on my treadmill desk will be paying it forward in to the spring semester -- syllabi planning, lecture notes, future article ideas, etc.  The thing I am most excited about upon my return is the response of my colleagues and campus friends to my new desk.  I am hoping to hit the office by 7:45am and put in a full hour prior to my 9am class.  I have noticed that the use of the treadmill desk in the morning has also reduced my coffee intake to a manageable level (read: able to drink enough water to balance the caffeine intake).   I am excited to take these new habits back to work and to inspire others to adopt similar commitments to a self-renovation project.

Advertisers beware

For whatever reason my blog has recently attracted the attention of advertisers who are hoping to make a quick buck with free web space.  I am of the mindset that my blog isn't the place for treadmill advertisements.  In fact, I would recommend the opposite for folks that are curious about whether a treadmill desk is right for them.  I would suggest if you are investigating this as a possible activity for your home or professional office that you look for a cheap treadmill either on Craigslist or in your local paper or better yet borrow one from a friend.  The combined cost for the TWO treadmills I have is LESS THAN $200.  The apparati to transform them in to desks came from scraps in my garage.  You do not need to spend in excess of $2000 (advertiser #1) or $479 plus shipping from the UK (advertiser #2) to make this work for you.  If you are an advertiser - beware - I will either delete your comment or suggest workarounds for my readers.

Workplace wellness

Yesterday I had a most enjoyable session with one of the salespersons at Core Health to explore the tools in the Core XL program for managing workplace wellness.  Each winter I run my employer's workplace wellness program appropriately titled the Great Fitness Challenge.  Unfortunately for me, the administrative load to run a wellness challenge for 100 of my closest colleagues usually throws my personal health and fitness in the crapper.   Instead of tracking my own activity levels and behavioral changes, I end up tracking the changes of my colleagues.  The Core Health program automates most of the things I do my hand and would enable me to be a better colleague, a healthier colleague, and a more engaged colleague. I can only hope the powers that be see the cost (~$30/employee) as a great investment. The best thing about the demo with Core Health was that I spent the entire demo on my tread with no ill effects and no "Hey what's that weird hum in the background?"  If you are employed, I would love to hear what your employer provides in terms of workplace wellness programs.