In a previous post, I mentioned that as an IT pro, it can be a struggle to get stay healthy.

I’ll discuss how I changed my diet radically in a later post, but I wanted to talk about my treadmill desk.  A lot of people have been interested in it, so I wanted to get this post out there sooner rather than later.  I also have a lot of tricks, tips, etc. that I want to follow up with later, too.

Recently, there has been a lot of news about how sitting is slowly killing us because they tend to force people to sit for so much of their day.  Studies have been coming out that show that simply getting up every so often can significantly improve your health, including your metabolism, posture, weight control, blood pressure, and all kinds of health benefits.  More studies have been coming out showing the benefit of the ever increasingly popular standing desks.

About a year or so ago, I threw two disks out in my neck, and ever since, I’ve been more conscious about my posture.  The specialists I saw let me know that this kind of thing is increasingly common because people bend their necks to look at their phones, tablets, and even computer screens.  Considering so much of my time is spent on these kinds of devices, I really began noticing just how bad my posture was when using them, but especially when I was in front of my computer.  I tried better office chairs, but that didn’t seem to be enough, as my neck would still hurt.  I noticed when I sat, I inevitably slumped in my chair, and my neck posture wasn’t correct.

One day, I was working at a customer’s site, and the admin I was working with had a standing desk.  After talking with her about it, she suggested we work together using it for the day to see how I’d like standing.

By the end of the day, yes, my feet hurt, but my neck didn’t.  It felt noticeably better than how it does at my house or workplace.  I also had a friend online who bought a treadmill desk about a year before and raved about how it helped him drop weight and feel better. I could definitely stand to lose some weight.   Naturally, I felt a treadmill desk would be a good fit.

After researching and even trying some models out, I came to the conclusion I needed the following:

1. A reliable treadmill that could go as slow as 1.8mph and as fast as 3.5mph, with a control module on top of the desk.   The speed isn’t hard to find.  The de facto treadmill people go with is the Lifespan TR1200-DT3, and that’s what I went with.
2. A standing desk that would mechanically adjust, via a powered motor, with at least 3 memory settings for height.  (One for me standing, one for me sitting, and one for my wife standing when she would use it.)
3. A desk that would adjust to heights that would be ergonomic for my arms bending at roughly 90 degree angles.
4. A desk that would work with VESA monitor mounts to ensure the monitors could be set at a height about eye level.
5. Although not absolutely necessary, it would be great to have a desk that had a solution for undermounting the CPU under the desk to not have to worry about any cord lengths other than maybe power.
6. A desk wide enough to hold everything on my desk.
7. NO INTEGRATED WRIST PAD!  The Lifespan desk/treadmill bundle had this, and when I tried it, I ABSOLUTELY hated it.
8. A premade package to ensure I wasn’t buying something that couldn’t for example hold my computer underneath, and would be easy to assemble, despite the higher cost.

I settled on an Uplift from The Human Solution in black, 72″ wide model.  It included an undermount for my computer, the electric motor, four height memory setting, a good warranty, pre-drilled holes to make assembly very easy, and it was reasonably priced compared to the competition. Here’s some pictures, and pardon the cord mess, I hadn’t installed wire management at the time.

Here’s the CPU mount close up:

Here is the treadmill and desk controls:

So far, it’s been a complete life changer.  I’ve dropped 15 points since I purchases it about four months ago.  My neck feels better, I have more energy, and I just generally feel much better.

However, there’s been a learning curve to using it, and other things I needed to make it work for me you may not think about, which I’ll talk about in future posts.

Have any of you been thinking about getting a standing desk or a treadmill desk?  Have any of you gotten either?  How has it worked for you?