Saturday, January 17, 2009

Treadmill Desk, Redux

Darcy asked what benefits I've gained from doing the treadmill.

It's a little hard to describe without explaining where I was (which in turn leads to how I got there, where I've been--my whole life story!), and it's not very dramatic, but here goes:

  • Stronger legs. Sort of in the "duh" category, but, yeah, lots of leg strength, speed, endurance, etc. The eight hours at Knott's last Halloween went by really easy, for example.
  • Overall improved mobility. For me, the negative effect of doing 5-8 hours a day several days in a row is that my lower back tends to tighten up. Despite this, my mobility has improved, but I've found it's really helpful to add some other exercises (the Wii Fit, e.g. or some ab exercises).
  • I stay awake. Sounds odd, but it's not hard to get so comfortable and so ergonomic at your desk, that a bad night-before can turn into falling asleep at the desk. It definitely raises your alertness level.
  • I have lost a little weight, though not much. In theory, if I get back to the 30-40 hours, I should start losing some weight--that's when I lost the 5-ish pounds I did lose--but that's not really the point.
  • The main thing is feeling generally better. My theory (expounded upon in previous posts) is that bodies were meant to be moving.
I'm probably forgetting plenty of stuff, but this is the stuff that comes to mind.

7 comments:

  1. Thank you!

    Retaining a bit of mystery, are you? ;-)

    But seriously, this was what I was looking for. Obviously, along with the strength, you must have noticed your shape has changed though, right?

    I like your theory that human bodies are meant to be moving. I read that in another of your posts, and it's actually the first time I sort of nodded my head to that.

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  2. This was less about mystery and more about brevity. I've written about a lot of the stuff I left out in previous posts.

    I actually haven't noticed that much visible change. I need to take some pix, I s'pose.

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  3. I was teasing you, as usual.

    You mean you will post pics?

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  4. Post pics?!? I haven't even gotten around to taking pics!

    (Maybe though. Not sure if I'm committed enough....)

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  5. Ok. I won't bug you. Hee hee, I'm lying.

    Anyway, this really was an admirable goal you set and followed through on. Kudos to you.

    And LOL @ your reply on Althouse.

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  6. Well, it's my kind of goal. Easy. Heh.

    Yes, my hollow shell got front paged...

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