A Treadmill Desk Can Help Take Your Productivity Levels to New Heights

Spend most of your day at a desk? We feel your pain (literally). Let's make sitting while working a thing of the past. Sure, a standing desk is great for improving your posture, but those won't help you get any closer to your goal of 10,000 steps every day. With a treadmill desk, you can walk and burn calories while you work.

A treadmill desk is a perfect solution to help you achieve more movement throughout your workday. Dan Gaz, a physical activity and assessment program manager at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program in Rochester, Minnesota, told Forbes that treadmill desks are a great way to incorporate more movement into normally sedentary situations, adding that “your low metabolism may be caused by your job, rather than your genes.”

Exercise has also been proven to increase the production of neurochemicals and boost neuron numbers to improve memory and thinking abilities.

When you’re shopping for a treadmill desk, keep in mind that you can mix and match components. As long as your standing desk has a high clearance and no crossbars for added support, chances are, it'll work with an under-the-desk treadmill. To make your search easier, we've listed our favorites below. It's worth mentioning that few include the treadmill and the desk, so you may need to pick and choose depending on your needs and budget.

Best Treadmill Desks

What to Consider

Size

The most important factor to consider when shopping for an under-the-desk treadmill is its size and shape. Pay attention to how much the treadmill weighs, its dimensions, and whether or not it's foldable. You may want one on wheels, so that you can easily move and store it when it’s not in use. You’ll want to make sure the treadmill fits in your space, so you have plenty of room to move about without the risk of tripping over it.

Space Requirements

Our picks work best on solid floors or low-pile carpets, and the folks at Work While Walking recommend you have 40 inches of clearance behind the treadmill, and 20 inches of space on the left and right sides of it. It may sound like a given, but you should also ensure that you have easy access to an outlet to plug the treadmill in.

Speed

Most under-the-desk treadmills have a maximum speed of under 5 miles per hour. Considering the fact that most of us walk between 3 to 4 miles per hour, you shouldn’t need to go faster than that. In fact, you may even go closer to 2 miles per hour, since you’ll likely be operating a computer while using your treadmill.

Maximum User Weight

Under-the-desk treadmills typically have lower maximum user weights than standard treadmills. The latter have weight capacities between 300 and 325 pounds, and although there are a few under-the-desk treadmills that can support more than 300 pounds, most have a maximum user weight of 220 pounds.

Extra Features

Some treadmills have remotes that make them easier to start, stop, and change walking speeds. Most have displays, so you can see metrics such as your total distance walked. Several have safety features, like the ability to automatically stop the machine when you step off. We recommend creating a list of must-have features that are important to you.

Make one of our picks your new workspace, whether at home or in the office, to increase your activity (and productivity) levels every day.