Treadmill Desks Are So Worth It

I finally got a standing desk, which means I was finally able to try a foldable treadmill under it. I love it.

In early 2024, I started using an under-desk elliptical, and it worked surprisingly well. One downside is that since it is only self-paced, it’s easy to stop.

This fall, I got the WALKINGPAD P1, which is a foldable treadmill I stow behind my door when not in use. It’s reasonably quiet and has served me well for a couple of months so far. If I were to buy one right now, I actually really meant to get the R2, which has a handle that allows for higher speeds and, more importantly to me, also means it’s easier to move and can be stably stored upright. If folding and stowage weren’t important to me, I’ve also heard good things about the Pacerocker, which has a 9-level incline feature to make things harder without increasing your walking speed (though I have no idea if having an incline would make it too hard to concentrate?). I may still upgrade to the R2 at some point.

Prior to purchasing, I had wondered if I’d be able to work while walking. I figured if I couldn’t, I could at least use it for meetings and maybe lighter/passive tasks like email.

The answer is I can definitely work while walking, at least at modest speeds, and I can easily clock 15-20k steps walking intermittently during a workday.

Admittedly, super fine motor control with the mouse is a bit harder, especially at higher walking speeds. It can, for example, be hard to measure lesions if you’re bouncing, so I find myself walking at a slower pace than my natural cadence. But while mouse control is a little harder, typing on the keyboard is surprisingly natural. It also definitely remains much easier to scroll effortlessly with my Contour Shuttle, which uses a finger, than power scrolling with the mouse.

Additionally, while the treadmills are definitely movable, it doesn’t mean they’re the kind of thing that you really want to have to wheel all the way to and from their corner multiple times per day. I find that when I would like to sit, I tend to just fold the treadmill back under the desk into the leg nook and use it as a bit of a footrest or put my feet along its sides. Having a standing desk means that you can adjust the height a bit as needed to keep things comfortable to accommodate those few extra inches. The main downside of sitting in front of the folded treadmill is that the wheels on your chair can easily bump up against it. It’s best to sit slightly back, so having a pull-out keyboard tray (which I do) really helps with positioning. This is the main reason I wish I’d bought the model with the handle, which would make it easier to move around and probably obviate the need to ever do this. If you try it and don’t like sitting at it folded, the answer is probably just to use it in one session per day and move it away when you’re done.

I think standing desks on their own are somewhat overrated. I like standing at work sometimes for variety, but it’s also sorta meh? Unless you like to do a little dancing in place, the data suggest that standing isn’t really magically better than sitting, and there is some data that they’re not great for your lower extremity veins if you clock too many hours. Being sedentary has more to do with not moving than the actual position you’re staying still in.

The opportunity to try work-walking was my main motivation for wanting a standing desk at home in the first place. I’m not a teleradiologist, so I’m not cranking in my pajamas during the workweek as a full-time job, but as a component of my hybrid workweek, the treadmill desk has been awesome.

A helpful note from a reader:

• I recently purchased the WalkingPad R2, which has been working well so far. What I’ve found especially useful is the KS Fit app that syncs with the treadmill. It unlocks a few features that significantly improve the experience:
• 1. Disable auto-stop – This is a big one. By default, the treadmill stops if you step off even briefly. When I’m reading out studies, there are moments where I need to stand on the rails for 5–10 seconds to make precise measurements, then hop back on. Disabling auto-stop lets me keep the speed constant without restarting the treadmill each time. Much smoother workflow—and no more awkward Fred Flintstone tricks to keep it running.
• 2. Accurate step tracking with Apple Health integration – You can enter your height and weight, and the app tracks steps and syncs with Apple Health. This turned out to be huge for me. A lot of my walking simply wasn’t being counted by my phone or Apple Watch (not surprising, given how still your upper body is while working). With the app, those steps finally count—and importantly, it doesn’t count steps when I step off the treadmill to measure something. It seems to track based on pressure rather than just belt rotation. [Ed: if you don’t have a watch but keep your phone in a pocket, it will track your steps. Obviously, this doesn’t work for everyone based on their phone-use and clothing.
• 3. Finer speed control – The default 0.5 mph increments always felt too coarse. Through the app, you can adjust speed in 0.1 mph increments and even preset three favorite speeds that you can switch between with a single tap.

It seems the R2’s more robust build quality would be better allow you to stand on the rails intermittently as suggested. I’ve tried this as a way to take a brief measurement/stretch break here and there to stretch my back or do some fine mouse control, but I will admit that it’s a little bit hard on my P1 with its plastic rounded edges. It’s another reason why I’m thinking about upgrading, being able to hop on and off without needing to restart the treadmill would be awesome.