Have you ever heard of walkstations? They are a growing trend among individuals and business alike and they provide the opportunity to walk on a treadmill while working at a desk. Interesting isn't it? The New York Times ran an article in its Fitness & Nutrition section about the recent trend. It's been reported that an average of about 335 walkstations have been sold to businesses like Humana, Mutual of Omaha, GlaxoSmithKline and Best Buy.
Invented by Dr. James Levine, an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic, the workstation treadmill was originally constructed out of a bedside hospital tray that he slid overtop of his treadmill. Enthusiast that have chosen to follow this idea have done things such as placed a computer monitor on a file cabinet in front of a treadmill. As the idea became more widely accepted, Dr. Levin helped develop a more sleekly designed walkstation costing about $4,000.
At first thought, I wondered how effective could one be at working and walking at the same time. I have yet to try this, but I just can't imagine typing and walking. In the article you will note where others say they participate in conference calls while walking on their treadmills. I'd say you definitely have to be a "listener" ONLY. One firm named Salo has even gone so far as to replace some of the conference room tables with the treadmills. Amy Langer, one of the founders of Salo says that business colleagues arrive at meetings with their walking shoes in hand. I bet that makes for an interesting meeting. I think I might give walking and working a try. I'm curious to see just how much coordination I have. How well do you think you would be at working and walking?