The corporate treadmill may no longer be just a metaphor. Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a workstation/treadmill combination that allows people to work and walk at the same time. Apparently, plodding at a sedate one mph for just a couple of hours each day enables an annual weight loss of up to 66 pounds. No information on whether that can be improved by hanging a Krispy Kreme doughnut just out of reach.
Jane! Get me off this crazy thing!
May 16 2007 — 2:00am
14 Reader Comments
2:44 pm
Apparently, plodding at a sedate one mph for just a couple of hours each day enables an annual weight loss of up to 66 pounds.
I wouldn’t last 3 years before I disappeared with this plan.
2:47 pm
can’t be very good for your penmanship or WPM.
2:48 pm
I would shoot myself, or my manager, if I was made to do this…as if they don’t cram enough lifestyle enhancement BS down my throat at work as it is. I’ll work out at home, thank you very much!
2:58 pm
I think it would be nice to have as an option. Nothing says you have to keep the treadmill running all the time.
I don’t expect to have it at my workplace anytime soon. We have the oldest, least ergonomic office furniture around.
2:59 pm
This reminds me of that Ok Go video that is kind of cool and nerdy.
3:03 pm
it’s way more than cool & nerdy…it’s one of the best videos ever…ever.
3:40 pm
Yay! I totally want to watch it over and over!
Is that yoga banner ad distracting anybody else?
3:56 pm
Who needs a treadmill to elevate the pulse rate? Heck, as long as I have a job which gives me the freedom and the power to be able to go to my handlers and report that we’re going to send several tens of millions of dollars out the door that we had expected to be able to keep, I’ll be able to bump up the old pulse rate regularly, without putting that big, ugly machine in front of the nice view out my (fortunately, unbreakable) window.
4:11 pm
The U looked at my BMI and thinks I’m fat! They have been nagging at me about it for a while now. Hey! I bike 14 miles a day during the spring and summer. I exercise regularly! That BMI crap is way unrealistic. Leave me the hell alone!!!
4:30 pm
“I exercise regularly! That BMI crap is way unrealistic.“
Forget it if you have any muscle tissue in your body. I was a wrestler in high school, with incredibly low body fat. On the most commonly-used BMI scale, I came in as “slightly obese.” I remember our coach seeing that, and laughing.
5:10 pm
How annoying would that be (or sexy, depending on your mood) to have regular conversations with an out-of-breath/panting co-worker?
5:14 pm
Annnnd, the company could also hook up the treadmills to a generator, and then they’d have clean, renewable energy! The possibilities are endless here, people!
5:37 pm
My sister travels for work to different hospitals and medical practices. She said one practice in Helena Montana was really amazing with waterfalls and a very friendly/happy work environment. She said the receptionists sat on yoga balls instead of chairs. They told her they really liked it and it was very healthy. I wish more work environments were open to experimenting instead of being afraid to try new things.
9:57 am
I’ve been considering rolling a yoga ball into my cube. Haven’t actually gone so far as to get one, though. My employer is kind of old school about creative expression and making your work environment fun. Now that I sit down where the directors sit, they’re not wild about having anything too crazy in your cube. God forbid someone should walk through on a tour and think I don’t take my job seriously.