Hocus Pocus and All That
When Winter Is Ending, Stand Up and Pull Out Your DIY Treadmill Desk
By Maureen L. Bonatch
For most of the year, I spent a lot of time with my “butt in the chair”. This is greatly encouraged for writers because this means more words on the page. But in addition to that I also gain extra backaches and a constant fight with the force of gravity on my dedicated hiney. Exercising is gotten more difficult with the cold weather in Pennsylvania, but I’ve developed a few solutions over the years that I’d like to share to help you get your butt out of that chair.
Drag Out That Old Clothes Hanger
You know what I’m talking about, your treadmill. Many of us have one that we’ve either held onto over the years, or have gotten rid of and reacquired each time we renewed our exercise efforts.
Most writers, and many other people who work at jobs that result in a lot of sitting, struggle to get enough exercise throughout the day. Plus, it’s difficult to carve out the extra time for exercise. Hence, the treadmill desk. When I first learned about such sorcery, a desk that you can get write and exercise at the same time, I was amazed and immediately put it to the top of my ‘want’ list. Then I looked at the prices…and the treadmill dropped a few pegs on my list due to the impact on my wallet.
Until This Non-DIYer Made a DIY Treadmill Desk
I am not a crafty person. I don’t make things, I buy them. But turning my treadmill into a treadmill desk was incredibly easy & I had everything I needed already. Cost= Nada. I’m nothing special because if you Google it, tons of people have done the same thing.
• Treadmill
• Old Extra Large Shelf from my Daughter’s Room
• 2 Big Ass Belts I’ve hoarded from the 1980’s (don’t judge- I didn’t say I’ve worn them…lately)
When I’m ready to do some editing (writing is a little more challenging), or check my email, marketing etc. then I grab the wood shelf and lay it across my treadmill arms and hook the 2 belts around the hand bar. Viola! I can walk at a slow pace—so I’m not breaking any race records, but I am off my butt.
Speaking of Sitting
Then there’s the study we heard about a few years ago published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that had everyone talking about how sitting is the new smoking and how sedentary lifestyles were killing us. That increases in physical activity has less of an impact that merely reducing the time sitting.
There are plenty of Standing Desks on the Market as well, but I didn’t have room for one, and didn’t think I’d use one enough to make it worth it. A little thinking out of the box, and digging through my closet I found my solution.
As a writer, I have multiple laptop tables, so I pulled one out that had legs to use in bed and sat it on top of my current desk. Place my laptop on top=standing desk.
Now…to stand up and write on!
Do you have any tips to share for maintaining movement while creating or escaping into a good story?
*Originally published on Paranormal Romantics https://paranormalromantics.blogspot.com
© 2018 Maureen L. Bonatch All Rights Reserved
2 comments:
Very clever. I have the shelf and the belts, now how do I create a DIY treadmill? :)
Thanks Marissa! Hmmm.. I'm not that creative or crafty without starting with the treadmill. :)
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