How to Build a Treadmill Workstation

Spending hours at work doesn't have to prevent you from losing weight and staying fit, especially if you work from home. Busy people all across the country are building simple treadmill workstations for very little money, and walking away the pounds while performing all of their office tasks efficiently.

A good treadmill workstation doesn't have to cost more than the price of the treadmill if you use spare materials you already have to hand. Once you build your treadmill workstation, you will find that walking at 0.5 to 1.0 miles per hour at a 1 percent incline will not affect your ability to do office tasks, including writing, reading, and talking on the phone.

Things You'll Need

  • Treadmill
  • Foam insulation board cut into 40 by 12 inch sections
  • Desk surface such as a wood shelf or laminate flooring strips
  • Wall mount for computer monitor if necessary
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Instructions

  1. Building your workstation

    • 1

      Find your treadmill. Ideally, you should find a treadmill with at least a 2.0 horsepower motor, as you will be running this treadmill for hours at a time. Also look for flat arms without buttons or controls on them, a wide walking deck of 20 inches by 50 inches, and a low starting speed of 0.5 mph.

      You can try to find a treadmill for free or spend some time on Craigslist to find a secondhand one. Treadmills are always being offered for sale, many for under a few hundred dollars. Before buying a treadmill, try to find a review of it online to make sure it has a good reputation.

    • 2

      Build a platform. You will need to create a raised base to place your work surface on. This base can easily be made of insulation foam that you buy for a few dollars at a hardware store, with the added benefit of being a non-slip surface. Cut the foam to overlap the arms of your treadmill by 2 inches on each side. In general, the depth should be about 12 inches, but you can adjust the size depending on how deep you want your desk surface to be. Place as many layers of these foam boards on top of your treadmill arms as needed to create a surface that allows your arms to rest comfortably while you are standing on the treadmill. Your base should reach elbow height for comfort. For someone that is about 5'5", a base of about 5 inches will do, while a taller person will need to add to the base and a shorter person will need a shorter base.

      You do not need to attach the foam to the arms permanently. Simply setting it on top of the arms will suffice, as the foam will conform slightly to the shape of the arms and will not slip. This creates a movable workstation that allows you to continue to use your treadmill for running if desired.

      If desired, you can glue the foam boards together to create one block of foam.

    • 3

      Create a work surface. Your work surface can be made of anything you may have lying around the house, such as extra laminate wood flooring slats or a wooden shelf. Alternatively, you can buy a wooden shelf at a hardware store for under 20 dollars. The shelf should be at least the same length and width as your base, but it can extend a few inches to either side for more room without compromising stability.

      Because the foam base is not slippery, you will not have to attach the planks or board to the base. It will provide a stable work surface without glue or fasteners, but if you wish, you can glue your work surface to the base.

    • 4

      Mount your monitor. If you are using a laptop you can simply place it onto your treadmill workstation and your desk is ready to use. For a desktop monitor, however, you will need to purchase either a wall mount or use a shelf with bracket mounts. Your monitor should be about 25 inches from your eyes and at an angle between 15 and 50 degrees below your horizontal eye level.

    • 5

      Add finishing touches. You can spray paint your base in any color you like to cover the blue foam. You could also wrap your base in fabric or decorative paper for a more refined look.

      Painting your base the same color as your work surface and gluing them all together will give a more polished look.