Treadmill - millionth step

I started using a treadmill under my desk August 21st 2015. Today, January 6th 2016, I did my 1.000.000th step at the end of my working day. (or 425 kilometers in 45 days - yes I have been travelling much)

I wrote about my first impressions of using the treadmill, and since then I have really been loving it. I’d like to use this opportunity to give you my impressions one million steps in. :-)

First of all: I’m being at least as productive working while walking on a treadmill as I was before. I believe I’m being more productive, but if that is because of the treadmill, better tooling, better architecture or what is hard to say.

My ambition was 15.000 steps a day, but my daily average is about 23.000 steps a day, and that is a little less than 10km a day. I’ve settled in to a speed of around 3.5 km/hour, but I vary from 2.8 km/hour to 4.5 km/hour. So you can already guess my biggest surprise, it is that I don’t get more hours walking than I do. Apart from obvious stuff like bathroom- and coffee-breaks, I stop the treadmill often while debugging, while having meetings and while talking on the phone. Then I stand on the treadmill instead. I haven’t lowered my desk to sit since the end of August.

I used to be very happy to work from home, so if the weather was bad and I didn’t have a specific reason for being in the office, I would just work from home. Since getting the treadmill, it is not that I make a point of going to work, but I actually really want to get to work so I get to use the treadmill there. I’ve switched jobs in this period, and this want to get in has been the same in both places.

My iPhone still doesn’t get all the steps I take since it’s on my desk and my Apple Watch is on my wrist and my wrist is resting on the desk. So my move metrics are often way below what they actually have been. This sucks, but I have stopped caring as much. I hope a good solution will present itself, preferably as an integration from the treadmill software. The included Lifespan treadmill software is still rubbish.

The treadmill is just as loud as it used to be, even after being lubricated well. However, I’ve found just how much difference the office can make to the sound. I used to think my former office wasn’t that resonant, but now that I’m in a larger office, the treadmill doesn’t sound as bad, even though the treadmill itself hasn’t changed.

While I did get a bit sweaty when I began using the treadmill, I don’t find I do that anymore. I attribute this to it being winter now and I started using it in the summer, we’ll see if half a years time.

I’ve become a big advocate for the treadmill, and I really do think it is one of the best things I’ve done for my work life. If you are nearby Tarp, come by and try it and see how you like it.