My employer won't let me get an under the desk bike. I was also scolded for doing pushups in my cube. Working out from home with tape on the webcam is great.
Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike
21–30 of 137 posts
Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike
#22Clever idea and implementation! I think from a health standpoint, though, this is a false positive and it is probably better to go for an old fashioned _walk_; or to drop to the floor and do some yoga. For instance, sitting down too much is in itself detrimental to ones health (whether pedaling or not). E.g. prostate health, posture, etc. In contrast, a stationary bike or road bike, the rider can stand up and pedal f…
I definitely agree with you that it is no replacement for walking, yoga, or other active forms of exercise. But I have found it a great substitute for just sitting while using a computer.
Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike
#23Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike
#24Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike
#25Clever idea and implementation! I think from a health standpoint, though, this is a false positive and it is probably better to go for an old fashioned _walk_; or to drop to the floor and do some yoga. For instance, sitting down too much is in itself detrimental to ones health (whether pedaling or not). E.g. prostate health, posture, etc. In contrast, a stationary bike or road bike, the rider can stand up and pedal f…
> it is probably better to go for an old fashioned _walk_ For cardiofitness you need to get your heartrate over a certain threshold. A walk won't do that.
Unfortunately I can't find my sources right now, so take that as just something some guy said on the Internet.
Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike
#26Lastly, I very much did not want all my workout data locked away in this app. This is a great example to demonstrate the simplicity of modern "smart" products. I think of the Tim Berners-Lee next generation web product that never got off the runway: just of common and understandable interfaces for gleaning data from interconnected devices. The workout domain is a great candidate for standardizing data-types to pull h…
the obvious problem is that exactly no one in the industry has ever devoted more that 3 brain cells and 5 seconds working out a universal standard to present their data. Stuff competitors! And why shouldn't they? They have minus zero interest in making life easier for their broader (and probably narrower also) consumer base.
Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike
#27Is it practical to do fine mouse work while pedaling? Or is pedaling more something you do while checking email etc.? I know if someone so much as jiggles my desk I immediately notice.
Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike
#28> "my desk is actually the perfect height for peddling" Why is it so hard even for native speakers to spell the verb "pedal"? I mean it's spelled exactly like the noun, which most people seem to be able to spell properly. It's a genuine question, I see this all the time, maybe most of the time actually. It's strange because typically people tend to over-generalise, not the other way around.
I’d imagine it’s from lack of use in daily writing, combined with a lack of a ubiquitous context-aware spell checker. I make similar mistakes quite often
Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike
#29My employer won't let me get an under the desk bike. I was also scolded for doing pushups in my cube. Working out from home with tape on the webcam is great.
Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike
#30Clever idea and implementation! I think from a health standpoint, though, this is a false positive and it is probably better to go for an old fashioned _walk_; or to drop to the floor and do some yoga. For instance, sitting down too much is in itself detrimental to ones health (whether pedaling or not). E.g. prostate health, posture, etc. In contrast, a stationary bike or road bike, the rider can stand up and pedal f…
I bought an under-desk bike near the beginning of lockdown and have run the odometer into the four figures. I highly recommend it to anyone. I definitely agree with you that it is no replacement for walking, yoga, or other active forms of exercise. But I have found it a great substitute for just sitting while using a computer.
I say this because I had some prostate bruising (I recovered from that quickly doing yoga), but I attribute it to sitting too long; I don't even want to think what a pedaling motion in my chair would do down there! Granted, I have never pedaled in my chair so I accept that maybe it is fine—I'm just not willing to take the risk.
Personally, I'd go more for a walking desk or something where the motion is natural, but the desired cardio effect is the same.