Editor Elsa Lam exercises at work with a LifeSpan Bike Desk paired with a Humanscale QuickStand ?Lite arm.
This summer, I?ve been keeping healthy by biking to work?and also biking at work. I?ve swapped my chair for an upright bicycle, putting the active workstation to the test.
Back in January 2014, I wrote about the walking desk at my home office. More than two years later, I still use it on a regular basis. We?ve since moved to a house, so there is no neighbour below to complain about the whirring sound. Our stucco ceiling remains free of cracks. I love the rhythm of walking while I write, and the efficiency of integrating exercise with my workday.
If I had a closed room at my regular office, I?d get another treadmill in an instant. But my setup is a more typical workstation in an open office. A walking desk would take up too much room, and its hum would no doubt annoy my colleagues. So, I?ve been on a quest for an office-friendly active workstation set-up. Over the past year, I?ve tried a cardboard standing desk, under-desk cycle, and some DIY experiments, like a standing workstation made from upturned recycling bins. All of these worked well enough?almost anything is better for your metabolism than plain sitting?but ergonomically, none were quite right.
Finally, I?ve arrived at a configuration that?s been performing optimally for over three months. It has two components: a Bike Desk unit from LifeSpan Fitness that replaces my chair, and a QuickStand Lite arm from Humans...