8 Great Treadmill Desks for a More Active WFH Setup

WHILE MANY of us have returned to the office at least part-time, many more are still working from home regularly. Unless you're making a concerted effort to hit a daily goal, there's a good chance you're getting a lot less steps in when working from the comfort of your home. And hourly trips to the refrigerator don't really count. According to the Mayo Clinic, the average American was taking 3,000 to 4,000 steps each day pre-COVID (which is still less than ideal). These days, if you're not careful, that number could be less than 2,000.

But, there is hope for breaking up your unintentionally sedentary workdays. For anyone who spends their days stuck at a work station, one easy way to get moving while working from home is by investing in a treadmill desk. And with the common trend of hitting 10,000 steps a day still a goal for many of us, this will definitely help get you there.

You'll burn significantly more calories too. According to our own Craig Ballantyne who cited a 2007 Mayo Clinic study, "When sitting in chairs, the [seated] subjects burned 72 calories per hour. However, when using the walking workstation at 1.1 mph, subjects burned an average of 191 calories per hour." The payoff? "The researchers concluded walking workstations used for as little as 3 hours per day could help people lose up to 60 pounds in a year," said Ballantyne.

There are about 2,000 steps in a mile (assuming an approximate stride length of about two feet), according to Colleen M. Brough, PT, DPT, MS, board certified orthopedic clinical specialist and director of Columbia RunLab at Columbia University. And according to the American Heart Association, they recommend 30 minutes of exercise each day for cardiovascular health—which translates to about 1.5 miles of walking.

Read more: Best Treadmills

Walking while working will help you reach those activity guidelines. So if you're looking to add a treadmill desk to your work-from-home setup, we researched the best treadmill desks to help you reach your daily cardio and step goal in 2022.