I’ve started working at a walking desk. Working. Walking. I felt that sitting all day, every day, was killing my back, my core and my posture, making it harder to burn fat, and affecting my circulation. Since the change, so far my back and hip are happier for it. (I don’t only have one hip, I only have one hip that nerve-traps).

Thoughts on a walking pad desk:

  1. Working at a walking desk looks daft. (I’ve always looked awkward - I’m 6’3”, bespectacled, sometimes overly loud - but I’d rather not have my body-type be “Grinch”).

So, now that that’s out of the way…

  1. The walking desk is amazing! Here’s why::

  • My task focus increases.

  • Any movement is good movement and a 7h work day of walking is exactly a day I’d have spent on my bum anyway. 

  • It is energising even over and above the focus part.

  • My legs are feeling it - a pace of 2mph seems to be where I’m settling (although sometimes I can do up to 3.5) and that means around 14 miles a day and, even discounting days in the office, if I can keep it up that would be well over 1,000 miles in a year.

The desk setup needs some tweaking - it was kinda flung together with the cheapest Decathlon walking pad, a table for £10 from Gumtree, and a hanging rig made of ply, wire and brackets. If I use it consistently until the end of the year then I’ll permit myself an upgrade allowance. I think the only reason that I can do this is that I can touch-type and I’ve got relatively consistent gait and balance. I’ve so far mostly been barefooting it but I suspect since the setup is in my shed then it’s not going to be Scottish-winter friendly. We’ll see though - I’m certainly generating heat! I’ll report back soon.

2026-09-10 Update:

  • I’m now regularly at 2.5kmph when on a call and 4 when not on video. The increase in speed has upped the shed temperature too - bonus. My current prediction is that it will get too cold to work in the shed without heating when it reaches 7 degrees outside but I’ll keep you posted!
  • I’ve raised the desk part of the setup by 10cms and added a second monitor courtesy of a Gumtree monitor stand attached to the rafters. I’ve gone for the unorthodox setup of vertical secondary monitor with a horizontal split so that Outlook’s at the top and Teams is at the bottom, both roughly square.
  • A fair few people have commented, some have had opinions, but also one other secret walking desk user has come to light, which is a wonderful thing.