A lot of people who work spend at least 7 hours sitting down. If you’re part of this population, then you know how it feels to have an aching butt and lower back because all you do is sit and work on your computer.
If you want to live a healthy life, then this isn’t exactly helping. So what do you do?
Introducing the Under Desk Elliptical
Going to the gym is the most obvious answer to being healthy. Apart from having the proper diet, spending at least an hour in the gym is mandatory if you want to burn the calories or if you simply want to be stronger and fitter.
However, most of us have an 8-hour job. If you work in Sydney, you would also have to spend at least 30 minutes in traffic. Add all of these up and you won’t have time to go to the gym anymore.
But what you can do is make use of the time you have at work. You can maximize your work time in such a way that you burn calories while you work on your laptop. You can do this if you have an under desk elliptical.
An under desk elliptical is like a stationary bicycle except that it doesn’t come with a seat. It only has the pedals that go in an elliptical motion (hence the name).
It’s designed as such because pedals that go in a circular motion might cause your knees to hit the desk.
What to Look for in an Under Desk Elliptical
When I first found out about the under desk elliptical, I was immediately excited. Finally, I could exercise at work without causing a scene.
Just like that, I was already researching on what under desk elliptical to buy. To help you out, here are a few things that I considered to pick the perfect equipment for the office.
1. Noise
Since you’ll be using this at work, it’s a must that the under desk elliptical doesn’t make any noise. Imagine how distracting and annoying it would be if it made squeaking sounds.
The best way to find out if it makes any noise is to try it yourself. My suggestion is to assemble it at home and try exercising with it. If it makes a noise, then it’s either you have to put oil on the pedals or you just have to use it at home.
2. Height / Rotation
The height or the rotation of the pedals should always fit your desk. If your desk at work is low, then you have to look for rotations that are more elliptical than circular. In this way, you won’t be bumping the desk and your legs won’t have to adjust that much to the height.
3. Resistance
Then there’s resistance. Since the goal of having an under desk elliptical is to burn calories and to exercise your legs, it makes sense that it should have at least a little resistance. Having no resistance at all makes it useless because your muscles won’t exert any effort.
4. Price
And of course, you have the price. In my opinion, to know if your purchase was good you must almost always consider if it’s worth the price you are paying. For my case, the one I wanted was a little off the budget but that’s because its specs were perfect for what I needed.
Overall, I find under desk ellipticals very helpful. But if you’re just starting out on all the fitness and training, it would help if you have an under desk elliptical trainer to consider. At least your training will help you determine what kind of equipment you need that you can also use at work.
