Gizmodo: Treadmill

Treadmill Desk With Five Monitors Overstimulates As You Exercise

Sean Fallon — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Treadmill desks are nothing new, but while products like the Steelcase Walkstation try to trick you into doing extra work while exercising, the JW Treadmill desk is unapologetic about being purely focused on entertainment. In fact, it goes completely over the top with a five-display setup.

Despite it's name, the JW Treadmill desk can accommodate just about any exercise machines you have in the house. It also features electronically controlled monitor height adjustment and a variety of optional laminates, bumper molding and frame colors to match your decor. Unfortunately, precisely how much one of these desks will set you back is not known, but I have no doubt that it will be expensive—especially when customized. [Treadmill Desk via Born Rich]

Retromodo: Doggy Treadmill Idea is Actually From 1930

Jason Chen — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT

We were wrong when we thought that our crazy technologically-obsessed culture now was responsible for the doggy treadmill idea. It originated in the the 1930s. Modern Mechanix dug up one of their old articles from the last century and found this thing, first debuted at the LA Dog Show, which supposedly lets dogs run for "an hour without getting anywhere." How could you tell (besides the black and white) that this is an invention from the last century? Because the lack of safety concerns for the dog; the whole thing is raised up off the floor, meaning if Floofy gets tired, he's going flying. [Modern Mechanix via Boing Boing]

AquaCiser Either World's Deepest Hot Tub or Sinking Row-Boat Simulator

AddyDugdale — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:37:27 EDT

Wave at the world's deepest hot tub, the AquaCiser. Wave quickly, because that guy looks like he is going down with his monoreme. The manufacturer, Ferno Performance Pools, claims that you can do triathlon training without even leaving the comfort of your own home—if cycling round the utility room is your bag, that is. Never mind the rowlocks, there's also a reversible treadmill on the bottom of the tub, which is 53 inches deep. With 57 jets, five pumps and throttle control valves, the AquaCiser comes in at a cool $17,000. [Ferno Performance Pools via Book of Joe]

Alter-G Anti-Gravity Treadmill Approved by the FDA

Sean Fallon — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:20:46 EST

The Alter-G treadmill has been given the greenlight by the FDA for classification as a medical device. The powers that be were no doubt swept away by the treadmills ability to reduce the weight of the user by as much as 80% (In 1% increments) using a NASA designed air pressure regulation system.

The best part about the technology is that the user is free to wallk, jog, or run with a full-range of motion in both the upper and lower body. And the design of the enclosure is such that the user feels very little of the force needed to hold their weight. It will probably cost a fortune, but a device like this should find a home in plenty of medical facilities and gyms (hopefully) in the near future. Naturally, the Alter-G has the potential to be an invaluable tool for injured patients and the elderly, but it would be an exceptional tool to get those who are just plain fat and out of shape up and moving. [Alter-G via MedGadget]

Water Resistance Treadmill Combines Running, Swimming and Hot Tubs

Adam Frucci — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:45:00 EST

Here's a practical design: the Hydro Physio Lifestyle Water Resistance Treadmill (believe it or not, that's the short version of the name). It combines the water resistance of swimming with the monotony of running to create a really strange form of exercise. The water level can be adjusted so it focuses on different areas during your workout, and, to be honest, it does look like a unique way to get your exercise in, despite how crazily impractical it is. [Product Page via Oh Gizmo!]

Netrunner Allows You to Use Your Laptop While Jogging

Sean Fallon — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 21:00:44 EST

The Netrunner is a device that allows you to affix your laptop to a treadmill — and I don't think I need to tell you why this idea falls short of genius (although I will anyway). I'll admit, they had me with the ability to play DVDs. I can see how that could be useful in certain situations. But if you can surf the web using this thing, you are not working hard enough my friend. Plus, if you are interested in this, you might as well go all out with the treadmill desk from Steelcase. Available for $99. [Product Page via BookofJoe]

Hands (and Feet) On the Steelcase Walkstation (Video)

hook — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 13:45:00 EDT

I hit the Steelcase offices in NYC to get on the new Walkstation. At first, it looks like a bulky treadmill with a basic desk strapped on top, and I had some doubts about how comfortable it would be to work while working out. When I tested it out, though, I was pretty impressed with the design.

The Walkstation doesn't go faster than 3mph so you never move beyond a leisurely stroll. The treadmill/desk includes plenty of features that make walking and typing comfortable, including a large adjustable workspace that raises and lowers to match your height, and a soft raised wrist bar that doubles as a handrail for stability. It also has a kill switch for the treadmill controls, in case you get distracted and forget to keep walking.

The Walkstation lacks a heart rate monitor or any other health information besides the number of calories burned, making it difficult to track your progress. Maybe that'll be in v2.0.

In case you want one, it will be available to businesses in November for about $4,000, and Steelcase reps told us that they're working on a consumer edition for Spring 2008.

[Ed. note: The person you see in the video and gallery is NOT Gizmodo's rookie NYC reporter Jennifer Hooker. Just in case you were wondering.]

Treadmill Desk Promotes Hamster-itis

Jason Chen — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 12:23:12 EDT

Developed by both Steelcase, a furniture manufacturer, and James Levine from the Mayo clinic, this treadmill desk allows you to game, work or just look at salacious pictures on the internet and "work out" at the same time. The functions should be pretty obvious from the picture. As silly as it sounds, if we could buy one of these for our offices we probably would—sitting in front of a computer for 18 hours of the day doesn't promote any sort of fitness regime anyone but the fat ladies on The View would recommend. [Time]

Platinum Club Treadmill With iPod Dock, 15-inch LCD

Jason Chen — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:21:54 EDT

If we could ever summon up the strength to go exercise (which would then give us more strength), we'd want to do so on one of these Platinum Club Series Treadmills with a USB port for your iPod. Just hook up your iPod via the standard iPod cable, and you can scroll through playlists, watch videos, or just provide power for your player while you run. Not only that, there's a virtual trainer and USB compatibility so you can save your workout data onto a thumb drive to take home. If this weren't $7,999 we'd get one for ourselves. [LifeFitness via Everything USB via Slashgear]

Ars Benches the New iMac, Predictably Decent Performance

blongo3 — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:00:49 EDT

While we poked and prodded our new iMac trying to answer all of your questions, Ars Technicha went their traditional route and benchmarked the hell out of the poor iMac. The 20-inch, 2.4GHz machine with 2GB or RAM " outdid a MacBook Pro with an identical CPU and FSB in my testing, and it was more than competitive with a Mac Pro in formal tests." That said, these aren't huge increases over modern hardware. And the Mac Pro destroyed the iMac in heavily multi-threaded tests. Such is the predictability of performance in all x86 era. [Ars]

The Pool Treadmill

Jason Chen — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:54:14 EDT

If your apartment complex pool is anything like ours, it's 10 feet wide and 20 feet long, which means you can do about 5,000 laps before you get tired. What we need is a pool treadmill, this $3,999 gadget that creates a downstream current so you can swim in place but still be swimming.

Sure, $4,000 is a lot of money, but it's pennies compared to remodeling your pool to fit more than two old dudes and some kids. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Hammacher via Red Ferret via Geekologie]

Working All Day on a Treadmill Helps Lose Weight. Duh.

Adam Frucci — Tue, 15 May 2007 19:00:00 EDT

Some genius doctors at the Mayo clinic built a "vertical desk," essentially a treadmill with a computer attached, and found out that if you walked all day while working instead of sat you would lose weight.

Who's paying these people? Seriously, are you surprised that obese people lost weight when forced to walk 8 hours a day, 5 days a week rather than sit down? I mean, I'd probably get sweet biceps if you attached a laptop to some weights, but it doesn't mean I'd want to subject myself to that kind of exertion all day every day. Go cure cancer or something, you idiots. –Adam Frucci

Making work even more of a slog takes weight off [Reuters]

Dog Walker Treadmill

www.gizmodo.com — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 17:48:08 EST

So you're sittin around, knockin out some solid Skynyrd riffs in Guitar Hero II when the dog comes jumping up on your leg and barking at you — totally screwing up Freebird. Aw man, Spot has to go for walk. If you're allergic to "outside" like we are, you'll appreciate the Dog Walker treadmill. Just leash your dog in and let him walk himself. Hell, you can even provide the workout mix. Tell the roadies to sell a few more t-shirts and then pick it up for $123. And while they're at it, I guess you'd better get those roadies to pick up the dog shit on the livingroom floor. – Todd Haselton

Product Page [via Ubergizmo]

The Treadmill Bike Video Demonstration

Jason Chen — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 18:15:28 EDT

What do you get when you combine a treadmill with a bicycle? If you said "an idiot", your parents should be very proud of you. – Jason Chen

Update: Youtube's taking a while to process the video for some reason.

Product Page [Bike Forest via American Inventor Spot via Slashgear]