The new trending kid on the block is now a walking pad, a compact, lightweight treadmill designed strictly for walking rather than running. It was created to encourage people to increase daily physical activity, boost step counts, and promote movement while multitasking, whether in offices, homes, or wherever you spend most of your time.
Walking pads can easily slide under standing desks so you can walk slowly while typing, answering emails, or doing anything office related that doesn’t need much focus. A walking pad is portable enough, foldable, and doesn’t take much space compared to the traditional treadmills. You can easily tuck them under a couch, a bed, or a closet.
A walking pad is convenient and allows you to exercise anywhere you want in a closed space, eliminating inconveniences like bad weather, traffic, or going to the gym every day.
Walking pads are convenient for busy people to complete their tasks while burning extra calories, improving cardiovascular health and easing joint-related mobility issues through low-impact movement. Most walking pads have a simple remote control with speeds capped to a light walking pace since they are not built for intense workouts.
If you are wondering if a walking pad can help with losing weight, it is reported that if you use it consistently, then it can be effective for weight loss. Walking pads help increase daily step count, burn calories, and improve blood sugar control. If you use it consistently, there is a potential of losing 0.5 kg a week if you pair it with healthy eating.
Talking about getting a walking pad for the office, the first thought that comes to mind is how exactly are you going to exercise and still make sure you don’t get sweaty in your office outfit. The second thing is, does it look professional to co-workers if you had to walk around with your walking pad during office hours, also do you change to gym clothes while doing it and change back to office wear again after finishing? The idea of the walking pad sounds easy but is it practical especially in the work environment?
Working out while working sounds like a sweet deal especially because no one really feels energized enough to start exercising after work so it is a great idea to actually work and exercise so that you have time to rest when you get home. Now how do we do that at the office without stepping on boundaries?
After researching, getting reviews and asking opinions on the issue, I learned that;
- You don’t have to break a sweat to exercise, walking pads are about keeping your body moving, increasing your daily steps and not about speed walking and sweating while in the office.
- You can change into tennis shoes while you are around the office and use a small fan, to keep yourself cool while walking around.
- You can break your walk into sections to avoid being sweaty at the office or you can just walk towards the end of working hours so that you go straight home from there.
- How you use your working pad will depend on your office setup, it’s easier to use it if you have your own office with less traffic.
After careful consideration I have realised that since I have a home office I can set up my walking pad in the office and get on my stepping shoes while I’m working. But for anyone else the best process to take is to ask your boss or HR if it would be a problem setting up an office pad in your office. I don’t think any boss would have a problem with it as long as it doesn’t interfere with your job. Fitness is everything, and keeping your body moving while working can actually stimulate your mind.
As for me, I have already set up my walking pad and am ready to walk and work at the same time. One thing about the walking pad, it’s not as small as they make it out to be but it’s portable and functional. I am excited about this, let’s see how it works out for you. I ordered mine on Amazon and by 24 hours it was on my door step.