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| The nine-to-five treadmill | The nine-to-five treadmill |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| By Denise Winterman BBC News Magazine | By Denise Winterman BBC News Magazine |
| Denise demonstrates the ultimate in career multi-taskingWalking while you work can help shift those extra pounds, say scientists. But can you really work and exercise at the same time? The Magazine finds out. | Denise demonstrates the ultimate in career multi-taskingWalking while you work can help shift those extra pounds, say scientists. But can you really work and exercise at the same time? The Magazine finds out. |
| As I type this sentence on my laptop I am at the gym, on a cycling machine and pedalling at 95 RPM. Feel the burn - I am. | |
| Shame my hands can't keep up, it took me almost five minutes to key in the above without a single mistake. | Shame my hands can't keep up, it took me almost five minutes to key in the above without a single mistake. |
| In that time I have managed to misspell nearly every other word, mistakenly turn the typeface into italics and come dangerously close to a serious hamstring injury after an incident involving my foot, a pedal and a momentary lapse in concentration. | In that time I have managed to misspell nearly every other word, mistakenly turn the typeface into italics and come dangerously close to a serious hamstring injury after an incident involving my foot, a pedal and a momentary lapse in concentration. |
| Scientists from the Mayo Clinic in America are right, you can lose weight if you exercise while you work. But you'll put it all back on when you are at home, eating biscuits while watching daytime television because you've been sacked for poor performance. | Scientists from the Mayo Clinic in America are right, you can lose weight if you exercise while you work. But you'll put it all back on when you are at home, eating biscuits while watching daytime television because you've been sacked for poor performance. |
| I can't afford to let my output slip further or it will be Jeremy Kyle keeping me company every weekday Slim on the office treadmill In controlled scientific conditions it might seem simple to combine the two, but in the local gym, with your laptop, there are a few obstacles to overcome before you can set about toning your muscles in tandem with your brain. | I can't afford to let my output slip further or it will be Jeremy Kyle keeping me company every weekday Slim on the office treadmill In controlled scientific conditions it might seem simple to combine the two, but in the local gym, with your laptop, there are a few obstacles to overcome before you can set about toning your muscles in tandem with your brain. |
| Health and safety is the first. Scientists may be certain about the benefits of walking and working, but my gym manager isn't. I am greeted with a computer-says-no look when I ask to use the treadmill and my laptop at the same time. | Health and safety is the first. Scientists may be certain about the benefits of walking and working, but my gym manager isn't. I am greeted with a computer-says-no look when I ask to use the treadmill and my laptop at the same time. |
| "Would be more than my job's worth if you hurt yourself or damaged that computer," the duty manager tells me. | "Would be more than my job's worth if you hurt yourself or damaged that computer," the duty manager tells me. |
| The alternative: You only burn 72 calories per hour at your deskIt's the same response when I ask about the step machine, rowing machine - which would have been tough - and the elliptical trainer. But with the cycling machine, with its useful handlebars on which I can balance my laptop, we reach an accommodation. | The alternative: You only burn 72 calories per hour at your deskIt's the same response when I ask about the step machine, rowing machine - which would have been tough - and the elliptical trainer. But with the cycling machine, with its useful handlebars on which I can balance my laptop, we reach an accommodation. |
| Next, what to wear? Am I at work or at the gym? It's all so confusing but I opt for comfort rather than presentation. | Next, what to wear? Am I at work or at the gym? It's all so confusing but I opt for comfort rather than presentation. |
| Finally, there are the physical limitations to consider. While my mind is agile, my body is not. Co-ordination and balance are not among my strengths. | Finally, there are the physical limitations to consider. While my mind is agile, my body is not. Co-ordination and balance are not among my strengths. |
| The average two-year-old child could out-perform me in the old rub-your-tummy-and-pat-your-head-at-the-same-time task. Just mention ice-skating and I slip over. It doesn't bode well. | The average two-year-old child could out-perform me in the old rub-your-tummy-and-pat-your-head-at-the-same-time task. Just mention ice-skating and I slip over. It doesn't bode well. |
| Once pedalling I find the cycling relatively easy, but not the typing part of the task. In a 45-minute session I manage to write just four paragraphs. That's one paragraph every 11.25 minutes. Were this a time and motion study, I'd be racking up a lot of both... to little effect. | Once pedalling I find the cycling relatively easy, but not the typing part of the task. In a 45-minute session I manage to write just four paragraphs. That's one paragraph every 11.25 minutes. Were this a time and motion study, I'd be racking up a lot of both... to little effect. |
| Effort level | Effort level |
| So, my very unscientific findings when it comes to the work part of the task are as follows: | So, my very unscientific findings when it comes to the work part of the task are as follows: |
| Ever feel like your job's a treadmill?• It's not easy to balance the laptop on the handle bars• It's not comfortable• It's near impossible to type• Concentration levels inevitably dip when you are constantly worrying about dropping and damaging an expensive piece of company property | Ever feel like your job's a treadmill?• It's not easy to balance the laptop on the handle bars• It's not comfortable• It's near impossible to type• Concentration levels inevitably dip when you are constantly worrying about dropping and damaging an expensive piece of company property |
| But surely my body is benefiting? Just about. While I may be cycling at 95 RPM, the machine is telling me my effort level is only at two - it goes all the way up to 12. I feel like I'm working my body hard but apparently not. | But surely my body is benefiting? Just about. While I may be cycling at 95 RPM, the machine is telling me my effort level is only at two - it goes all the way up to 12. I feel like I'm working my body hard but apparently not. |
| When I try to cycle faster I can't concentrate on my work. I can't really afford to let my output slip any further or it will be Jeremy Kyle keeping me company every weekday and not my work colleagues. | When I try to cycle faster I can't concentrate on my work. I can't really afford to let my output slip any further or it will be Jeremy Kyle keeping me company every weekday and not my work colleagues. |
| Ultimately, the focus of the study is weight and losing it. I manage to burn off a total 176 calories - over the same period at my desk I would have shed a mere 54. | Ultimately, the focus of the study is weight and losing it. I manage to burn off a total 176 calories - over the same period at my desk I would have shed a mere 54. |
| But as I walk back to the office I quickly grab a latte from the coffee bar, which, I find out - having drunk it - has roughly 200 calories, according to the website Calorie-Count. | |
| So it's either off to the gym to cycle for roughly 6.1 minutes to burn off those 24 calories or sit at my desk working for just over 28. No prizes for guessing which one I opt for. | |
Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| The idea is praise-worthy but it is not very practical at all. I don't think working and exercise can mix. It is just too much to do at the one time and a decrease in concentration level is just an obvious result of the activity. At least the design should be improved. Maybe sitting on a seat with some support and placing the pedals in a more forward position would be better as the user would have to worry less about balancing.James, Singapore | |
| Obviously the scientists/researchers and not to mention the reporter of this article are getting paid too much and/or have too little to do to have come up with such a hair brained piece of research. It's a pity the rest of us do have real jobs and actual work to do.Mukesh, Northants | |
| Ah, so much for women being able to multitask.Ian, UK | |
| Don't get me wrong, but do scientists conduct research while running at 13Kmph on a treadmill? I think they should go do some real work.Richard Read, Nether Alderley | |