SurfShelf – Turn Your Treadmill into a Workstation
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Working on a laptop computer most of the day does not really do much for one’s figure – I have even heard it referred to as “Geek Gut” and “Blogger’s Butt”. Personally, I love to walk, ride bikes, and play golf, but there isn’t always time or the weather is bad. Riding a stationary bike or walking on the treadmill can be so boring!
Enter SurfShelf! You can attach the SurfShelf.com to your treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical trainer and watch videos, catch up on your RSS feeds, read your email, and more.
Now, I don’t think you can pound out an in-depth blog post or design a website while jogging on your treadmill, but you certainly could combine some of your more basic tasks with some exercise and take care of two tasks at once. Your heart, waistline, and inbox would thank you.
I think it is a pretty cool gadget actually! What do you think? Would you use it?
12 Comments
June 11th, 2009 at 4:36 am
I would probably use it to do something useful while tweeting.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:19 am
I definitely would not use that, too tiring to work out.. I didn’t get this geek gut by doing something you know.
Exercise and thinking just don’t mix.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I wouldn’t use it. I like my exercise to get me out of my brain and into my body. Of course, I primarily lift weights, do tai chi, and hike, none of which this gizmo is designed for.
June 13th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
I think an exercise session is a good opportunity to get away from the computer – the benefits are mental as well as physical.
However there are only so many hours in the day so maybe this would be useful for people who are genuinely starved of time. I’ve certainly seen plenty of people read books while working out on exercise bikes and cross trainers, so why not?
I would suggest a cover for the keyboard though, to guard against sweat!
June 21st, 2009 at 6:15 am
Pretty neat idea, but I would always prefer to escape from the PC, get out into the fresh air and soak up some sun (or indeed, some rain – I’m not fussy about my walking weather)
I suppose if you’re that pushed for time, it might be a good idea, but then you should be asking – What are you doing that’s giving you such little free time? Is it really worth it?
June 27th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
I can’t imagine I would use this, sure I would watch a movie on a laptop if I was using a stepper (elliptical) or exercise bike indoors, but I can watch a movie with the laptop positioned on a table from the other side of the room, I don’t need it positioned within two foot of me.
As for reading emails, etc, no, trying to read emails whilst exercising would just results in very slow reading of emails and less effective exercise.
July 7th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I think this product is a really great idea.
I have just started my own business from home, have no time and must always be available to new clients, so this would be great for me!
Thanks for a great post
July 12th, 2009 at 9:50 am
I’m sucking in my gut now – thanks for the reminder.
Yes, if I had a stationery bike I would YES use that gadget – almost makes me want to go out and buy one, a bike and that thing, I mean. Maybe I will!
July 12th, 2009 at 9:51 am
whoops, the correct spelling is stationary!
July 13th, 2009 at 8:27 am
I don’t think I would use this, as John Soares said, “I like my exercise to get me out of my brain and into my body.” I do enjoy the computer but to much of it is not a good thing for me. I need to be able to get away and a weight lifting session or even a nice walk allows me to do so.
July 29th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I actually saw this on 20/20 about a year ago, and people were losing a lot of weight walking very slowly throughout the day. One dude lost 20lbs in a month. That’s pretty awesome.
August 7th, 2009 at 10:59 am
That is very funny. I have heard many bloggers complain that they have gained weight due to sitting on the computer all day.