DIY Treadmill at a Desk Workstation

Follow Dr. Levine’s lead and buy a bedside hospital tray and basic treadmill to build the quickest and easiest version of a desk workstation. Remove the wheels and bolt the table to the floor to stabilize it or fabricate a base of plywood so the table doesn’t move around while you work. Station a low-profile treadmill beneath the bedside hospital table and get to work. Keep this in mind: The keyboard must be about 3 to 4 inches above the navel to avoid flirting with wrist and hand ailments resulting from poor keyboard position.

Build a customized desk workstation/treadmill larger and more stable than the easy-fix hospital tray table combination. Station the treadmill against the wall and stand on it. Mark the wall with a pencil to indicate a height about 4 inches above your navel. Use the measurement to determine table height. Fasten two sawhorse brackets to the bottom of a 48-inch section of countertop or plywood —larger if you need more work surface. Cut 4 legs from 2-inch by 4-inch lengths of lumber. Attach the legs to the sawhorse brackets with screws. Sand and paint or stain the work desk and legs.

Create a customized fold-down treadmill workstation if you don't always want to walk and work at the same time. Emulate the engineering of the wall-mount, fold-down ironing board, particularly if you work on a laptop and don't require a standard monitor at your workstation. Locate studs on the wall and sink anchors deeply into the drywall. Attach a pre-finished length of counter top or plywood to the wall with two or three folding shelf brackets at the proper height. Test out the folding mechanism to make certain the station is stable while it's being used and folds up securely. Add one or two hook and eye sets, if necessary, to stow it against the wall.

Build a side-mount treadmill workstation, if you plan to hang your computer monitor from a wall mount TV bracket and want to be able to move it back and forth when not in use. Construct a smaller workstation sized to hold your keyboard, using the same materials as the fold-down workstation above. Mount the desktop on the side using a large swivel bracket supporting the desktop so it rotates and folds flat against the wall. Wall mount your monitor and side mount your worktable and you can camouflage both if you install a roll-down matchstick or Roman shade that lowers to obscure your work area.