Level Up Your Walking Game While You Work With These Under-Desk Treadmills
In many ways, the rise in work-from-home options has turned our living spaces into offices, meeting rooms, and even home gyms. While doing everything from home can create a tricky balance between staying active or curling up on the couch, one new gadget is giving people the option of walking their way into better health from the comfort of their homes.
The Under-Desk Treadmills Fitness Trend
Walking pads, also known as under-desk treadmills, are the latest fitness trend to capture the attention of the TikTok girlies. Think of it as your hot girl walk, but indoors. These compact and portable machines are the perfect way to walk, stroll, or jog indoors without the need for a large, traditional treadmill. These walking pads can easily fit under a desk or a corner space and are perfect for anyone who might be a little gym-shy or may want to burn a few calories while they're working.
The Benefits of Under-Desk Treadmills
While many of our jobs can call for our full attention from morning to evening, finding the right pocket of time to get your workout in while maintaining your work-life balance is a juggling act that many of us have yet to master. Being glued to your desk for long periods of time may seem like a harmless habit, but being stationary with little to no movement has its side effects.
According to studies, prolonged periods of sitting can heighten the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, while other sedentary lifestyles and habits may elevate the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. While some popular notions are to hit the 10,000 steps a day mark, research has shown that even taking a brisk 10-minute walk daily is a sufficient way to get your steps in and meet the goal of 150 minutes of weekly exercise, as recommended by the NHS.
If you’re looking to take a new exercise routine for a spin, grab your best-running shoes and workout playlist because we’ve got you covered.
The Best Under Desk Treadmills and Walking Pads To Buy:
RHYTHM FUN Treadmill Under Desk Treadmill
Goplus 2 in 1 Folding Treadmill
Egofit Walker M1/M1T Under Desk Electric Treadmill With Incline
The Best Indoor Walking Exercises To Try:
Get 5000 steps in with @growwithjo! This 30-minute walk aims to boost your mood and burn fat while you get your stroll on. Hop on your treadmill for an extra challenge!
If you want a walking routine that leaves your glutes burning, try a treadmill with an incline like TikTok user @prettycritical.
@prettycritical a walking pad that hits your glutes #walking #hotgirlwalk #walkingpad #fittok #workfromhome #realhousewives #egofit #egofitwalkerpro #glutesworkout
Where there’s a will, there’s a way to keep the gains. To keep your peach sitting right, fitness instructor @trainertaby recommends using a resistance band and doing “low-intensity steady-state cardio.”
@trainertaby Low Intensity Steady State Cardio has been my go to✨super easy & highly effective for my friends that want to burn fat while keeping their hard earned gains💪🏾you can find my resistance bands at bandycheeks.com🍑 #newyear #health #healthy #fitness
Looking for the perfect playlist for your treadmill session? Try this Rihanna-inspired #playliststrut from @makenzieandmalia.
@makenzieandmalia this workout was not my idea‼️ I saw@benntheredonethat do it first (she made the playlist as well) Just trying to make some fun work out videos💕
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Featured image by gradyreese/Getty Images
- 'I used an under-desk treadmill daily for two weeks' ›
- 19 Best Under-Desk Treadmills & Walking Pads In 2023, Per Reviews ›
- 8 Best Treadmill Desks for Working in 2023 - Treadmill Desk Reviews ›
- Review: I Tried an Under Desk Treadmill for One Month | The Everygirl ›
- Best Under-Desk Treadmills for 2023 - Best Walking Treadmills ›
Aley Arion is a writer and digital storyteller from the South, currently living in sunny Los Angeles. Her site, yagirlaley.com, serves as a digital diary to document personal essays, cultural commentary, and her insights into the Black Millennial experience. Follow her at @yagirlaley on all platforms!
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Stress Awareness Month: Sneaky Workplace Triggers Affecting Black Women, And How To Cope
We all know about the major stress triggers of everyday life, from relationship woes to monthly bills to unexpected emergencies, but there are small, subtle triggers that impact Black women in a big way, especially when it comes to work. It’s good to be aware of these sneaky stressors in order to maximize your day and find ways to incorporate solutions into your self-care routines.
Since it’s Stress Awareness Month, we caught up with Keanne Owens, LCSW, founder of Journey To Harmony Therapy Center, to talk about these triggers and what Black women can do to manage and cope.
Owens is an experienced South Florida-based counselor and social worker who offers her services via Grow Therapy, a therapy and medication management platform. She has worked with Black women professionals to unpack issues related to workplace stressors. “One is the pressure to perform–having to meet deadlines and deliverables. And a lot of times, these subtle stressors from performance are put upon ourselves as Black women. We want to make sure we’re doing our best. We don’t want to be critiqued in certain ways.”
Excessive micromanagement leading to fear of overly critical bosses is another subtle trigger that can negatively impact Black women in the workplace.
“Whenever something is done wrong, or we experience some type of injustice and have to report it, it’s the fear of retaliation–[fear that] we won’t be taken seriously or [our words] will be taken out of context because of being deemed as the ‘angry Black woman,’” she said.
Black Women And Workplace Stress Triggers
Her sentiments are backed by research. A recent report by Coqual found that 28% of Black women (compared to 17% of White men) say their supervisor uses “excessive control or attention to detail” when managing them. There’s more: A survey by the National Employment Law Project found that Black workers were “more likely to have concerns (80 percent) and twice as likely as white workers (18 percent) to have unresolved concerns at work, with 39 percent reporting they were “not satisfied with the employer’s response or did not raise concerns for fear of retaliation.”
The survey also found that 14 percent of Black respondents said they “avoided raising concerns to their employer for fear of retaliation—more than twice the average rate of 6 percent for all survey respondents.”
Owens pointed to the fact that these subtle stress triggers can negatively impact our physical health and our career advancement. “A lot of time it’ll affect our productivity,” Owens added. “We start to have negative thoughts of ourselves. The stressors can also cause fatigue. We’re no longer meeting or working up to our desired potential.” Other challenges as a result include insomnia and increased insolation, withdrawal, and lack of motivation to apply for jobs or promotions even when qualified.
valentinrussanov/Getty Images
How To Manage Subtle Stress Triggers
While there are systemic issues at play for Black women at work that has less to do with us and more to do with major overhauls that must be addressed by the powers that be, there are steps we can take for the betterment of ourselves and our mental health. Owens offered the following tips:
Tap into a support system, whether it’s a coworker you trust, a family member, an organization, or an outlet like a hobby.
Create a good work-life balance before burnout even starts. “Having certain boundaries [is the goal] such as, for example, if you get off at 5, you get off at 5. If your job description is this, you don’t go above and beyond because that brings you to a lot of burnout,” Owens said.
Prioritize self-care, whatever that means for you. “If you don’t have a routine, create one. Practice mindfulness and even some meditation,” she added.
Create structure in your life outside of work. “Even if you have a family, applying some structure in your routine helps relieve stress,” she said.
Get into grounding techniques. “Do a real quick square breathing exercise, that’s literally 30 seconds, or you can do a grounding technique that’s less than two minutes, right there where you are. You don’t need any other materials. That’s something you can do with just yourself and your body.”
Ask for help. “As Black women, we don’t ask for help enough,” she said. “Find where you need to ask for help. A lot of times, people think that’s indicative of weakness, but we need to rewrite that narrative. It’s okay to ask for help where you see fit. [If] you’re a mom, [it could be] every Wednesday from 5 to 6, your children are with the dad. You have to carve out that time.”
For more information on Grow Therapy, visit their website. You can also find out more about Keanne Owens, LCSW, via BeginYourJourneyToHarmony.com.
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Featured image by Charday Penn/Getty Images