Walking Pad Essential Purchases

Other products and accessories to go with your walking desk. Things I've found indispensable.

Treadmill Mat

Urevo Mat adds more absorption; Sunny Mat is cheaper. Adds a layer of shock absorption for your knees. Absorbs sound. Prevents shock damage to hard floor. Over time the rubber stoppers will at worst damage the floor, at best smear rubber that's hard to remove. Adds a protection layer against high-pile carpet, so you're not pulling debris into the hardware.

Standing Desk

FlexiSpot EN1. My budget pick. I've abused this cheapie for 3 years without a hitch, so I don't see the point in the $1,000 Herman Millers championed on /r/StandingDesks. But if you want to splurge, browse that sub. I've seen FlexiSpot gaining traction there recently; in particular the E7 series. You'll definitely want an electric desk which can sit or stand, because after walking or standing all day, you'll need a break.

Shoes

This section has moved to Walking Pad Shoes.

Prevent Treadmill Static Shock

When walking on a treadmill, you'll build a lot of static electricity. If you touch anything grounded, you'll release electrostatic discharge (ESD). If this is something metal connected to your computer - a monitor, peripherals with metal components, your laptop - this can damage your electronics with time. Both the components you touched, and your computer. The solutions are:

• Firstly, make sure the components you touch while walking are plastic. This is typical - the mouse & keyboard blow are plastic - but check yours. Never touch metal electronics (you monitor, laptop, etc) while walking.
• ESD Option 1: an ESD Wristband, connected to something grounded. The wisest solution (you're always ESD-free), but physically annoying.
• ESD Option 2: an ESD Grounding Cable. Plug it in and clamp it somewhere within reach. Before you touch anything metal, touch this first. More room for error than Option 1 (if you forget touch it first); but frees up your arm. This is my preferred solution.
• ESD Option 3 (experimental). Tape dryer sheets to the console of your walking pad, so they "wipe" static off the walking belt before that portion of belt reaches your foot. I haven't tried this, but have seen reports of success. Gemini says it's no enough, so I'd personally stick with Option 1 or 2.

Ergonomic keyboard & mouse

Article. People often develop RSI (Repetitive Stress Injury, a cousin of Carpal Tunnel) when seated with a standard mouse, due to the arm motion. That type of wrist motion is bad for you. When you walk, you move your arms more than usual, which amplifies RSI risk significantly. It could take 6 months, it could take a 5 years, but many I've talked to with walking desks have experienced an RSI uptick. Ergo peripherals solve this - specifically a "wedge-style" trackball mouse and a split + tented keyboard. Read that article for recommendations (different budgets & styles), but hot-take budget-picks are (Mouse: Ploopy Adept, Keyboard: Royal Kludge RKS70)

Standing Board

FluidStance Plane Cloud. Sometimes you don't feel like walking. I spent a long time researching the perfect standing setup. Standing on a hard surface for prolonged periods is NOT good for you (even with good shoes); it's better to just sit. So my next move was standing-specific mats. When things really changed was in exploring wobble boards (Yes4All, Fezibo, Gymba, etc). By wobbling, you're exerting a sort of added "cushion" which lets your body alleviate tension here then there. It's less effort, and more comfort, than you'd think. Plus this improves posture, and evidently burns some 200-300 calories extra per 8hr standing day. I went through quite a few of these, but they all suffered from a lack of good angle or weight distribution. Eg, Yes4All is too "ballerina pose". Fezibo has you over-pronating, which is terrible for your ankles. Revbalance is too hard-core, there's no way you'll focus while surfing. So the end-game was Fluidstance.

You'll want the cushioned one specifically (PlaneCloud). Prolonged standing is so hard on your feet, that you need all the cushion you can get. The top is cushioned, the wobbling aspect itself provides a pseudo "cushion" (you're sort of floating around), and I recommend also wearing shoes. Cushion!

Please note: if you've walked all day, you shouldn't switch to standing; you should sit. Use a standing board for days you don't walk, otherwise sit. Walking and standing put strain on your knees, and to preserve your health you should choose one or the other; and then sit to recover.

Monitor Arms

Vivo or MountUp. I highly recommend using monitor arms instead of a monitor stand. It's vital to position the monitor such that you're looking perfectly perpendicular - a straight line from your eyes to the center of your monitor - especially while walking. Plus then you can add additional monitors to a cluster, save desk space, adjust the depth, etc.

Fingerless Gloves

Gloves. Since you'll be sweating a bunch, get some cheap cloth fingerless gloves to catch the sweat so it doesn't get on your keyboard or mouse. I tried wrist-bands, but it didn't catch sweat from the hands themselves.

Wrist Weights

If you're really hard-core, slap on some wrist weights. I use these, but if that's too heavy shop around. I wore them for months, without any pain in shoulders, back, or arms. This because I maintain proper posture (from walking, and eye-level monitor positioning), and shoulder→elbow, elbow→hand 90° form. Without proper form, weights can injure you - so be vigilant! Don't wear these on your ankles, you can harm your joints. If you want to accomplish the same goal, wear a weighted vest instead.

Incidentally I stopped wearing them because my family said I was getting to "veiny". I was definitely bulking up, but I'd rather be non-buff than "veiny".