DIY Laptop Desk for Treadmill, Stepper or Exercise Bike
Several weeks ago I told you about my quest to make my own laptop treadmill desk – a lifehack that would allow me to use my laptop, tablet or DVD player during my daily workout. This is a MUST for any blogger, SAHM – or anyone who works at home!
My first attempt by trial and error was hysterical. You can read my laptop treadmill desk fiasco story here.
But, here’s my final answer and my step-by-step instructions to make a laptop treadmill desk for about $1. In reality, it didn’t cost me anything. I used stuff I had laying around.
How to Make Your Own Treadmill Desk:
1. First, acquire the workout machine of your choice. I was lucky enough to “find” a treadmill at the end of my neighbor’s driveway with a “FREE” sign on it. Long-story-short, it was raining and after a hysterical fiasco to load it up and get it home, I clean it up. NOTE: DO NOT plug in and turn on a wet treadmill. Thankfully my husband is electronically inclined and was able to fix the now-burnt treadmill control board for me. I rigged a key that could clip onto my jacket and turn off in case I fly off. So, it’s a little “rigged” but it’s nice! My parents also lent me an exercise bike, stair stepper and another treadmill. Yeah, I’m spoiled. But the funny thing about it is, lots of people have unwanted exercise equipment. You may be able to find it super cheap at a yard sale or online (think Craigslist, Freecycle, your local Facebook Sale Groups, etc. But, do your homework and don’t overpay! People get rid of this stuff like crazy!) I also managed to score another very old exercise bike and NordicTrak treadmill thing – for five bucks a piece! So, as you can see I now have way too many exercise machines. But, it’s also possible to get things very cheap or free. You just have to be patient. My cost: FREE.
2. Next, I found a lap desk. A lap desk is a hard plastic surface with a soft beanbag type thing under it. It’s made to set on your lap when you’re sitting down, to give you a hard surface on which to write, set your book, laptop, etc. I see these all the time at thrift stores for anywhere from $0.50 – $3.00, generally speaking. You can also buy lap desks online. This link goes to a basic one for $17 shipped. When I say I found one, I mean I really found one. It was at my family’s cabin. They were really popular about 15-20 years ago, so you may even find out laying around your home (or friends’ or family’s). And certainly at thrift stores, yard sales, and places of that nature. The one I found had recently come from a thrift store and had a price tag on it: $1. Technically, I swiped this one (okay, I asked first), so it was free to me. My cost: FREE.
3. Last and most important step: secure the lap desk to your exercise equipment and secure your device (laptop, tablet, etc.) to the lap desk. You can read why it’s so important in my fiasco post I mentioned earlier. For this step I used velcro strips that I had, but you can purchase them almost anywhere such as Amazon, Walmart or Target, or even Home Depot or Office Depot. Velcro comes in rolls, strips or pieces – use whatever works best for you. I actually had two long straps with velcro on the ends that had once been on some worn out, cheap knee pads I had for installing flooring. These were just the right length to strap the desk to the treadmill control unit. I attached smaller pieces of velcro to the bottom of my laptop, stuck their counterparts to them and removed the protective film to expose the sticky back and set it on the lap desk (that way the velcro will line up perfectly). That holds my laptop to the lapdesk, and the longer straps hold the lapdesk to the treadmill. Simple! Since I re-purposed the velcro from an old pair of knee pads I would have otherwise thrown away, My cost: FREE.
4. Motivate! Now that you can keep on working, blogging, checking email or Facebook, reading, watching movies or whatever – there’s no reason not to get active! Here’s to getting healthy and keeping up with life! My cost: PRICELESS!
So, technically my cost in this project was zero. But, I figured it might cost a few buck if you don’t have this stuff laying around or have to invest in a second-hand treadmill.
My DIY Treadmill Desk is pictured above in all its glory!
PIN it on Pinterest!
If you’d rather not make your own, you can just buy a Laptop Desk!
If you’ve got the cash, you might consider some of these amazing laptop desks, such as the TrekDesk Treadmill Desk or the FitDesk FDX 2.0 Desk Exercise Bike with Massage Bar. You can even splurge on a new treadmill with a built-in desk, like the LifeSpan TR1200-DT5 Treadmill Desk. But, that doesn’t seem very “do it yourself” or “GimmieFreebies” of me, now does it?