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Comment by tsunamifury | Hacker News Reader

I recently got an Apple Watch and comparing my activity on a normal weekend vs a normal weekday was staggering. When I'm not at work I live an active healthy lifestyle, at work I'm literally killing myself.

It's not about the fancy gyms free on campus or one off runs, it's that on the weekend physical activity is a normal part of my work and on the weekday it is antithetical to my work.

I, and several others, have expressed a desire to leave tech over this issue. We are active fit people who TRY to workout and eat right, but our work grinds our willingness out of us while demanding large numbers of hours being physically inactive.

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I started bike commuting for exactly this reason. It takes me a bit longer than driving would and isn't an option for those with megacommutes, but now I look forward to my commutes as the highlight of my day instead of the stressful, boring time-suck they used to be. I'm riding about 100 miles a week now.

The best solution that I've come across so far is the treadmill desk. Standing desks are not much better than sitting desks. You're still basically inactive. They might be better for your back, though.

Treadmill desks don't get you fit, but they will let you move while you code/design/write/etc. You only have to do an hour or two off and on throughout the day to notice a big improvement. It's not hard to get to 10000 steps.

I am unwilling to accept an actual manifestation of a hamster wheel as the solution to my problem.

Variety of physicality is as important as its execution

Fair enough. I basically agree. If you find a better solution when you have to code 8-12 hours a day, let me know.

Edit: Also, some people pay to walk on treadmills.

don't you find it difficult to type/read the screen when your constantly bobbing up and down due to how the human stride works? Sure maybe your health goes up but I suspect your productivity goes way way down. Seems to me it would make far more sense to just run/jog on breaks/lunch/before/after work.

I've read that some people have trouble with this. It hasn't been a problem for me. I'm typing at my TD now. I'm not as quick when I'm typing or mousing, but I can write code without issue. Also, much of my actual development time is spent thinking and researching and walking is great for that. For those that have more trouble, taking care of more mundane tasks (email, web research, etc.) while on the TD may make it workable.

The lunchtime break is great and probably better for your actual fitness. For me, it's the 4+ hours being stationary before and after lunch that are the problem.

Treadmill desks don't work in the cubicle / open office environments of almost every tech company due to noise.

Treadmill desks are actually better for you than standing, because being stationary while standing can cause lower back pain too! Doing the stationary standing desk thing was the first time I felt back pain while working.

Yes, true. The place where I'm working laughs at the concept of a TD. Many more forward thinking companies have workout areas and places to take brief naps. Maybe in the future there will be TD areas.

This could help manage the noise and any awkwardness which might be felt by those at the TDs. It doesn't take much time on the TD to be effective. It's a way to punctuate long stretches of stasis with activity. In an environment like this, it would be easy to reserve electronically in the same way that we reserve conference rooms today. Lots of people could share a small number of desks.

Isn't it easier to just get a run during your lunch break? Most offices have showers these days it seems to be much easier to achieve than a treadmill at your desk.

Interesting. It's actually a bit harder for me to hit my watch's activity goals on the weekend when I'm not at work. The reason is that—since I got the Apple Watch back in April—I try to make a point of walking to or from the office every day, plus I started running.

I don't think you should leave tech. You should leave an abusive employer who expects an absurd number of hours of work from you every day.

I've expressed the same desire to leave tech for this very reason. I'm curious, what are some alternatives that you and your colleagues have come up with?

You could look at working remotely. You could still stay in tech but also live a healthy lifestyle.

Working remotely doesn't change either the amount of work you're expected to do or the fact that it has to be done at a computer, which basically has to be a sedentary activity.

I feel I'm a little less sedentary when working remotely. I find it easier to take a 15 min break to walk around, do my laundry, lie on the couch to read. At the office, I'm more often sitting at my desk for long period of times.

I know plenty of people that jog/hit the gym during lunch or what have you. I run almost daily after work.

If your work is busting your ass so hard you feel it's literally impossible to move at any point during the day, get a new job. That's not SV as a whole.

True, but few people would argue watching TV for 6 hours every day is part of a healthy, active lifestyle. Physically, that's about the same as writing software.

Consuming vs. producing, even if sitting still, is different physiologically.

Do you have some evidence to back that up?

Its just an intuitive hypothesis. And point to note is that ever since we started doing agriculture, and that was around 20,000 years ago. We started to have more idle time for creating tools and arts, in general more sedentary than hunting/gathering. Even the works of mathematicians since several centuries ago, I can imagine, would have implied being sedentary while they worked. So software is just the latest in that chain of things since we started doing agriculture.

Certainly, we can start with the neurological effect of watching TV.

http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/5jcl/5JCL59.htm

Standing desk? I mean there may be easier paths the health than leaving the industry.

Every industry has its own health hazards -- we're just now learning what they are for the computing industry. If these issues are as widespread as the article implies, it's something that needs to be attacked on a company- or industry-wide scale instead of by individuals trying to hack their way around the system.

As an individual, on the other hand, leaving the industry until they get their act together could be the best course if your circumstances allow it. Altering your own work practices and lobbying your company to pay more attention to these issues are also worth considering.

That really depends on how detrimental the effects actually are and if "altering your work practices" can negate the effect then we probably shouldn't be quitting our jobs.

Latest data says that standing desks don't improve health by all that much. It's movement that counts.

Great iteration. I would argue that moving requires a lot more will power and induces more decision fatigue than just standing.

I don't think a treadmill as a desk is a great solution.

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