Can You Pedal Pounds Away With A Desk Elliptical?

(Brookstone.com)

Some days it just seems impossible it squeeze in a session at the gym, but the idea of getting the blood flowing and boosting energy levels is too good to pass up.

Enter the Stamina® InMotion® Compact Elliptical Trainer, which allows you to increase your heart rate and burn a few extra calories while sitting at your desk.

Assembling the elliptical was very easy and only took about 10 minutes. The machine also allows you to adjust the resistance, and it keeps track of your time, distance, number of rotations and calories burned. These features were well-recieved by those that tried it.

However, every reviewer had a hard time fitting it beneath the desk comfortably.  (The desks in our office measure about 27 1/4 inches off the ground.)

"To my disappointment, my desk isn’t high enough to use the elliptical underneath it," one tester said. "I had to position it so that my knees weren’t hitting the top of the desk, which made getting work done slightly uncomfortable. Instead, I kept it next to my desk and used it for several minutes here and there throughout the day."

According to another, "I kept bumping my knee to the desk, and even though I tried adjusting it, I still had to deal with the occasional hit. When I ultimately got a hang of it, I found myself getting distracted by laying back and just focusing on the machine, rather than actually working at the same time."

Another reviewer agreed. "It worked fine when I used it alongside my desk, but I could barely use my computer at that point, and that defeats the purpose a bit. Maybe it would work better at home, in front of the television?”

While the product description bills the elliptical as “lightweight and portable,” it’s actually quite heavy and awkward to carry. "It's very heavy to drag around, but at least your biceps get a workout from it," said one reviewer.

The Verdict

In the end, reviews were mixed.

"Negatives aside, I would still recommend it, especially if you work at a desk all day," said one of our reviewers. "Not only did it give me a decent leg workout, I like that it doesn’t hog space and I can just use it whenever I feel the need to exert some energy."

"’l'll stick to keeping my exercise and work separate," said another.

"I think, in the long run, it's a good thing — it definitely got my heart rate pumping.  And for a guy who sits eight hours plus a day, any exercise is good exercise. Measure before you buy … but could be worth the investment!"

Have you tried this product? Let us know what you think.