By Victoria Song , a senior reporter focusing on wearables, health tech, and more with 12 years of experience. Before coming to The Verge, she work

I got a desk treadmill to relieve stress — instead, it stressed me out

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2024-11-11 08:00:24

By Victoria Song , a senior reporter focusing on wearables, health tech, and more with 12 years of experience. Before coming to The Verge, she worked for Gizmodo and PC Magazine.

2024 has been a stressful year. Other people might pick more relaxing ways to de-stress — a spa day, a nice cocktail, or maybe a social media detox. Not me, baby. I’ve decided to cope the same way I always do: ramping up training instead of stress eating my weight in mini-muffins. Except it’s unreasonable to abandon my desk and run a 5K every time the news cycle spikes my anxiety. Which is why, for the last three months, I’ve taken to logging miles on a desk treadmill. Specifically, the $240 Mobvoi Home Walking Treadmill.

As an overly self-quantified wearables reviewer, I picked Mobvoi’s walking treadmill for one reason and one reason only: it pairs with a smartwatch so all your steps are properly counted.

My beef with treadmills — especially ones you stick under a standing desk — is that you can walk 500 miles on them but your smartwatch will record maybe 100 steps. Your legs could be working overtime, but smartwatches rely on arm swings to count steps. I know because anytime I write and walk at the same time, my Apple Watch says I’ve done diddly squat. And that’s even when I record an indoor walking session. No one needs to record every little step, but it helps me keep track of my workout volume and intensity.