That's Fit

My husband seems to have solved all of the world's workout problems with one quick fix: to save time, he uses the treadmill while he works on his laptop, thanks to a handy laptop shelf he built for the treadmill in his company's gym.

Pretty savvy, eh? His coworkers know where to find them if an IT emergency arises, and he becomes fit during work hours, at a normally sedentary job. Merits a Fitku, don't you think?

Tread and type workout
Kills two birds with one laptop
Fit and efficient

What are your tricks for staying active at work?

I'm too connected. I'll admit it. I'm texting, emailing, calling, and IMing waaaaaay too much these days. Entire hours often go by in which I don't have a face-to-face conversation with anyone. I would say I have a problem, but if a quote-unquote problem is designated by comparing an aberrant behavior against what has been deemed normative behavior, I can safely say that I don't have a problem at all. Everyone's plugged in these days. Even yesterday, as I collapsed into a chair at the airport -- after lugging my laptop, iPod, and camera through security, I struggled to find a plug socket to plug in my laptop. The difficulty did not come from finding the plug; rather, it came from finding a plug that wasn't already being used by other people with THEIR laptops. So, at least it would seem, we are all too connected these days.

This connectivity issue was studied by researchers at King's College in London, who found that almost two out of three people check email and/or text messages during their off-hours; meaning, either after they've left the office or even when on vacation. And, they also discovered that 20 percent of people answer a text message during a business or social engagement.

All this email checking, text message writing (BTW, calling text messages "writing" is a bit of a stretch), IMing, and every mode of electronic communication in between is making our workday 24 hours long and demanding a relentless commitment to every whim, desire, YouTube clip, and stupid question our friends and relatives can possibly dream up. In short, it's stressing us out. Finding quiet is near impossible when you're constantly interrupted by your annoying cell phone ring or the "Ba-Doop" sound it makes whenever you get a new IM. Do yourself a favor, turn everything off -- for at least a half an hour a day. Even longer if you can pull it off. Regroup and decompress a little. Enjoy a little Me Time. Disconnect. No message or phone call -- no matter how important it may seem -- compares to the importance of your health and wellness.

I think I've already found my Christmas gift wish for this year. True, it's a bit early to be thinking about snowy December, but it's actually the seasonal sunshine that gave me the idea.

Voltaic is a company that designs backpacks and bags that capture the sun's energy and use it as a power source for electrical items such as iPods, cell phones, and GPSs. With small solar panels on the bag itself, as little as an hour of sunlight can keep your iPod pumping for three hours. This is the perfect item for the hikers out there who like to have a little creature comfort available during workouts.

The bag itself appears to be quite durable and big enough to store your water bottles, extra clothing, and even your laptop (you can write an email to your boss once you reach the summit of the mountain, telling him or her that you will be working from home for the rest of the day). And, with the new Generator computer bag, you'll have all the power you need to keep your laptop running.

If you're going to be on a treadmill for hours per week, wouldn't it be nice to get some reading or work done at the same time? Personally, I live to use treadmill time to jam to some tunes and take my eyes off anything for a few minutes.

But for those who live on a laptop and need to have that piece of technology nearby, you can have it with the Netrunner.

Though computer junkies may love the idea of having their laptop affixed to the treadmill while walking on that incline, watching DVDs is about the only activity I can see being useful here. Maybe there is more...