A Good Alternative to Sit-Stand or Treadmill Desks?

Part of my job as a worksmith of sorts is to find ways that improve work.  It is pretty well known by now that prolonged sitting, aka “sitting disease”, has negative health consequences and office employers and workers across the world are trying to find ways to counteract the side effects.  The most common methods to date involve modifying the workstation: sit-stand desks, standing only desks and treadmill desks.  There are some problems with those options three of which are costs (sit-stand desks and treadmill desks are not exactly cheap), not every office task is conducive to walking/standing and some people are not candidates for standing/walking desks for health reasons or personal preference.  So, what else can be done to make sitting better?  Is there was a way to improve sitting—to make it active instead of passive.  I know there are people who sit on exercise balls and swoop chairs; however, they have certain downsides which I’ve covered in other blogs.  But is there anything else?

In my internet search quest for alternatives I came across something called the Cubii.  According to the website the Cubii is a “sitting exerciser that’s been designed to fit under an office desk so those who are stuck in their office chairs can push its pedals while they work and get some exercise, rather than being entirely sedentary.”  The peddle stroke of the Cubii isn’t like a typical bicycle that goes up and down as it goes around.  Instead the Cubii utilizes an elliptical-style peddle stoke that moves move forward and backward.  This is important to prevent your knees from hitting the underside of the desk.   The Cubii is made to use under the desk and according to the website it “facilitates unconscious leg movements, which provide you with basic exercise to keep blood flowing through your regular workday, without causing any distraction”.

Cubii comes with adjustable resistance so you can choose the intensity level of your exercise.  There is a companion app that can be used to track your mileage.  The Cubii is scheduled to be released later this year.  Pre-orders for the product are being taken.

While not having experienced but just from looking at the website, the Cubii appears to fill a gap in the choice of active workstations.