InMovement Integrated Treadmill Desk Review

[Editor’s Update August 2021: The original InMovement has now officially been relegated to the office fitness dead pool. The company, which was launched with great fanfare in 2017 by LifeFitness (a division of Brunswick Corporation) was shut down in late 2018 after meeting with a completely predictable lack of commercial success. We have preserved our review of this original InMovement Treadmill Desk product below for posterity. However, this product is not to be confused with the new InMovement “UnSit” treadmill desk. InMovement sold its brand name to entrepreneur Brian Angel, who then also acquired the inventory assets of the defunct UnSit treadmill desk and stuck it under the InMovement brand. The treadmill reviewed below is no longer manufactured.]

Traditional cardio fitness equipment manufacturers have been taking notice of the new office fitness craze of late, and several have already started to try and break into the treadmill desk business. Most recently we reviewed both ProForm‘s and NordicTrack‘s contrived entrants, neither of which impressed our expert review team. Joining them now is an integrated walking workstation from InMovement, a new sub-brand of cardio giant Life Fitness (owned by global conglomerate Brunswick Corporation), specifically targeting the office worker. In addition to the new treadmill desk their website shows four desktop riser products that look to be direct knock-offs of Ergotron’s Workfit series, all made in China. We’ll be curious to review those products as well.

InMovement’s new treadmill desk appears to be aimed directly at the Steelcase Walkstation, with a similar sky-high price point of $4,599 and a one-size, one-color-fits-all product strategy. While we work on a more comprehensive review of the InMovement Treadmill Desk, here’s a preview of what we can tell from publicly available information.

Whenever we can’t get a manufacturer to provide a sample unit for testing at the WorkWhileWalking labs we instead conduct a “forensic review.” In this case, the bulk of the information we’ve been able to glean about the InMovement Treadmill Desk has come from the vendor’s own website—which is remarkably sparse on any details—and from seeing video demonstrations from a trade show at which Life Fitness launched this new sub-brand. There are no user reviews available anywhere online as yet, including on InMovement’s own website, and the company does not yet offer this product on Amazon, so there were no user comments to scan there. Read the Anatomy of a Product Review to learn more about our standard and forensic review processes.

In this product category, the first thing we look at is the treadmill base. Among Life Fitness’s offerings, the InMovement’s treadmill looks to be based on their T5 treadmill, with some changes to make it more walk-ready. We recommend walking between 1 – 2 mph for optimal health and productivity, and the InMovement’s top speed of 2.0 mph keeps potential users within this range. The treadmill is controlled via a small membrane keypad embedded into the right side of the bumper guard that runs along the entire user edge of the desk. The controller adjusts both the speed of the treadmill and the height of the desk, while the small LCD display on the left side of the desk shows a user’s speed, time, distance, and number of steps taken. Though a step up from the droll display console on the Steelcase and Lifespan treadmill desks, it’s not in the same league as the smartphone-like console on the ThermoTread GT.

The treadmill is rated to support users up to 350 lbs., same as LifeSpan’s TR1200 treadmill base but surprisingly shy (for the money) of the iMovR ThermoTread GT’s and Lifespan TR5000’s 400 lb rating. InMovement backs their treadmill with a 7-year warranty on the frame, with 3 years on the motor and 1 year on parts and labor. It’s a similar warranty to the TR1200, not as good as the iMovR’s, yet they both have a more robust lifetime warranty on the frame. The InMovement’s parts warranty—arguably the most important part of a treadmill warranty—is also a year shorter than iMovR’s ThermoTread GT and LifeSpan’s TR5000, which are both priced at $1499 (base only).

From photographs, the desk itself seems similar in design to the ergonomically-mistaken Steelcase Walkstation and the LifeSpan DT7. The motorized frame is directly attached to the treadmill frame, and a crossbar piece connects the two legs. The desktop is on the small side at 31.4″ x 40″. By contrast, the Steelcase DT7 desk is 47″ wide, the Steelcase Walkstation desk is available in an extra-wide 66″ width, and iMovR’s treadmill-optimized Omega adjustable-height desk models—which can be paired with any standalone treadmill base—can be configured with 42″, 47″, 59″, 71″ or 83″ tabletops. What does make the InMovement’s desktop unique among integrated treadmill desks is the built-in connectivity panel located at the back of the desk, which is an interesting approach to cable management: They allow users to charge phones, and connect laptops and monitors directly above the desktop. We’re not sure that that alone would make the unit worth its $4,599 sticker price, but it is a distinctive feature of InMovement’s product.

We’ve reached out to the company for an evaluation unit to put through our usual gauntlet of tests. We’re especially keen on seeing how that nifty-looking connectivity panel handles cable management, as well as what kind of ergonomics their desk places users in. Like the Steelcase and LifeSpan desks there appears to be a thick rubber wrist wrest between the user and the keyboard and could exacerbate “computer hunch,” and make it difficult or impossible to install an ergonomic keyboard tray.

Specs on the InMovement treadmill desk are sparse. They don’t publish the height adjustment range of the desk, noise signature or motor specs, for example, but these are things we’ll evaluate in our full review. Until then, take a look at the other Integrated Treadmill Desks we’ve reviewed. If you’re interested in a desk that can work with a walking treadmill base, check out our adjustable-height desk reviews. To be the first to know when our full, comprehensive review of the InMovement Treadmill Desk is out, subscribe to our online newsletter.

To get a good 360 view of the InMovement Treadmill Desk check out this segment on a Chicago morning news program (home city for InMovement). Not surprisingly given the cardio equipment roots of the company, the focus of their demonstration was on “getting a workout at the office.” That’s not what treadmill desking is supposed to be about, and of course no one even tried to use a computer while walking. Also shown in the clip is InMovement’s “bi-stride” two-person treadmill desk.

If you’re thinking of buying or selling a used treadmill desk, be sure to check out our primer on used treadmill desks, and especially the conquest bonuses offered by some manufacturers to switch to their brand.

Looking For More Treadmill Desk Reviews And Inspirations?

• Best Under-Desk Office Treadmill Bases

• DIY Treadmill Desk Guide

• Health Benefits For Treadmill Desk Users

• Treadmill Desk Ergonomics

• Treadmill Desk FAQs

Frequently Bought Together With
Treadmill Desks