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COMBINING sport and work during periods of lockdown is now a reality. After ergonomic chairs and innovative gadgets for comfortable home working, now comes the cycle-desk, a hybrid piece of kit that lets you burn calories while maintaining productivity.
The idea may have seemed crazy just one year ago, but the bike-desk is causing all kinds of hype on TikTok, which could be proof enough that you may soon find yourself working in the saddle.
Four countries, including Portugal, the UK and Israel, have already announced a return to lockdown, while others, like France – which currently has a 6pm curfew – are expecting similar measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 and its new variants.
Still, there's no need to take the news lying down, let alone spend your days slumped on the sofa with your laptop on your knees, succumbing to the kind of sedentary lifestyle that could prove harmful long-term.
Thankfully, companies have been getting creative since the first lockdown to develop all kinds of objects, which may look crazy at first, but which can contribute to improving the daily lives of anyone who's forced to spend their days within the same four walls while working from home.
From ergonomic chairs to standing desks and bed desks, some of these innovations – admittedly, sometimes debatable – may have won you over during the first lockdowns. However, it's a new kind of desk that's currently creating a buzz on social media sites like TikTok.
Spinning while you work
It's no secret that bike use is booming around the world, but we didn't expect cycling to take over the inside of our homes. And yet, in recent weeks, TikTok users have been showing a certain enthusiasm for a cycling desk, which lets you burn calories while you work.
What better way to ward off the kind of sedentary lifestyle that can go hand in hand with lockdown while pairing the useful with the enjoyable (or the opposite, depending on your motivation)?
The concept is by no means groundbreaking. Tek Active, for example, didn't wait for the first lockdown to peddle this kind of solution to individuals, companies and even educational establishments.
Whether for leisure activities, working, doing homework or artwork, this new kind of indoor cycle differs from classic static exercise bikes in that the handlebars are turned into a desk that can be used for all kinds of activities.
For their part, TikTok users seem mostly to be looking to retail giants like Amazon, where a multitude of different designs can be found.
And if the number of likes and positive comments is anything to go by – if that can ever be a reliable indicator – the new generation seems pretty convinced by this hybrid bike, which can keep you active for a good part of the day.
But the bike-desk could soon be eclipsed by the walking-desk, equipped with a treadmill (yes, really, it already exists), although that somehow seems a little more onerous ... – ETX Studio, January 26, 2021
