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Will it fit under my desk?

Enter your height and your gear. You’ll get the desk height you need to type while walking on a pad, whether your standing desk reaches it, and whether your knees clear the desk on an under-desk bike or elliptical.

You

That’s 5′8″, barefoot.

Walking pad & desk

Floor to top of the belt. Use your model’s spec sheet — 5 in is only an example.

Your standing desk’s advertised height range (top surface).

Assumptions you can change

Added because body data is barefoot.

How far the desk sits below your elbow so the keys land at elbow height.

Walking pad and desk, side viewSide view: a 68.0 in person walking on a pad with a 5.0 in deck. Target desk height 47.8 in; desk range 25.0 in to 50.0 in. The range covers the target.deskrangetarget 47.8 indeck 5.0 inelbow 48.8 in

Your desk range covers walking height, with 2.2 in to spare.

Desk height to walk at
47.8 inrange 25.0 in–50.0 in
Standing (no pad)
42.8 inin range
Seated typing height
26.1 indesk goes low enough
Your standing elbow height
43.8 inwith shoes

How the calculator works

Walking height. Ergonomics guidance puts the keyboard where your forearms are roughly parallel to the floor with your elbows close to your body (OSHA) and your elbow angle at or a little above 90° (Cornell). That means the keys should sit at about elbow height. On a walking pad you stand on the deck, so the desk has to rise by the full deck height too:

desk = 0.629 × height + shoes + deck − keyboard offset

Where 0.629 comes from. We calculated standing elbow height from the public ANSUR II body-measurement data (6,068 U.S. Army men and women, measured barefoot) as shoulder height minus upper-arm length. On average it is 62.9% of stature, with a person-to-person spread of about ±1.6 cm (±0.6 in). That matches the classic Drillis & Contini ratio of 0.630 reproduced in Winter’s biomechanics textbook.

Knee clearance. For pedal devices we estimate the top of your knee with your foot flat (ANSUR II “knee height, sitting”: 0.315 × stature, or 0.587 × inseam + 5.6 cm if you enter an inseam). Then we add the pedal’s highest point. That assumes your shin is close to vertical at the top of the stroke, so it’s a conservative, worst-case number. Your real knee may sit a little lower if the device is further forward. We also check your thigh (seat height + 0.103 × stature) and use whichever is higher.

Seated typing height. Chair height defaults to your popliteal height (the back of your knee: 0.243 × stature) plus shoes. The comfortable desk height is that plus seated elbow height (0.141 × stature) minus the keyboard offset.

Before you buy

  • Walking adds height. A pad with a 5 in deck needs a desk about 5 in higher than your normal standing height. Check the top of the desk’s range, not the middle.
  • Typing while walking is harder. Cornell’s ergonomics group notes that typing and mouse work get slower and less accurate at treadmill and cycling workstations. Reading, calls and email are easier.
  • Pedal devices need depth, not just height. Leave room for your knees to travel forward as well as up.

DeskMiles hasn’t lab-tested any walking pad, desk or pedal device yet. This tool uses only published body-measurement data and the numbers you enter. It’s information, not medical advice.

Sources & method

  1. ANSUR II public data — 2012 Anthropometric Survey of U.S. Army Personnel (OPEN Design Lab, Penn State)
  2. Gordon C.C. et al. (2014/2015), “2012 Anthropometric Survey of U.S. Army Personnel: Methods and Summary Statistics,” NATICK/TR-15/007
  3. Winter D.A., Biomechanics and Motor Control of Human Movement, 4th ed. (Wiley, 2009), segment lengths after Drillis & Contini (1966)
  4. OSHA eTool: Computer Workstations — Keyboards (“forearms approximately parallel with the floor”)
  5. Cornell University Ergonomics Web — Workstation ergonomics guide (elbow angle at or above 90°)
  6. Cornell University Ergonomics Web — Sit-stand, treadmill and cycling workstations