History of Tread-Top

Everybody knows that walking has many benefits and there have been several studies that prove you can walk on a treadmill and work at the same time.  This is my story and this is my product.  Since 1999 I have been working on this very concept.  Before all of the scientific studies came out, I was a woman in my early 30's working a full-time job and going to school to obtain my MBA.  Needless to say, between my job and school, I was a very sedentary person.  It really bothered me that I had to sit so much.  So, I built my first Tread-Top, which was basically a really tall table that stood over top of my treadmill,  and began walking and working.  At that time, the Tread-Top was just a tool that I used for myself and I did not think that anyone else would be interested in it.  The first version, was simply a very tall, long-legged table that fit over top of the treadmill.  It was not affixed directly to the treadmill.  A few years later, in 2003, I improved upon the Tread-Top and came out with version two.  This model was affixed onto the treadmill.

In addition, other people started to become interested in the item and expressed how they would like to have one.  I thought it might be a good business idea, so I consulted a patent attorney to see if he thought it would be a viable product.  He told me that no one would want such a device and he did not think that it would sell.  Based on his feedback, I simply sat the business idea on the shelf and continued to enjoy the use of my homemade device. I also started to document how many minutes a day I walked and worked.  Without much effort at all, I could easily walk for 2 hours a day at 1 mile per hour, which burned about 2.6 calories per minute or 156 cal/hr.  In addition, I felt better because I was not sitting all day.  I would then sit for a while, then walk another 2 hours at 1 MPH at zero incline. One of the challenges in 2003 that I needed to overcome was the treadmill design themselves.  Every treadmill manufacturer had a different style of treadmill handles.  Developing a low-cost Tread-Top that would fit on almost any brand of treadmill was a challenge.  Every additional part needed for the Tread-Top increased its cost.  Fast-forward to 2012 and we see a change in treadmill design.  Almost all manufacturers use straight arms that are parallel to the ground for the handles.  This design change alone, made the production of a low-cost Tread-Top possible.