There are many ways you can stay active even when you’re stuck at a desk. While standing desks have become more popular over the past couple of years, they are only practical in some workplaces. If you find yourself sitting at a regular desk for several hours a day, the folks at Cubii have been making elliptical machines under the desk for a while now, but the budget-friendly Cubii Move wants it to be something everyone can use for many different things. possible distances.
I’ve been using the Cubii Move for just over a month now, and I’ve quickly gone from skeptic to believer.
7.5
Copy Move
Likes
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very calm
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Cubii app is great
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Surprisingly effective workouts
You do not like
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The grip surface is not great on hard floors
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The screen can use backlight
As someone who typically begins their day with at least a 10-mile bike ride, the idea of an elliptical machine under the desk that I’d lug around all day to achieve the same results seems unbearable. This isn’t meant to replace a full-size elliptical machine, after all. For something like this to work for me all day long, I needed to be able to use it with enough precision that no one on a Zoom call would notice I was moving my leg. Compare that to the more intense pedaling you’d do on an indoor bike, and it’s not hard to see how I came to that conclusion. And to Kobe’s credit, no lingo about the product promises more than a potential to burn around 150 calories per hour. But even that small movement promises to be more effective than a standing desk if your goal is to burn calories while you work.
As exercise equipment goes, the Cubii Move physical machine couldn’t be simpler. Attach the two footboards to the large wheel at one end, set the 18-pound machine under your desk and off you go. It took me 10 minutes to get it together and figure it out, and at least a third of that was moving to get it right. As you pedal, your time and lap count are displayed on the small screen next to a large reset button that you can press with your big toe.
You can adjust the resistance with a large knob in the center of the machine, with settings from 1 to 6 (more advanced Cubii machines offer larger resistance levels). The trickiest part about using this thing was keeping it in the right place, because the rubber feet designed to keep the Cubii in place aren’t great on a hardwood floor. I find myself needing to adjust where it was placed every two hours, as the Cubii Move may have been attached to the carpet as well. Cubii sells a separate grip mat for stands like mine for $24, if you feel like you need it.
The number of revs captured on the screen resets at 10,000, which means if you pedal a lot during the day, you’ll need to check your progress occasionally and document that work. What do those cycles mean in terms of burning calories? Your answer lies in the Cubii app, which allows you to enter your progress after each session. More advanced Cubii models offer Bluetooth connectivity, so you don’t need to input your progress, but the trade-off with the lower price is fairly minor. The app asks you to enter the total number of sessions, the level of resistance it is set at and how long you’ve been on it.
The Cubii app doesn’t connect directly to the Move via Bluetooth, but it does give you access to great data and a powerful social recording platform.
With the resistance at its limit, I found myself hitting an astonishing 967 calories burned after 16,450 laps, which is apparently the equivalent of 3.17 miles. The social clubs that Cubii signed up for also allowed me to compare myself to other Cubii users around the world, who engaged in a nice competitive drive to see myself in the top 10 of my chosen groups.
Naturally, I needed to know how Cubii arrived at that number and how accurate it was. I obviously felt like I was working out most days, in fact on more than one occasion I realized I was getting a little on the sweaty side and had to change my shirt, but the calorie count was still a bit high. According to Cubii, the app’s calorie calculation doesn’t take into account the user’s weight or heart rate, but instead does a custom calculation, which averages about 150 calories burned based on a steady 60-rpm activity rate.
It’s also worth noting that the Cubii app has no way of indicating if you’re wearing the Cubii ankle weights that are sold separately, so that extra effort isn’t part of the calculation. In other words, the faster you pedal, the greater the chance that this calculation is actually an undercount of calories burned.
I wouldn’t say the Cubii Move has replaced my desire to work out every morning, but it’s a great addition to my day. Pedaling even a little during the day kept me focused, the extra workout felt great without it being too much stress on my body, and the machine is quiet enough that I can use it anywhere without feeling like I’m disturbing anyone around me. If you find yourself in an environment where you sit regularly and like to move around a bit, the Cubii Move is a solid starting machine to help you stay active.