The treadmill desk is about to evolve into the treadmill meeting

You've seen the treadmill desk. Coming soon: the treadmill meeting.

Five years after treadmills began showing up in workstations, they're about to expand into conference rooms as companies seek more ways to keep employees active during the day.

InMovement, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Brunswick Co., is preparing to launch the BiStride, a duo of treadmill desks that turn toward each other to facilitate conversations and collaboration. The device is meant to build on the popularity of the treadmill desk and a growing trend of walking meetings.

The treadmill desk has received mixed reviews. A 2013 study found treadmill desk users increased their productivity while burning an additional 74 calories a day. Some workers say they love walking while making phone calls or using a computer, while others say it's impossible to concentrate on a treadmill.

Dan Wille, vice president and general manager for InMovement, said sales of treadmill desks are growing by double digits annually. The logical evolution, he said, is a treadmill desk that allows people to walk while collaborating with colleagues.

"We found that when you take two treadmill desks and add a surface, plus monitors for people to work on, it actually enables social interaction, plus the walking you would want during a collaborative meeting," Wille said. "We also learned there is an optimum angle for them to be positioned. At 25 degrees, just slightly angled, I can have a conversation with you and I can reference material; we can point to stuff together while we're walking."

The BiStride will go into production within the next two months and go on sale during the second half of the year, Wille said. The cost will be $8,000 to $9,000, or about the price of two of InMovement's treadmill desks.

RJE Business Interiors will sell the BiStride in Indianapolis. Nancy Wright, who handles new business development for RJE, said the BiStride is part of a larger trend of companies adding mobility to office furniture and equipment.

"I would say the No. 1 feature people want in their office is the ability to stand," Wright said.

She acknowledged, though, that treadmill desks don't always cause love at first sight.

"The treadmill desk takes a try. You have to try it," she said. "I think you are intimidated at first in the office, like, 'Seriously, I'm going to walk on that treadmill in my dress?' Once you do it, you get addicted."

In companies where InMovement has tested the BiStride, Wille said, the conference rooms that hosted them have become the most popular meeting spaces in the office. One instance where the BiStride works well is during a performance review, he said.

"Being moving and active makes the conversation more energetic," Wille said. "People are more engaged, and they're more alert and more creative when they're in those environments."

Some of the people who have panned the treadmill desk concept are those who attempted to spend hours at a time on it. Those workers, Wille said, are doing it wrong. Treadmill desks, including the BiStride, are meant to be used for short periods of time during the workday.

"People automatically go to, 'Well, I can't do that for eight hours,'" Wille said. "No, that's not what we're saying. We're saying just don't sit for eight hours."

Call IndyStar reporter James Briggs at (317) 444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.