Q: I've been reading all over the news lately about how bad sitting is for you. (See this NYT piece.) I work at a desk, and so I sit for 8+ hours a day, and I've noticed my legs and back have really started to ache. But I'm wondering about making a change towards a more active work environment, either a standing desk or a bike desk or something? Anyone have experience with this? How they felt before and after? Recommendations?
Asked by Rachel
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i just read the same article this morning, and while it is scary because i work at least 8 hours a day at a desk, it makes me feel better about my fidgety-ness. i dont have the money for a stand up desk, but i am now trying to stand up and move a bit every 20 minutes or so. i will see how long that lasts once the 2:30 slump rolls around...
I never really sat at a desk working outdoors. But then I went to college oh boy... I feel like I sat on my butt for 4 years, but only at school. I made a standing desk for my work at home and what a DIFFERENCE it made! Standing added an energy to the work I did. The Standing Desk also made it much easier to work late into the night. If I really needed to sit, I had a drafting chair. The history of the standing desk goes way back-Virgina Wolf, Benjamin Franklin, Ernest Hemingway, Donald Rumsfeld the list goes on lots of smart people with smarts to say, "I'm not going to sit here and take it anymore!"
had a standing desk for 2 years now. sorta like food...an acquired taste. at first it was hard, but gradually you get used to it. you can stretch, move around, do calf exercises, pace, etc etc...to keep the blood flowing.
also it keeps you motivated because I remember sometimes when I was seated I'd get lazy and always thought twice about getting up.
I definitely appreciate sitting and resting now. Got more muscle tone, I'm about 5lbs less then last year.
Using an Ikea Jerker desk...lets you move it up and down about 3cm at a time until you get the correct ergonomic height. also has lots of shelving options.
Gina Trapani wrote an article about standing desks: http://smarterware.org/7102/how-and-why-i-switched-to-a-standing-desk
They look kind of ridiculous, but I've always wondered about devices like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Isokinetics-Inc-Pedal-Exerciser-Assembled/dp/B000KDWA82
Amazon has a million of them from different companies.
I have a ball chair for my office- it's a base that holds an exercise ball. That does a lot for me, but I also work in stand and stretch breaks. I'm just not the best sitter.
If you're in a regular office, those aren't always an option... try out those little pedal machines made to go under your desk if other things arent really practical...
When I work from home I have a treadmill that I fashioned into a walking desk. You set it to a really slow pace (1 mph though i turn it up to 2-3 when i'm on a conf. call) and then you're just on your feet and moving all day. it's slow enough that you can type emails, make spreadsheets, etc - but at the end of the day, you've walked about 8 miles. it's amazing.
I have had a standing desk for over a year now and I love it. I had been pushing for one for ages -- I am an early riser and tend to nod off in the later afternoon -- and a new job gave me a new opportunity to request one.
I got a few odd stares at first, and everyone that enters my office for the first time asks if I have a bad back (I don't). I find I have more energy throughout the day, but I do look forward to sitting on the train during the ride. home.