Alternatively you can just get a standing desk with a tall (but still supportive) chair. That way you can transition easily from stand to sit without extra effort. I tend to do this when working at tall desks naturally, sit while in the zone and stand while trying to think problems through.
I don’t see myself going through the effort of constantly adjusting the desk height throughout the day, I feel like you really have to commit on if you want to sit or stand for the next hour/day/whatever. Having a tall chair means you never have to think about it.
I have both a stand up and a sit down desk, and I spent most of the time at the stand up, between the two, but more time at the work stations that are sit down. So the balance is good.
I also exercise 6 days a week for at least 1.5 hours, so I think I am doing okay. My back is hosed from and earlier incident in life (I’m 55 now), so the standup can sometimes irritate my back. The balance keeps me sane.
Sorry to hear about your problems @robc04 and thanks for being so open and posting your experience up here. I know you’d been happy with your standing desk setup prior to this post because I’ve been toying with the idea of getting an adjustable desk at home for myself. I did my back in a couple of months ago and was asked by health and safety if I wanted one in my office. Truthfully, I’d rather stick with my current sitting desk and just make sure I get up every so often to do a lap or two round the building in addition to the usual visits to clients, colleagues, water dispensers, the toilet etc. I’m not nearly as active as I ought to be but this thread is a solid nudge.
I hope your body does bounce back but if not then at the very least I hope it doesn’t get any worse and you’re able to live comfortably with it.
On Wait Wait Don’t tell Me, they mentioned that sitting and standing too much is bad, but now squatting is entering the picture as another tool to change things up.
By the way for about a year now I’ve been doing standing gaming. My TV at home, like many people, is wall mounted about chest level. So I step off the couch and stand in front of the TV. I move around a lot when standing gaming like I used to do in front of the Wii. Because I’m closer to the screen it’s also more immersve because my FOV distance changes. I like it.
I do take sitting breaks occasionally, usually for cut scenes and the like.
If you wear an Apple Watch, it will tell you to stand up even though you’ve been at your standing desk the whole hour. Quite annoying. If anything, it should tell me to take a break and sit down. :)
Before I attempted the standing desk route at home… the most fit ladies in my life recommend balls, as in you have to balance ball chairs. I did not like the idea of rolling off my chair if I got lazy and forgot to balance… maybe I should reconsider.
I switched to sitting on the exercise ball today. I think you’d only have trouble if you really have difficulty balancing. Maybe if you’re pushing around with your legs you might go too far and roll off.
I am fidgety when I work, multi-tasking, have music or TV in the background… keeps me grounded. Heck when I on the phone with an end-user or co-worker that doesn’t require me looking at the system, I’ll just pace around the house. Stick a lighter front of me, I’ll flick it until it’s taken away. I fear me needing to concentrate on balance, a lady who is not exactly graceful, will lead to disaster… but I would like to move when I am old, so if this standing thing isn’t good for me works out I might just have to look at balls again. ugh, they’re not cheap either.
Knew a gal whose ball exploded one day. Made a big noise and a few of us all ran to her office. She was on the floor, and it wasn’t apparent what had happened until I finally noticed a big piece of, uh, deflated ball material.
Oh my god that would be so embarrassing. It was pretty valiant of you guys too run towards the loud sound though instead of hitting the deck or running out of the building… these days.
We’ve never had a pop, but all the yoga balls at my office died a long slow death due to leaks. They kind of took up too much space though, and have mostly been replaced with standing desks.
