I’m going to start standing-sitting while working. Got a desk that can do it. Was curious how it has affected other people.
If you have back problems, get a wide desk, a smaller desk to place on one side, set up two workspaces for one computer, and place a treadmill under the one where you can stand.
Then alternate between sitting and walking with timers. I recommend 10 minutes of walking, 30 minutes of sitting, rince and repeat. Your back issues will be as much as cured, and you’ll also not have to worry about heart problems because you’ll essentially be walking a few kilometers every day.
If you can’t sit for 30 minutes, 10 min walking and 5 minute sitting works just as well. Just don’t walk for too long at a time. 10-20 minutes is a good amount. If you’re fine with just standing, I still r ecommend alternating. Don’t stand for more than 30 minutes at a time.
If I didn’t have this setup I would have been without a job right now. Absolutely recommend it.
I dont think I have back pain yet. I feel it some times when i focus on it. I dont have a big space but I can easily switch my setup standing-sitting. I dont have space for treadmill either but my work allows me to take 20mins break easily every hour or so. I plan on walking for 10-20min wherever i find myself.
During COVID I switched from a sit-stand-walk around type job to WFH sitting for the full 8+ hours. I found myself spiraling into some real hip and lower back pain until I invested in some new home office furniture to enable more standing and moving around.
Cheapo walking treadmill was the best $125 Bezos bucks I spent during lockdown.
Walking makes a huge difference.
I average around 14,000 steps a day, and the health benefits to your heart, lungs, joints, and back can’t be overstated.
Can you elaborate on the specific benefits you saw? Did you notice anything in terms of health metrics? Resting heart rate, HRV, blood pressure, watch sleep quality, etc.? I need some motivation to overhaul my desk setup lol.
For me, the biggest benefits have been:
- Significantly-reduced lower back pain
- Better sleep, and I fall asleep more easily
- Mood. (Note that it only takes 20 minutes of activity to get endorphins flowing)
- I don’t get winded as quickly climbing stairs.
Thanks! I could use some improvement in 3 of those, so definitely worth trying.
I like having the option to sit or stand, myself, but I’m very active physically so the negative effects of sitting all day are largely muted.
I have never had a job where I spent the majority of my working time sitting. I really have nothing to compare it to.
Same here. I’d reckon most people do not sit or even stand idle at their jobs. I’d fucking kill to bitch about my posture from sitting at home all day.
Sadly, you’d be wrong. In a country where many are too lazy to wash their hands, there’s a lot of crossover with being too lazy to exercise.
I used to weigh 350 pounds. What precipitated my weight loss was noticing that, when I got up from my chair, my hips would have to get right (sorry, that’s the best way I can explain it) before I’d be able to walk to the copier or go to the rest room. It was a huge early warning sign.
I thought I really liked it at my old job. So when I moved I bought an electric adjustable desk. Turns out I just had a shitty chair at the old job. When I wfh, I have an Aeron, so I’m perfectly comfortable. I have only raised my desk a few times when I wanted to show something on screen to other people. Having the right ergonomics makes all the difference.
They make a kit to convert Aeron chairs to stool height. I’ve been thinking about doing that instead of getting a motorized desk. The downside is that you’re apparently supposed to lock out the recline feature for safety.
Oh, I wouldn’t like that. I swing back in my chair a lot of the time that I’m seated.
Me too, which is why I haven’t done it yet. That said, I find myself wondering if the caution is overblown, despite the warning to disable the tilt function on the third-party sellers product pages typically being in red and all caps, since Herman Miller itself appears to offer ‘standard tilt’ as an option when you buy the thing in its drafting stool version to begin with. (Herman Miller’s site doesn’t really seem intended for individual consumer self-service, though – it’d probably be best to ask a salesperson or something.)
Edit: I called Herman Miller customer service and the rep confirmed that Aeron drafting stools don’t have any restrictions on reclining. She couldn’t speak to the use of third-party kits, of course, but it really seems like that warning is more of a CYA thing than a real danger.
It really is such a great chair that I expect I’ll have it forever. One arm got damaged by my old desk being just the right height that when I sat, the arm could go under and when I stood, the chair raised a bit and put pressure on the arm. Other than that, it’s as good as the day I bought it, outside of cosmetic wear. This is after ~20 years. What an investment!
Why are they wearing high heels for a posture infographic?
They can’t reach the standing desk without high heels. /s
I just noticed. Its funny. i ddg the image and added the link.
Because the infographic recommends them?
Cause how would you know that they are a womanly feminine well attired businesswoman without the heels? What if someone gets confused??
Yeah come to think of it why is one of them nazi saluting?
No she’s not, but she’s pointing at that fine ass through that glass panel
Gender norms be like that
If you’re not sitting cross-legged on the work PC. You’re doing something wrong
*while on a yoga ball
Care to explain? Just a joke or is there actually a benefit to it?
I just move my body a lot while working 9-5. cross-legged, backrest to the left, front or right, kneeling on the chair, loitering like a bored teen, perfect 90° angles - everything but hunched over. In 14 years of doing this I’ve never had any back problems, despite being morbidly obese and not going to the gym.
despite being morbidly obese and not going to the gym
I think you have other problems though. Hope you get that sorted out so you’ll love longer, mate. ❤️
I’m an industrial mechanic so when I sit at work I’m either on my break or have nothing to do.
Yeah this is for office/desk workers. It doesn’t necessarily apply to everyone.
I switch between both a lot to mix up my day. Dont have lower back pain if I do. Also, do some core exercises.
There’s an alternative missing in all these graphics: Feet not on the ground.
If your feet are on the ground for hours and hours your heart will be in trouble to pump the blood back up all the way. It’s even worse with standing. So see to that your feet are not on the ground, rest your legs on some support under the table, sit cross legged (it’s feasible even in office chairs) and take every pose that’s not feet in the ground.
Your venes and your heart will thank you.
Damn that’s not great to hear. I have to stand all day, I don’t have much of an option lol
Just spend a few minutes with your legs above your head each day, and you’ll be fine. I usually just lie on my bed with my feet up on the wall after stretching. Sometimes I also end up taking a nap, which is nice.
Standing for hours is counteracted by a few minutes of this? Is that really true?
I wouldn’t be too worried if you have ordinary cardiovascular health. If your heart has to put in non-trivial work to get the blood up from your legs, I would recommend more exercise.
Compression socks do help though
luckily lying in bed is option for me. I ll be doing standing-sitting-walking-lying.
Slow motion planking, nice.
understood, installing pull up bar to avoid feet touching ground, alternatating between pull ups and sitting like a furry with feet above the desk.
12 hour desk job. Had Hermann Miller chairs in office but now at WFH I’ve only just started to upgrade my chairs. I’m active, I’m a runner…but I feel it. I always feel off following my several shifts. It takes a lot just to get back to baseline.
If I slack on my stretches I definitely notice the lower back especially.
I probably should get a desk treadmill…
12 hours is brutal. Good thing youre active Ive also started with stretching. It does feel better.
A walking treadmill has been great at home for me. Just don’t use one while playing FPS games. You know how we like to lean with controllers when doing something extreme in game, like leaning over helps eek a little more from the maneuver? Yeah, that happens when walking and gunning. Let me tell you how instantly aware of your misstep you are when that happens!
I have bad eyes and a love of computers/gaming, so I spent 30 years hunched over a keyboard squinting at the monitor. It fucked my back all the way up, I’ve had chronic back pain every day for ~20 years now. Fortunately nowadays I have a recliner and monitors/keyboard on arms so I can see while in a comfortable position. Take care of your back, kids.
Does recling helps with back pain? I work on laptop so I work on bed as well with lots of pillows to support my back.
Having my feet up helps with back pain because it changes the natural angle that my lower back sits at, which affects the level of strain of the surrounding muscles. I sat with my feet up on my desk for a long time before I finally realized why I was doing it and just bought a recliner and a desk that could accommodate it.
I had a standing desk at my old job and liked it a lot.
So when a desk riser came up at an op shop for $20, I snapped that up.
I tend to have the desk up when I’m gaming or studying, and lowered if I feel like I just want to chill and watch some YouTube.
However I wasn’t aware of the sit-stand technique, so I may give this a go!
I got double hernia from working on the computer. I started doing exercises and got this chair called spinalis and was good ever since.
Made a big difference honestly. Used to work in an office where I sat for 8hrs a day and my back/legs would go numb after awhile. Went all in on an ergo set up during COVID. Sit-stand desk, split keyboard, vertical mouse, etc. I figure if I use them more than 40 hrs a week and they prevent some form of RSI or back-pain, it’s worth it.
Also, the other half of the equation is stretching, yoga, and walking. If I have to wait 5 min for something to run, I’ll do a quick stretch while waiting.
