Standing Desk: Update
Remember when I told you I converted my desk at work to a standing desk? Well, it's been seven months since I started standing. And for the last few months I've made some modifications to my desk that I want to tell you about. While I still think standing is good, I'm really rethinking standing all day in one spot. No matter how much I moved around and stretched, I couldn't seem to get rid of the extreme lower back fatigue from standing in the same spot for eight hours.
So, I've had to make some modifications to suit my (in this case) obnoxiously tall frame.
- I lowered my desk height by about six inches. This allows me to use a stool to sit and rest. It keeps my monitors at the right height for viewing and posture (left photo).
- I use a monitor stand to move my keyboard and mouse when I stand to bring my arms up to the right height (right photo).
Is this a perfect set up? No, but it was the best solution I could come up with at my current work station. Our desks are movable, but it's not something you can do on a whim. It involves getting the maintenance guy to help out, tearing down everything on your desk and re-assembling. Read: not efficient.
In a Perfect World
My ideal situation (I think) would be a treadmill desk, with the option to sit. Right? Best of everything. I think that walking is better for you than standing in one spot all day. As much as we weren't created to sit all day, we weren't created to stand in a 2 x 2 foot space all day, either.
But a balance of both mixed with some walking time would be perfect! Of course, not every company will be willing to fork over the benjamins to pay for such luxurious options.
However, I do think it's just a matter of time. I've heard several friends talk about their offices remodeling and the options of standing, or combination standing/sitting desks are becoming "the norm."
My Typical Day
- Sit: 5-6 hours
- Stand: 2-3 hours
So, I sit more than I stand. I usually sit in the morning, especially if I ran that morning. Then usually around 10:00 am I am sick of sitting and will stand for an hour or more. Then, after lunch, I'll sit for another chunk of time, and around 2:00 pm, when I feel like standing again.
When I stand, my back usually starts to hurt at the one-hour mark, so I really try to listen to my body and relieve that low back pressure when it starts to build.
Have you thought about a standing desk in your workspace? If you have a standing desk, what's your set up like? Is it going well?
P.S. You may remember that Kelsey had a standing desk, too. She didn't love it and switched back to sitting at her new job.