I love that I have my own office, its pretty cool. I have a whiteboard and I have a bookshelf and I have a painting that a friend drew for me up on my wall.
Not only do I have my own of office, but I can do pretty much what ever I want with my office. I can come in and paint the walls (I don’t want to), I can re-arrange the furniture on my lunch break (I did this today) and best of all, I can get a stand up desk. Being the boss has its perks and this is definitely one of them.
My stand up desk is nothing fancy, it cost me $50 and it isn’t exactly mahogany, but it is my favorite thing in my office. Why? Because it means I can finally stand up.
I used to work in retail and had to stand up at work. I would get so tired, but I honestly think that it had more to do with my terrible diet and lack of fitness than actually standing (I also had terrible posture). Since working a desk job, I thought back, shoulder and neck pains were normal. I thought it was just the way it was. How ridiculous! We haven’t been through hundreds of thousands of years of evolution to be so flawed and so weak. I’m 24 years old for goodness sake, I shouldn’t even know the meaning of lower back pain. I came across it on Upgraded Self Radio and in the name of self-experimentation I went and got a lectern from the store room at work and set my computer on top.
It was a bit strange at first, I had to go and get some printer paper to lift my screen up higher and it wouldn’t have worked at all if I didn’t have a separate keyboard. But once I got the idea of just standing and working, it was great. I didn’t know this but you actually move around a lot more when you stand. You don’t get any stiffness at all like you can with sitting. I was far more productive as well, finding energy rather than lethargy and it was energy that lasted even once I got home.
Here’s the thing: we haven’t been sitting down for very long. 80 years ago, most people were on their feet for a living. Farmers and factory workers come to mind, and 50 years before that, even less people worked in office jobs with ergonomic chairs and footrests.
Sitting is passive, and leads to muscle atrophy in your legs and hips. Your glutes and hamstrings are completely inactive, stuck in a stretch position which weakens them as well. Now, I know many people have terrible posture when they stand up, but have you seen the way some people hunch over at their desks? Prolonged sitting has been linked to Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, deep vein thrombosis and CVD in men. Prolonged sitting is a risk factor for all-cause mortality. 30 minutes of exercise, three times a week is not enough to mitigate the dangers of all this sitting down that we’re doing.
If you are going to try a stand up desk, then getting your posture right is really important. Make sure that your computer screen is at chest level at least. Make sure that you aren’t reaching upwards with your arms, they should be in level with your elbows. Don’t hunch over but stand with square shoulders. I find that standing with my legs slightly more than shoulder width apart helps with my posture and keeping my knees slightly bent helps with any joint irks. Don’t try it in heels!
If you can’t get a stand up desk, then ensure that you do as much incidental exercise as possible. Try to move around as much as you can and use your breaks to walk. Try and get up and stretch every half an hour. Try and engage your muscles while sitting and again, be mindful of your posture.
If you think you may be able to convince your boss, or if you want one for home, here are some really cool ones that I’ve found:
These guys are Australian and do electronic, height adjustable desks.
These are slightly more affordable and they have shelves!
Also coming in at reasonably priced.
This one isn’t exactly a desk, but it’s made of cardboard and is just so cool.
And this is my one, well priced and practical (Although I’d love one of the fancy ones above).
Another quick thing: check out these really cool guys in the states trying to get funding for their stand up desks. Have a look and get involved or pass on the link to someone who may be interested. I’d love for them to succeed and their beautiful products to be available in Australia.
If you’d like any more information on standing desks or anything else that I’ve talked about, please let me know.
Tess
Tess eats butter 