To get a treadmill desk, standing desk, or just an ergonomic chair?
I sit too much. WAY TOO MUCH!!! I get ready in the morning, drive 45 minutes to work. Sit for 8 hours, then sit for 45 minutes home. Make dinner, then sit for dinner, pick up dinner with the family, and then sit at either the computer, couch. Weather permitting, I'll take a 2 mile walk in the evening (or morning). And then sit some more.
So, this isn't helping me lose weight and it isn't helping me get fitter, and it's beginning to hurt my neck and back. I am fixing up my office at work and I'm thinking of getting a treadmill desk, or just a standing desk, or just a better chair to sit on at work.
Anyone try a treadmill desk? HATE it? LOVE it?
I need to get off my duff some more than I do!!! (Like right now - hopping off the computer and making dinner!)
Ok, so I'm doing some reading and absolutely my headaches and aches and pains I'm experiencing DAILY are from sitting at a computer (wrongly).
I just changed the seat height of the chair I'm sitting in and immediately, I felt the strain in my shoulder and neck go down when I used the mouse. I was forcing my shoulder up to use the mouse. Problem now is that I bend my wrists more and it's harder to keep them straight. ARGH!!!
Cost of an "affordable" stand up desk that would alleviate all these tensions (should say affordable and rated highly?) about $1700!!!! SERIOUSLY
Probably cheaper than having to go to a chiropractor though - or monthly or bimonthly massages.
Where I used to work when we did a redesign of the space, we put in some standing desks and I absolutely loved them.... Made a huge difference in all that sort of various neck and back tension I would always seem to have from sitting in front of a computer all the time...
I'm also a big fan of the LifeSpan treadmill desks that I've seen... I really want one for my home... they're in the $1400 to $2000 range... If I worked from home full time I definitely would get one... but since I don't, I'm debating whether I should just put all of that towards a really high end treadmill instead since I actually enjoy running on treadmills... And you can't do that with a treadmill desk... they're not designed to handle that speed...
My dream is a nicer than the Lifepan treadmill desk (all reviews say to skip their desk, but get their treadmill). Then get their middle line walking treadmill, and then get a nice chair/stool that I can either put on the treadmill (for my space, most ideal) or, if I had a bigger space and bigger budget, a ergonomic chair beside the treadmill. Cost of the dream? $2500-$3000 depending on the size of the desk.
But honestly, considering I'm sitting in that chair now 24 hours a week (work one day a week at home and then on one day I am not sitting but running around like mad). I should take care of my body...
On the flip side, we could use it at home too! THough, my husband has to work from a laptop for work. I don't know... We both just sit way too much and it's beginning to really hurt my health and well being!
Personally I'd go for the chair. Use your own devices of standing up and walking around. Think of all the things you can do while standing , talking on the phone, speaking to a colleague. Have walking meetings, these are becoming popular. Instead of interactive emails standup and go over to the person you need to speak with.
Improper sitting can cause a lot of damage and addressing that is important. Taking breaks to stretch and address circulation are imperative they suggest to do that once an hour. If you do have aches and pains that need to be addressed I strongly and vehemently suggest you skip on the chiropractor and go straight to an osteopath.
My DH made me a desk top for my treadmill. I love it! Last December my back was really acting up from too much sitting, stress, and lack of sleep. I spent about 6+ hours/day on the treadmill desk making work calls and email. It actually helped my back feel better. It's not a lot of exercise. I find the maximum functional speed is less than 1.5 mph, but much healthier than sitting
Does it depend on the kind of work you do? Whether you do a great deal of deep thinking and analysis or new work, or whether your work is fairly straightforward?
I met someone on a train recently who said that when people are asked in tests to do some mental arithmetic they usually stop in order to do it. They cannot multi-task walking and mental arithmetic. (Sorry I don't have a source for this but it sounds plausible to me.) But perhaps those people could train themselves to do this. And, further, some programmers who do fairly complicated things use treadmill desks, don't they?
(I do like the idea of making your own.)
Personally, I think I would prefer a standing desk because my (older) body likes changing its walking speed in a very small way from moment to moment and a treadmill doesn't allow this. I prefer to be in charge of how I move rather than have it dictated by a machine. At a standing desk, I think I might stand on one leg or the other, training balance and helping my grumbling SI joint.
I just thought I'd throw this out there... Even though it might sound a little bit weird... I also got a really nice high quality mini trampoline from JumpSport (I didn't know about the ones from Bellicon... now of course I want one of those...lol) Anyway, every hour or so I take breaks from the computer and go and bounce on it for 5 minutes or so... Makes a HUGE difference in how I feel... Plus the bouncing is just plain FUN...
Now obviously you can't get any work done on the computer in those 5 minutes, but you could still take phone calls with a headset I guess... And for me I find myself SO much more productive after just a few minutes that it is so worth it for me...
You do need higher ceilings and of course BE CAREFUL...Lol...
Last edited by TripSwitch; 07-03-2015 at 10:00 AM.
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Before I retired, my company installed standing workstations and I felt so much better after that, but 8 hours a day was a little tough. Now that I'm on my home computer a lot I would like to get a stand/sit adjustable workstation like this. This site doesn't list prices, but I think you can find similar items online. This one sits on top of your current computer desk and raises and lowers at the push of a button.
Personally I'd go for the chair. Use your own devices of standing up and walking around. Think of all the things you can do while standing , talking on the phone, speaking to a colleague. Have walking meetings, these are becoming popular. Instead of interactive emails standup and go over to the person you need to speak with.
Improper sitting can cause a lot of damage and addressing that is important. Taking breaks to stretch and address circulation are imperative they suggest to do that once an hour. If you do have aches and pains that need to be addressed I strongly and vehemently suggest you skip on the chiropractor and go straight to an osteopath.
It really does depend on what we do. I talk on the phone maybe once a week. I do talk with my colleagues and stand when we are discussing things (that is my getting up about once an hour), but much of my work is responding to emails, writing emails, writing curricula, researching curricula. And then on Sundays I teach and support teachers. I'm on my feet the entire time. 90 percent of what I do is computer based.
I just thought I'd throw this out there... Even though it might sound a little bit weird... I also got a really nice high quality mini trampoline from JumpSport (I didn't know about the ones from Bellicon... now of course I want one of those...lol) Anyway, every hour or so I take breaks from the computer and go and bounce on it for 5 minutes or so... Makes a HUGE difference in how I feel... Plus the bouncing is just plain FUN...
Now obviously you can't get any work done on the computer in those 5 minutes, but you could still take phone calls with a headset I guess... And for me I find myself SO much more productive after just a few minutes that it is so worth it for me...
You do need higher ceilings and of course BE CAREFUL...Lol...
Oh how I wish I could jump up and down, but two humongous babies has meant any bouncy moves equals a bladder flood. Yes, I do keels and I've seen a specialist about it. I would need surgery to repair it. So, no jumping.
Before I retired, my company installed standing workstations and I felt so much better after that, but 8 hours a day was a little tough. Now that I'm on my home computer a lot I would like to get a stand/sit adjustable workstation like this. This site doesn't list prices, but I think you can find similar items online. This one sits on top of your current computer desk and raises and lowers at the push of a button.
I set up my task scheduler in Windows to pop up a message every 15 minutes telling me to stand up. It doesn't actually pop up over open windows that I'm using. Instead it lights up in the task bar and dings to get my attention. I could have set it up for every 30 minutes or hour, but I chose every 15 minutes.
Oh how I wish I could jump up and down, but two humongous babies has meant any bouncy moves equals a bladder flood. Yes, I do keels and I've seen a specialist about it. I would need surgery to repair it. So, no jumping.
I hear ya... To tell you the truth I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to jump up and down like that...Lol...
Thanks for starting this thread... It's given me lots of great ideas... Although, I feel a little bit guilty as I'm just lying here typing this on an iPad... Lol...
I guess I should at least get a recumbent exercise bike to use for my 3fc time...
Last edited by TripSwitch; 07-04-2015 at 07:04 PM.
To get a treadmill desk, standing desk, or just an ergonomic chair?
