Standing Desk

[dotnetcowboy]

Hi all,

I'm interested in hearing anyone's experiences with using a standing desk. Did you buy a purpose built one? Did you hack yourself one out of different items? How did you like it? Anything at all you'd like to share.

I really hate to sit, moreso now that I have real feedback about my daily activity levels, and I work at a computer all day. I try to move around as much as possible but I think I'd like to give a standing desk a go as well.

Thanks,

Erin

[scoobie57]

I'm curious to see the responses also as I'm a desk sitter at a computer and have thought about same thing (standing desk).  However, I've read that people who convert to a standing desk later say that a "stand/sit" desk that you can change back/forth is really better since standing all day has it's issues also.  But I've not tried this and am interested in hearing from those who have.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi Erin - I'm 45 y and I've been using a height-adjustable desk since 2005.  Right now, I use an electric, height-adjustable desk in my home office, which I've had since 2008. I purchased my HA desk at a used office furniture store for the most unbelievable price of $300.  I don't know what it would retail for now, but I imagine it would be close to $1000 +/- brand new.

It is wonderful to have the option to stand.  Because I had injured myself running (SI joint pain, piriformis, etc), I had a kinesiologist do an ergonomic assessment for me at my workplace in 2005 and, fortunately, my employer invested the resources for me to have a height-adjustable desk.  That one was manually adjusted, with a complicated cable/lever system that was very easy to lift/push.  It was an L-shaped table top and I had no problems with it.

My home office desk is a standard rectangular desk, normal size, and the table top is removable if you need to move the desk around.  The top sits on a standard pedestal.  It has a button on the left of the table top which toggles on/off when you want the desk to go up/down.  The electric cord runs out the back of the pedestal which houses the motor.

When I stand and work, I usually have something underneath to lift my foot onto (milk crate, etc).  I also keep my chair close by.  I have also used an ergonomic stool before, one that is designed to allow you to lean onto it rather than actually sit. 

Highly recommend a HA desk to anyone, injured or not. I would recommend electric as it gives you the most range. 

If you have the resources to afford such a piece of furniture/equipment, without hesitation I recommend this option for workplace safety/comfort/health.

Hope this helps.

Monica

[Babsie]

I purchased a Varidesk approximately two months ago.  I recently read a couple of articles about the negative affects of sitting all day, even if you exercise each day for an hour or so, and I was convinced that I needed to do something to get me out of my chair in the office.  I saw an ad for the Varidesk in my Runner's World magazine and was delighted to learn that the cost was only $275.  I raise and lower it throughout the day, depending upon what I am doing.  I love it and would recommend it.  The website for more information is varidesk.com. 

[Mary]

I've read that a counter height desk with a saddle style chair is very ergonomic so I use that.  The desk is a cheap Ikea adjustable one.  It uses an allen wrench in two screws but I rarely move it so it's fine.  The chair is a pricey Hag Capisco.  I also can wedge a laptop desk in my treadmill console and use a laptop on that at slow speeds, though I rarely do.  I find it's more realistic for me to just move often than try to avoid sitting for long periods.  You can set a timer on your PC to remind you to get up and move every X minutes.  

[dotnetcowboy]

Thank you everyone for your responses so far. Keep them coming! I would like to hear from as many people as possible on this topic. I was thinking that a low cost solution would be to find an old drafting table and repurpose it as a standing desk. Drafting tables are height and tilt adjustable and I was thinking you might be able to find one secondhand on Craigslist or (here in Canada) Kijiji.

[dotnetcowboy]

Hi everyone,

Here's an interesting option I found online. It's a Kickstarter from a company that wants to start making low cost, essentially disposable, standing desks made of cardboard. I'm going to put my money behind it. It's a great idea!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/499144433/the-cardboard-standing-desk-stand-up-for-creativit

[Mary]

That is very cool.  I think that might be great for home offices, especially if it straddles a treadmill well.  My only concerns would be spills damaging it, the 'bar height' potentially being too high, the top not being large enough, and that Ikea has some adjustable desks in the same price range.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S29836976/

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S79857848/

[dotnetcowboy]

Thanks for the Ikea suggestions. I love, love, love Ikea but the closest one is a five hour drive away. 

I agree with your suggestions about the cardboard desk. I think it would be especially helpful to someone who wanted to try out standing desks before investing more money or making a commitment to that lifestyle change. On the other hand, both of those Ikea desks look like they are height adjustable so, I suppose, you could just lower them into a regular desk if you didn't like standing.

[Mary]

Right, though maybe one could also hack the cardboard desk in a pinch, to be lower?

I actually did have to lower my Ikea one.  I tried it at counter height for months because my chair manufacturer recommended that but I'm just more comfortable between normal desk height and counter height. 

Do you work out of a home office?  Raising a regular desk up on blocks is an option, for the short term.

[dotnetcowboy]

Yes, I work primarily out of a home office. Raising up my current desk is a great idea! Lots of spare lumber laying around here.

[Mary]

Oh good!  Do you have a kitchen island?  I've considered spending a work day at that, too.  

I also used a counter height kitchen prep table from Costco for a while before picking up my Ikea desk.  The low shelf there is adjustable.  

http://www.costco.com/TRINITY-EcoStorage%E2%84%A2-NSF-Stainless-Steel-Work-Table.product.11242572.ht...

[dotnetcowboy]

Using the kitchen island is another excellent idea. I'll often stand there and work in the morning while I drink my coffee. May be that used in conjunction with a monitor riser I could set my laptop on would be another solution.

Thanks!

[Nikos]

Two of the engineers in my company have a Varidesk and they love it. They have the Pro version which holds 2 monitors and I believe we paid $300 to get them new (of Amazon).  I opted for an even more active solution and splurged for a treadmill desk:

http://www.lifespanfitness.com/workplacesolutions-treadmill-desk-and-bike-desk.html

They are expensive (I paid $1,500) but you can also build one on your own for much less (search online). I absolutely LOVE my treadmil desk.  I get 20k-25k steps a day without leaving my desk, I am more focused and find that I can do absolutely everything I would do sitting down, from typing, reading, having a coffee, etc. I usually walk at a pace of 1 mile/hr.

[uwhusky89]

I too have a Vari Desk and love it as it easily goes from standing to sitting mode.  I haven't had it for long, but I do notice that my "secretary spread" is less by standing, than when I was sitting the whole time.  I do have to work into a full standing day... haven't gotten there yet... but it's about the journey, right?!

[scoobie57]

Had my vari-desk a few months now. Really enjoying it. Estimate I spend 80% of the day standing but do need to walk around every hour or so to get stiffness in legs out. Noticed my legs are developing more muscle and my exercise and steps has not changed. So have to conclude the standing more is adding muscle tone. I would recommend this desk for anyone who is tired of sitting down all day and need to get up off their tails.

[1972mom]

I have a adjustable desk and stand for about 85% of the time. There are many days that I never sit at my desk. It's hard for the first couple of weeks but you will adjust. I am always moving. I love that!

[Candle29]

I just recently (in the past couple weeks) added a standing desk to my studio. I actually wrote a blog post about my experience and what I learned. I also show a picture of my setup.

http://sherscreativespace.blogspot.com/2014/07/my-standing-workstation.html

I do love it! I find myself getting a lot more accomplished at the desk as well as away from it. For some reason, I don't seem to get distracted by other things so much. Perhaps it's because I'm not getting "settled" into a chair where it's so easy to browse the Internet or Pinterest. I do what I have to do at the desk and move on. It works great for me.

Since I have a laptop, I do take it over to the sitting desk sometimes, usually at the end of the night or to take a little standing break.

[rockyromero]

For years, I have admired those that have a standing desk to do their work.

I resisted pursuing this option due to many complications: cost, change of desk, and a standing fatigue that I have read about for many.

Clearly there is much support for limiting the amount of sitting that a sedentary office job brings to many of us.

So it's with tremendous interest that I stumbled upon the LeanChair, a leaning chair solution, on Kickstarter.

From a convenience and practical viewpoint, this solves for me the approach to standing while I work and easily applying it to my environment.


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1133385494/leanchair-the-portable-reclining-standing-desk?ref=d...

I will have to be patient until I can take delivery of the LeanChair later this year to get the benefits that this promises.

:curly_loop:

[RivalDealer]

I bought a cheap ikea side table http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10198411/ and without the feet on it, it sits at the perfect height on my desk.

At first I was just using the laptop on it but as I got more used to it I put my riser and monitor on it too, when I want to sit down I just use the laptop but I found I prefer to stand for most of the day. I do break it up by going for walks, or sitting to eat or have a coffee.

You want your new work surface to be elbow height when you are stood so your shoulders are relaxed, in addition a monitor riser helps too so you are not bending your neck to look down at your monitor.