About this time last year I was working a lot from home because our new studio was under construction. We were in-between locations. (wow… that was a YEAR ago!)
My home desk is a tall bar table, so I became accustomed to working mostly on my feet with a barstool behind me that I could pull up & sit on anytime I wanted…. or use the structure of the table to prop one foot up on as I stand & work by shifting my standing position from leg to leg.
When we moved into the new space in April, I found that I really didn’t want to work in my new office. A brand new, custom built studio & I still wanted to work from home. What the what????
I mean, don’t get me wrong - I LOVED the natural light. I have HUGE windows in my office. I love the space & the colors, the layout, the private use… I can go on & on. Our production studio totally rocks. It is another dream come true for me.
I did not however, love sitting down to work.
I felt antsy. I would get tired & sore every time I went to stand up. It felt rather contracting, I guess you could say. I had a hard time focusing & staying put. So, I was determined to fix that.
I didn’t buy anything. Instead, I used what I had at home & I was blown away at how perfectly it fit for my “new” standing desk. It was so simple, yet made me so happy. And because of this simple fix, I finally looked forward to using my brand new office for how it was intended!
I share some ideas in this video as to how you can convert your desk to a stand/sit scenario. Either rising it up from underneath (like I did), or adding books under your laptop/monitor, or selling the one you’ve got & investing in a desk specifically made to accommodate you whether you want to sit OR stand, depending on your mood.
Here are some ideas on how to make this happen in YOUR office this year:
- Raise your desk up from underneath. What do you currently have around your home - crates? boxes? that can be placed under the footprint of your desk to give it proper elevation?
- Stack books on top of your desk until your laptop is at a height where your eyes are level with your screen. You can use a crate or box here too. Maybe a tray table. These things can be easily removed if your prefer to sit for awhile.
- Swap out your desk entirely. Check out these cool stand/sit solutions from Veridesk.
- Use a bar table (like I do) such as this one.
There has been much talk on the interwebs about how “sitting is the new smoking.” Being a frequent podcast listener myself, I stumbled upon this awesome chick named Katy Bowman who studies biomechanics.
Katy’s written a book called Move Your DNA where she expands on the concept of “Nutritional Movement.”
Basically, she studies how different pressures & forces (or lack thereof) affect our health & longevity. It is from her where I learned how certain parts of your body degenerate & age faster when they aren’t active. Case in point: ankles, knees & hips from sitting all day in your commute & then at your desk.
The goal is to move your body in as many various ways as possible to ensure overall health & vitality at a cellular level.
Just as science is proving that varying your working positions is a foundation to preserving your health, same goes for your workouts!! Break out of your “spin only” - “step only” - “kickbox only” mentality by working with me in RealResults. In fact, this week’s workout is a wonderful compliment if you are a spinner who rides because you have knee issues. Challenge your mind & improve the health of your joints in my Easy-On-the-Knees Total Body Strength Routine. Join RealResults for 1 month here & put this workout in your calendar THIS week.
Do you have a standing desk? Can you see the benefits of using one? If you don’t yet use one, what can you do to make that happen for yourself? Post a pic of yours & tag us @RealFit.tv!
