Update on Standing Desk

Back at the end of January, I wrote a blog post on my new standing desk.  See:  HERE.  Here is an update:

First, I still love my standing desk and I still have no intent to return to sitting.  In my first post, I talked specifically about 4 short term impressions.  I want to update those impressions.  Some have changed, some haven’t.

1. My feet still hurt.  After my first post, I was hoping that my foot pain would go away around two months in.  However, it is still there.  It is certainly getting better, but if I am at my desk all day, I am usually shifting my feet and stretching my calves by the afternoon.  It doesn’t help that I have a little plantar faciitis going on in my left foot.  If I walk around a little, the achiness goes away.  Still no knee pain, no ankle pain, and no back pain.  And yes, I still subconsciously sit on the edge of my regular desk while on the phone.

2.  I am still more productive.  I still think this is the best way to go for someone who needs to increase productivity.  I don’t have to “sit down” at my desk to do something.  I don’t have to stand up to grab something.  I am always up and ready to go.

One thing I have noticed is that reading long documents while standing still is hard.  I also don’t like staring at my computer while reading.  If I have something long to read, I will load it on my iPad and walk around my office while I read.  While this seems like an annoyance, it actually helps with getting things done.  First, I often get heavy eyed when I have to read something while sitting.  So, walking around keeps me awake.  The blood pumping helps keep me focused.  So, less brain fog as the day grows long.  Additionally, when I have to type long messages (like this post), I will walk around my office to gather my thoughts before writing the next section.  That has been a huge help in staying on topic.

3.  This may not as good for avoiding soreness as I thought, but it helps.  The first time I wrote this article, I said that standing was really helpful when I had sore or tight muscles.  While I will still say it is helpful, I found during the Open that I still get sore and tight after hard workouts.  My legs still ache after 5×10 back squats.  However, I am not as sore or stiff as I would be sitting around all day at a desk.  I can shift my weight, stretch my legs, forward fold a little.  I have even taken samsun lunge stretches while on the phone.  I do think being up and ready to move like has helped.  However, it hasn’t loosened my hips as much as I thought it would.  I could easily change that by adding a couple of easy stretches throughout the day.

4.  I have more energy.  This is a huge advantage to standing all day.  Before standing, I took frequent naps in the afternoon, as I confessed in the first post.  I will still contend that getting up at 4am every day will make anyone a little groggy around 2:30pm.  However, since standing, I rarely ever feel the need for a nap.  This week was the first time in about 2 months that I had to take a mid afternoon nap, but I am blaming that on a nasty head cold.  I have found that I can power through a To-Do list like never before.  My energy is up and stays pretty steady all day.  I feel better when I get to the gym.  I am ready to move at any time.

So, if you were contemplating a standing desk after my first post, but you haven’t made the jump yet, I hope this helps.  I highly recommend standing up.  Our society has become one of sitting.  I continue to hear about medical issues associated with sitting.  We are essentially smashing out vital organs for hours on end.  So, stand up, stretch it out, and get to work.