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.
