Standing All Day For Work

Standing desks have been all the rage the past few years. Many offices moved to giving their workers the option of having a standing desk, and many people have taken the plunge to using a standing desk. If you’ve decided to take the dive into a standing desk, you may find that it’s maybe not all that you originally thought that it would be. Don’t be discouraged - it’s going to take some time to get used to.

If you’re experiencing any type of lower back pain or other ailments that you believe are because you’re sitting all day, it probably makes sense for you to at least consider a standing desk. One of the biggest benefits to a standing desk is that you’re no longer putting your back in poor positions all day long. When you are sitting, it’s really easy for your back to get put in awkward positions.

Moving from sitting all day long to standing all day long is a big change. You’ll likely find that you can’t stand for more than 30 minutes straight at first when you first move to a standing desk. Your legs aren’t used to holding your weight all day long, and as such they will fatigue very quickly. Don’t get discouraged - this happens to everyone as they make the transition from sitting to standing.

If you’re able to have a sitting to standing desk (one of those desks that changes) then it can be a great option for making the transition. These desks move up and down via a motor and can be placed at different heights. They’re really convenient as you can go through spurts of standing and then sit to let your legs recover. These desks are generally more expensive, but if your work is paying for it then it’s all the same.

The big downside to these desks is that it’s really easy to get into the sitting mode with them again. It’s often not that convenient to switch from sitting to standing and it’s simply easier to just keep it in it’s same position. Most of the desks that can move up and down in my office are always in the down position. Every now and then they’ll be moved up, but it’s a rare occurrence that someone moves it.

Having a dedicated standing desk will force you to stand up. If you’re worried about fatigue, then buy a high chair that you can sit on when needed. Yes, you may still sit more than you want, but standing up simply involves getting off of your chair and moving it out of the way. You’ll find that you stand up a lot more often when your desk is in the dedicated standing position - we’d highly recommend it.

If you stick with it, you’ll find that standing all day isn’t the hardest thing to do. It will probably take close to six months for you to be able to stand through the entire day, but you’ll be able to do it. The nice thing about standing all day is that it’s really easy to walk away and walk back to your desk - you simply move away and then back. Definitely walk around a bit so your legs don’t get too stiff.

Standing at a desk all day may sound impossible when you first try, but if you stick with it, you’ll find that your legs will build up the needed endurance to make it happen.