Stand In the Place Where You Work

I've posted off and on about my marathon training, how I was feeling lethargic, overweight, and unhealthy before I embarked on a total fitness makeover. Well, after 15 months of running a minimum of 10 miles (and sometimes as much as 40-50 miles) per week, I've decided to add another change to my daily routine. It's a small change, but it could do me a lot of good.

About a week ago, I decided to change my home office (aka, Triple Dog Dare Media HQ) to allow me to stand while I work. Why? Well, let's back up.

Over the course of the last year, I've noticed that the more I run, the more I dislike sitting for extended periods of time. As a writer and coder, when I say I sit for really long extended periods of time, I mean 4-5 hours go by without moving any major muscles like legs or core. Standing up from that kind of extended sitting means having an aching back, aching hip flexors, and several other ailments related to leaning forward and general bad posture. Multiply those aches and complaints when I decide to go for a run at the end of the day, and you get the picture.

Essentially, my day looked like this: sit on my ass for long periods of time, but take an occasional break to stand up and do something (go to the printer, go get some more hot tea, maybe run some errands).

About two weeks ago, I strained my left hip a bit on a long run, and the next day sitting at the desk was just unbearable. I had to stop all coding and writing and do only certain tasks from a standing position. I realized at the end of the day that although I was a bit tired, my back and legs didn't hurt as much as I thought they would. I started to think about acquiring a standing desk, and while googling for different options, I happened to actually take a look at my office setup.

On the wall behind me sits a wire cabinet rack that holds some books, CDs, a fax machine, and our printer. The shelves are all height-adjustable for different configurations. With a sudden burst of enthusiasm, I pulled all the books and hardware off of it and started messing around with the shelving. When I got the middle shelf the way I wanted it, I put my Macbook Pro on it and took it out for a spin.

Oops, the shelf was too high, I was straining my wrists a bit. Okay, lower it a few clicks and try again. Too low this time. Okay, third time's the charm, and...PERFECT. My arms are parallel to the floor when bent at the elbows, and I can easily shift my weight from foot to foot in front of the workspace. I had to adjust the lower shelves to accommodate the printer (in case of paper jams) but otherwise the lower shelves were just fine. In fact, I can easily put one foot up on the lower shelf if I need to, taking any back strain out of the equation.

Now my day is very different. I stand for extended periods of time (2-3 hours) and then take breaks as needed. I'll take a five minute break with some coffee or tea, or I'll sit in the easy chair in the office while perusing favorite sites on my iPad. My hip flexors and back have stopped hurting, and I actually feel hungry at lunch and dinner. When I work, I actually focus on the task at hand (who wants to mess around when they're standing?) and work within a prescribed "burst" of 2-3 hours.

Is it hard to stand all day? Yes, it can be, particularly after a very long run. The first few days were almost unbearably painful as I'd just completed an 18-mile run. I had to take breaks every hour, and my feet hurt like a bitch at the end of the day. I tend to go barefoot in the home office, but that can easily be remedied by wearing running shoes or putting down a padded mat. By the fourth day of upright working, though, my feet and legs were fine, and I could work for 3-4 hours at a stretch without even noticing the time.

Soooo, is this effort really worth it in terms of calories expended? A guy my size (220 lbs) will burn approximately 150 calories per hour just standing around, so six hours standing on any given day is 800ish calories, or a fairly good lunch portion. That's about a pound of weight loss every week, or 50+ pounds per year -- or more weight than I've lost in the past year from the running. Now, I probably won't stand up that much (I do run errands and have sitting-related tasks) but you get the idea. Meanwhile, as I stand and work I'm conscious of my core and back muscles, my legs, and my posture -- it doesn't take long to notice how painful slouching is and to get back into a good place.

Do I still have the other desk? I sure do. I'll use it occasionally if I'm on a long phone call and I need to take lots of notes. Or if I want to have a book open and take notes from it on the same writing surface. Or if I want to eat in the office but don't want to accidentally nuke my Macbook Pro, the printer below it, and office supplies and books below that.

If you'd like to learn more, please chime in with comments, I'll do my best to answer any questions.

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