OT: Standing vs Sitting

[Big Dan]

I like mine. Usually stand for a while everyday.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by mosca

Isn't there a saying among racers, something like: "why stand when you can sit, why sit when you can lie down?"
It's the one habit I share with the pros.

https://youtu.be/W__qCFWi1KA?t=81

[pdmtong]

IMHO whether one is standing or sitting it doesn't matter - as long as you are conscious of your position and posture.

take 30 people in an exercise class...only those doing the motions slowly properly deliberately are benefiting.

I had a stand up desk the past year...the only thing I concluded is i still prefer riding my bike to sitting or standing.

[XXtwindad]

Lots of insiteful responses. Good stuff. Benb thanks for the detailed post.

A few thoughts:

We're still not done worshipping at the altar of our Paleolithic ancestors. Some of it makes sense. The barefoot training falls under this category, for example, and I think there are benefits to this. The small muscles of the feet are rarely trained. I train barefoot at my gym.

But consider this: our Paleo ancestors moved constantly for their "work", either through migrating or rapid "interval" training to pursue/avoid prey. I don't know what they did recreationally, but I'm guessing it wasn't nearly as sedentary as our forms of relaxation.

We've got it backward. We're sedentary (seated) for long hours and try to ameliorate the damage through an hour or two at the gym. That doesn't work.

I like the take of Dr. Vernikos, a former lead scientist at NASA, who likened extended sitting to the bone density loss experienced by astronauts. She suggests doing intermittent resistance exercises throughout the day. (Body weight squats, for example)

http://www.joanvernikos.com/pages/si...ving-heals.php

I think a lot of the posters got it right:

Low grade movement throughout the day > standing desk > sitting.

[sparky33]

Standing on a balance board makes the whole standing desk thing work out. I fidget less because because the balancing consumes that fidget energy. My bad left knee feels better in general...maybe the balancing is strengthening the supporting muscles. Feeling more limber...supple like tanwalls.

Deep thinking still happens sitting down. Go figure.

Probably my intake of scotch and bourbon is offsetting the benefits of a standing desk.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by sparky33

Standing on a balance board makes the whole standing desk thing work out. I fidget less because because the balancing consumes that fidget energy. My bad left knee feels better in general...maybe the balancing is strengthening the supporting muscles. Feeling more limber...supple like tanwalls.

Deep thinking still happens sitting down. Go figure.

Probably my intake of scotch and bourbon is offsetting the benefits of a standing desk.

Scotch + bourbon + balance board = unbeatable combination.

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Scotch + bourbon + balance board = unbeatable combination.

It is.

Also, those body weight squats you suggested are working out. Doing a handful of those a few times a day is feeling good. Thanks!
Coworkers are entertained, and the whole thing dovetails nicely with the eccentricity of a tech work place.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by sparky33

It is.

Also, those body weight squats you suggested are working out. Doing a handful of those a few times a day is feeling good. Thanks!
Coworkers are entertained, and the whole thing dovetails nicely with the eccentricity of a tech work place.

Wow! So cool! Thx for sharing! Hopefully it's contagious

[93svt96]

For the past 30 years or so I think I may sit at most an hour a day at work. Feel good at 50.

[bicycletricycle]

My office designed a whole line of standing desks and lightly supportive seating for the standing position. We all spent a lot of time on them during the development but after a few years only one person still stands. I don’t really feel that much of a difference either way but I do feel a little more tired at the end of the day when standing. When I was a bike mechanic I stood all day and it was fine but I was active and was often in different positions, I was also a lot younger.

[fixieporteur]

I stand for approximately 50% of my work time. I'm barefoot for approximately 10% of my work time.

Barefoot and standing work well together, too! I use an anti-fatigue mat and am thinking about incorporating a balance board.

[fixieporteur]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

My office designed a whole line of standing desks and lightly supportive seating for the standing position. We all spent a lot of time on them during the development but after a few years only one person still stands.

IME, I've seen that desks at a fixed "standing" height get abandoned in workspaces fairly quickly. I prefer to stand, but I'm definitely in the minority.

A lot of workspaces I've been in lately have adjustable height desks and fully supportive chairs with extra height adjustment. In informal observation, these are popular, and approximately 90% of users sit at various heights, vs 10% standing at any given time.

[Seramount]

even tho my employer would have provided one, never felt the need for a stand-up desk...in 15 years at the last office, rarely sat for more than an hour at a time.

there were an infinite number of opportunities during the day to get up and move around.

go the printer, go to the conf room/file room/break room, go confer with a co-worker, take a walk during break times, walk to the car to go to lunch, etc etc etc...

and another reason is that my junk knees don't like standing for long periods.

[AngryScientist]

i have a convertible desk with an electric motor to adjust height at work. i rarely ever stand, doesnt seem to offer any benefit that i can see.

i go too bonkers just sitting at the desk though, so i make it a point to get up and walk around the building at least a few times in the morning and again in the afternoon. it wastes no more time then a surfing the internet for a few minutes and get's my blood flowing at least.

since i travel a lot, the biggest problem i have is the 6 hour flights i seem to always be on. even in an aisle seat and trying to get up once/hour to move it's tough to be anything but sedentary on a long flight. flying sucks.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i have a convertible desk with an electric motor to adjust height at work. i rarely ever stand, doesnt seem to offer any benefit that i can see.

i go too bonkers just sitting at the desk though, so i make it a point to get up and walk around the building at least a few times in the morning and again in the afternoon. it wastes no more time then a surfing the internet for a few minutes and get's my blood flowing at least.

since i travel a lot, the biggest problem i have is the 6 hour flights i seem to always be on. even in an aisle seat and trying to get up once/hour to move it's tough to be anything but sedentary on a long flight. flying sucks.

Perhaps the standing/sitting thing is too much of a stark dichotomy. A standing desk may not be the ultimate solution, but there is no doubt that extended sitting is really, really bad.

There was a study done in Britain sometime in the 1950s. Porters from the double decker busses were analyzed for various health factors along with drivers. Even allowing pre-existing morbidities such as obesity and smoking, the porters were much less at risk for cardiopulmonary diseases.

Interesting that Steve brought up the "fidgeting energy" topic. There's an increasing body of evidence that shows this type of frequent "small" movements confer numerous health benefits.