Standing desk, anyone?

[Chris Hurd]

Are there any folks here using a standing desk, either for editing and / or other daily office work? I'm thinking pretty hard about getting one... a powered job that raises and lowers, because I want to neither stand nor sit all day long... but would rather alternate between both.

[Eric Olson]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Are there any folks here using a standing desk, either for editing and / or other daily office work? I'm thinking pretty hard about getting one... a powered job that raises and lowers, because I want to neither stand nor sit all day long... but would rather alternate between both.

A friend of mine has one and likes it. I wouldn't use one because vericose veins can be caused by prolonged standing. If I stand, I'd prefer to go for a walk.

[Chris Hurd]

Well, the next step would be to add a treadmill... but I wouldn't be able to do much more than read if I was using one. I can barely walk and chew gum at the same time.

I don't want to sit at a desk all day but I don't want to stand all day either... I've done enough of that working trade shows. So it's sizing up to be a powered standing desk for me.

[Brian David Melnyk]

i had to pack down my studio for potential evacuation here in Mali, and i've taken the opportunity to redesign a few desk elements to make my set up more ergonomic. sitting for so many hours can cause a lot of problems, and i think even a change of inches in the height of monitors can make a huge difference in the long run.
i would love to see a thread on ergonomics and posted pics of set ups. the more sharing of ideas the better for designing a studio/editing environment to be the most healthy and efficient. plus i love to see how others operate! i know there is an old thread on studio pics, but it doesn't deal specifically with ergonomics...
a desk that changes height sounds great. and expensive...

[Paul Mailath]

I've been tempted to try it - I was going to just going to use blocks to gradually raise the desk and computer underneath to get to the required height so I could give it a try for a week or so. but when you're sitting the keyboard and the bottom of the monitor are a similar height. When you stand you tend to have the keyboard at or a little above waist height and the monitors need to be much higher - that's my guestimate anyway.

I think if you get the height and setup right, you could alternate from standing to using a tall stool (like the stools bank tellers use).

I'll be interested to hear your results - I may just bite the bullet and try it myself

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

Are there any folks here using a standing desk, either for editing and / or other daily office work? I'm thinking pretty hard about getting one... a powered job that raises and lowers, because I want to neither stand nor sit all day long... but would rather alternate between both.

I've been using one for the last 15 days, and it's great. I stand up for 2 hours at a time - 4 hours per day. Get it NOW!

[John Wiley]

I've wondered about a standing desk myself since having back surgery 18 months ago. These days I can't edit for more than about two hours at a time without needing a break.

I'm interested to hear your decision and what differences you notice.

[Michael Wisniewski]

I've been using a standing desk for about 3 years now and wouldn't go back to a standard sit down desk. I built it out of the shelving kits you find at Home Depot. I have a saddle stool that I can hop up on if needed and a handy couch when I need to retreat and rest for a bit. I tried using a tall chair, but it kinda defeated the purpose of it all, so I stuck with the saddle stool.

The main benefit for me is you can put your whole body into what you're doing so it's easier to stay focused and alert to what I need to do. When I use a sit down desk now, I find it's easy to get lazy and comfy.

I think the main adjustment that feels odd at first is that your monitors (video/audio) need to be at a much higher level in relation to the desk area, because when you stand up, the your head operates at a greater height from your hands. In comparison to a sit down desk, where the height from your head to your hands can be much closer to each other.

[Chris Hurd]

Here's what I would really like to have:

Stand Up and Height Adjustable Desk | Elevate Adjusta from Anthro

Supposedly the split-level design is a big ergonomic advantage. Unfortunately for me, it's a bit to deep at nearly 37" (almost a full meter). The max depth I prefer is 30" since my office is barely 10' x 11' as it is. So now I'm leaning toward the UpDesk: http://www.myupdesk.com/updesk/maple-large

[Allan Black]

Originally Posted by John Wiley

I've wondered about a standing desk myself since having back surgery 18 months ago. These days I can't edit for more than about two hours at a time without needing a break.

I'm interested to hear your decision and what differences you notice.

John, try sleeping on a magnetic underlay. I worked in recording studios around magnetic recording equipment for 50yrs. Everything from mulitrack film dubbers to 15 slave loop bin cassette duplicators to 24-48 track recorders. Magnetic fields everywhere every day.

Within 6months of selling our studios and semi retiring I knew something was wrong, I figured it was withdrawal symtoms. A friend told me about benefits of mag underlays, now the whole family has 'em.

You'll read and get for and against posts, but try it.

Cheers.

[Trond Saetre]

Chris,
I use a powered standing desk at work. (Air traffic control).
In the beginning, many of us tried out both raising and lowering the desk, standing and sitting.
But after a short while, everyone just uses it as a regular "sit down" desk, just individually adjusting the preferred height of the desk for each of us.

If possible, you might want to try before buying one.

[Bob Hart]

Here's a bit of what you guys over there might call a left-field solution. Before CAD engineering came along, there used to be drafting boards or tables. These ranged from the very basic to some pretty sophisticated devices. They often had a tilting drawing table.

If might be worth examining one of these, assuming you can still find one to design an editing desk. My imagining is that the screens would be flushmounted to an adjustable tilt panel with maybe the keyboard and mousepad working on a small hinged panel which can be set to level. With a draftman's stool or chair as illustrated in another comment above, you would then have the choice of working seated, or standing.

What you do not need when working on your feet, is stooping over or working by over-reaching.

If being seated is wrecking your back, try folding thick cardboard boxes and placing them on the seat cushion and against the backrest. There is a small discomfort factor which keeps you reposturing when you might otherwise become target fixated or hyperfocussed on the project and then only move when some circulation gets cut off somewhere.

[Thomas Young]

This brand is what I'm looking at one day.............

Martin & Ziegler, video editing desks and multimedia furniture,