From the people who brought you “The best anti-fatigue standing-desk mat isn’t a mat, and is only around £18” comes another ‘ergonomic office’ opinion piece that could save you £££s!
It is really important to not just stand at your eponymous sit/stand desk. Once you get used to standing, it is easy to spend a whole day on your feet, especially if you use an Ikea Skarsta or other manual crank desk frame. Sometimes when you’re in the middle of something, even the 60 seconds to adjust the desk back to a sitting position seems like a big ask!
Once seated however, maintaining good posture is still important. I have found that bad posture whilst standing often results in obvious pain, or lack of stamina. Bad posture whilst seated is sometimes less obvious, and only starts to reveal itself later into the evening.
The quest for ergonomic office chairs has led some down the path getting executive chairs for comfort, or ergonomic chairs ranging from orthopaedic to kneeling varieties, and everything in between! These options tend to have a common denominator of carrying a high price tag.
Just get yourself a large exercise ball
I would recommend the Trideer 85cm Swiss Ball (affiliate link), but any half decent exercise ball will do. My main advise would be:
- Pump it up nice and hard.
- You might not need one this big depending on your minimum desk frame height + your height.
- My free standing bike pump basic attachments are compatible, just thinking about inflating the large ball with the foot pump makes my leg cramp.
- Try not to bounce up and down too much during Zoom calls, you get funny looks.
A good old fashioned pros and cons list
Pros
- Never in a static position for a long time
- Strengthen your core and balance
- Stows away entirely under the desk
- Once rested, your more likely to stand again quicker
- Very cost effective (not much to lose)
- Impromptu stretches
- Pretty fun
- Can be used as an actual Yoga ball??
- You probably have one in a cupboard already!
Cons
- Your measurements and your desk height might not align well enough, maintaining good overall posture should be the number one priority.
- Re-inflating the ball every 2 weeks or so.
- No high quality options available, after a few months, it might start to sag and deflate quicker.
- If required to sit for a long period of time, it could get a bit annoying.
Do you use an exercise ball or something else to sit on whilst working? Let us know over at our Facebook page!
For when you’re not bouncing around…
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