Get up, stand up!

Last year a coworker and friend (Rocco) set up his workspace so he could use the computer standing up. It wasn't the first time I'd heard of people doing that, but he was the first person I knew who was giving it a try. After a few days, he swore by it. He's a smart guy, so I started to give it some serious thought.

A few months later another coworker and friend (Carol) said she wanted to get a stand-up desk, and she thought I would be into it too. She was right. I started reading more about it and found lots of good information in support of this (links below) and I was sold. It's been about three months now since I switched, and I'll never go back to sitting down at the computer - this is biggest positive health change I've made this year (last year it was ditching my shoes).

My core is stronger than it's ever been, I haven't had any back issues since the switch, and I've definitely got more energy than ever.

We are using the FREDRIK desk from IKEA (\$149), and GelPro Chef's Mats from Amazon (\$99). The desk is perfect because it makes it easy to get the monitor up at eye level (keeps your head up which means the blood flows more easily to the brain and you'll have less eye and neck strain). You probably need a nice gel mat to stand on as well, and the GelPro mat is PERFECT, makes all the difference in the world.

This is definitely catching on at work (that picture up top is three standups in a row, and there are another three people here also using the same setup!) I'm hoping more of my friends give it a try too. Honestly, this is the kind of stuff that makes your whole life better! (Also, get more Vitamin-D while you're at it!)

The links:
* Longer you sit, the shorter your life: http://yhoo.it/d80NWl * Rethinking the desk: http://blog.trailmeme.com/2010/04/rethinking-the-desk/ * NY Times: http://nyti.ms/crnR9A