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derFunkenstein
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Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 2:12 pm

I was wondering if any Gerbils have standing desks. I work at home and I'm tired of sitting all day, so I ordered myself one of these today. I've already got a 72"x30" desk. All I play to do is slide the frame in underneath, raise it enough to screw down, and then take off the sides of the desk.

There was a slightly more expensive model that I considered but I couldn't figure out how deep the frame was. One of the reviews on the model I bought indicated that the frame was around 4" deeper than their 24"-deep tabletop, so I felt safe with this one. I wanted the crank on the front of the desk instead of the side because my desk sits in a corner. The crank will be along the wall but should have enough clearance to use.

There are motorized ones, too, and of course Monoprice has a bunch, so there's a lot of DIY options out there. What say you guys?
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Vhalidictes
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 2:16 pm

There's an article on Ars that goes into this... the health benefits are a wash. You just get different health problems (from standing too much all day).

It is a great idea from a use-of-space perspective, though - when I had one I can definitely say it felt like the room was bigger.

I don't have any experience with the model you got, but it looks great for space-saving.
 
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 2:18 pm

I have one at work (all of the developers got one as part of last year's office remodel). I've used the "stand" feature like twice in the past 6 months. Standing makes my feet hurt.
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nico1982
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 2:35 pm

One of my colleague has one since last year. He actively used it when a novelty, not anymore. Spare the money for a better seat and/or monitor setup, IMHO.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 2:51 pm

Vhalidictes wrote:
There's an article on Ars that goes into this... the health benefits are a wash. You just get different health problems (from standing too much all day).

I saw that, but for me it's not really about the supposed benefits. I just like getting up and being on my feet. I spent around 5 years during my first failed college attempt and a year or so afterwards working in a restaurant and I was on my feet all day. As I sit in my chair I can feel my quadriceps atrophy. :lol:

I already have a decent chair, but I've been kicking this idea around for around a year. Since it'd been in my head so long, I figure it's worthwhile to try for a bit.
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synthtel2
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:20 pm

Standing in one place all day isn't really better for your health than sitting in one place all day, but I really like standing desks because it's a lot less effort to take a break. If I find something that needs further thought and don't need to be looking at the screen for a bit, I tend to get up and wander around while I'm thinking, and standing desks make that much easier. When computer use is interspersed with walking, it definitely isn't a wash health-wise anymore.

Now that you mention it, I should really get a standing desk again.

For those who aren't used to them, yeah, it'll probably take some getting used to, but it does get better. When I had one, I tended to spent a lot of time standing on one foot, and switching between feet every few minutes to vary the loading was a lot more comfortable than constant load on both feet. A good mat might also help.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:33 pm

synthel2 - yea or nay on those padded standing mats? Did you ever use one?
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RickyTick
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:36 pm

It was all the rave here at work for a while. We bought a boat-load of the Varidesk Pro 36 models and spent of ton of money. It was neat for a couple of months, now they all just sit at their desk just like before. Department Directors put a stop to it pretty quick.
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RickyTick
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:38 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
synthel2 - yea or nay on those padded standing mats? Did you ever use one?

Can tell you from experience, the anti-fatigue mats are wonderful for the feet and legs compared to standing on a hard surface.
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Cuhulin
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:42 pm

I have a motorized standing desk from Nextdesks. I use it frequently, and I generally feel better when I do. I bought the motorized model because it is good to be able to change from one position to the other, and the motor makes that so easy that I don't hesitate to use it. Really, neither standing all day or sitting all day is optimal, so being able to alternate between the two is best.

I recently bought a couple standing mats (two, both so that there is more depth if I want to change positions and also so that I can roll my chair onto them when I want to sit, rather than having to move the mats), and they are a big help.

I like the setup enough that I am going to buy an add-on for my old desk, which also sits in my office, for when I want to use the computer on it while my main system is engaged.
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derFunkenstein
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:58 pm

RickyTick wrote:
derFunkenstein wrote:
synthel2 - yea or nay on those padded standing mats? Did you ever use one?

Can tell you from experience, the anti-fatigue mats are wonderful for the feet and legs compared to standing on a hard surface.

I'm looking at one of these guys. 40" is probably fine. I can get down to a 32" but that seems like it may be confining.
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videobits
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 3:58 pm

I just moved my desk up to the standing position to take a little break from work. And saw this thread on TR.

I've had my electric desk here at work for a little more than a year. Some days it stays down. Other days up and down a few times. It kind of depends on the task for me.
If I am doing stuff in other areas and coming back for short bits to look up info and check email, I like the up position and no time wasted sitting up and down. If I am working on a drawing or spreadsheet then sitting is more likely. And it is nice sometimes to not fully change positions, but maybe just tweak it up or down a half inch.

I liked it and would suggest it to someone.

OP: That price looks really good for the adjustable frame. Please give us an update when you get it installed.
 
notinuse
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 4:18 pm

I wish some of these height adjustable desks would lower and additional two or three inches, to enable proper typing height without a keyboard tray/arm/kludge.
 
Cuhulin
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 4:50 pm

Mine goes down low enough for typing on the desktop.
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synthtel2
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 4:59 pm

derFunkenstein wrote:
synthel2 - yea or nay on those padded standing mats? Did you ever use one?

They're probably a good idea for the average person. I find them to be only a mild help (and didn't use one), but as a barefoot runner, I may not be the best datapoint for that.
 
Cuhulin
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 5:06 pm

synthtel2 wrote:
derFunkenstein wrote:
synthel2 - yea or nay on those padded standing mats? Did you ever use one?

They're probably a good idea for the average person. I find them to be only a mild help (and didn't use one), but as a barefoot runner, I may not be the best datapoint for that.


I suspect the mats are a YMMV thing. I'm an old dude (ancient?), and my long distance running days were mostly before HP started to sell laser printers. For me, the mats are wonderful, but I suspect that would not have been the case back in the day, when I also liked bare feet and terra firma.
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derFunkenstein
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 5:14 pm

Well, I went ahead and ordered one. I figure Prime lets me send it back for free if I don't like it. Thanks for the feedback, guys.

Will definitely post pics and stuff once it's mounted, but it's not due to arrive until Wednesday so it might not be until the following weekend.

I did look at those on-desk raisable platforms, but the keyboard trays on those things are so narrow, and the ones that are a single flat surface all seem to raise everything by 5-6" which would be uncomfortable seated.
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DPete27
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 5:48 pm

I have the Varidesk Pro36 at work. The thing I don't like about desktop solutions is: The keyboard tray size is plenty, but it IS 3/4" above the surface of my desk, my desk top was already a bit high, and now my wrist rests on the front edge of the keyboard platform. Not comfortable. Second, Varidesk had one of the greatest vertical extensions of the desktop standing desks I'd researched, yet it is still about 3 inches shy of what I need and I'm only 6' tall, starting from a desktop that is about 2 inches too high already.

Aside from all that, it's great to have the ability to stand or sit throughout the day. I was having awful back problems before this. While the standing desk hasn't solved everything, it definitely has improved my situation. It's not about standing the whole day, its about changing positions. Stand,sit,stand,sit.
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notinuse
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 5:55 pm

Cuhulin wrote:
Mine goes down low enough for typing on the desktop.


I haven't seen any that go below about 29" with a top installed. Too high for me.
 
Cuhulin
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:04 pm

notinuse wrote:
Cuhulin wrote:
Mine goes down low enough for typing on the desktop.


I haven't seen any that go below about 29" with a top installed. Too high for me.


I'm not connected with this company, except as a user, but the specifications for the desk I have - Nextdesk Terra - show the following:

"Super wide height range: from 24 inches to 50.5 inches"
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notinuse
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:11 pm

Cuhulin wrote:
notinuse wrote:
Cuhulin wrote:
Mine goes down low enough for typing on the desktop.


I haven't seen any that go below about 29" with a top installed. Too high for me.


I'm not connected with this company, except as a user, but the specifications for the desk I have - Nextdesk Terra - show the following:

"Super wide height range: from 24 inches to 50.5 inches"


Thank you, I'll check it out.
 
notinuse
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:14 pm

notinuse wrote:
Cuhulin wrote:
notinuse wrote:

I haven't seen any that go below about 29" with a top installed. Too high for me.


I'm not connected with this company, except as a user, but the specifications for the desk I have - Nextdesk Terra - show the following:

"Super wide height range: from 24 inches to 50.5 inches"


Thank you, I'll check it out.


$1500, I've lost interest.
 
Cuhulin
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:18 pm

notinuse wrote:
notinuse wrote:
Cuhulin wrote:

I'm not connected with this company, except as a user, but the specifications for the desk I have - Nextdesk Terra - show the following:

"Super wide height range: from 24 inches to 50.5 inches"


Thank you, I'll check it out.


$1500, I've lost interest.


Sorry, I probably should have mentioned that the company is quite pricy.
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Chuckaluphagus
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Re: Standing desks?

Sun Mar 05, 2017 8:34 pm

I have this motorized adjustable height desk from Ergo Depot (with the normal rectangular desktop), which I like a lot. Bought it four years ago, works great. The health benefits thing isn't really a concern for me, I just feel a lot better at the end of the day if I haven't been sitting the entire time. Sometimes a change from sitting to standing can help me concentrate when I'm getting tired, too.

A standing mat is a must, though, or my feet will definitely hurt. I have one of these. It's marketed as a "kitchen mat", but it's effectively the same thing, and this way my feet don't hurt after standing a few hours.
 
derFunkenstein
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Re: Standing desks?

Thu Mar 09, 2017 9:00 pm

The first piece of my puzzle arrived today. It's an adjustable monitor mount that clamps to the back of my tabletop. I am already using it. Setup was a little trouble because I couldn't figure out which way was to tighten the arm vs loosen it. I eventually got it, though. The desk and mat arrive tomorrow.

I also decided to swap out the model I ordered with the single-motor version of the VIVO frame because I figured it was worth it to take away any excuse to not use it. I felt like if I was going to have to crank it all the time I'd eventually quit. So I canceled that Amazon order and put in a new one.
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BIF
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Re: Standing desks?

Sat Mar 11, 2017 10:28 pm

I have a sit/stand desk at work. Sometimes I stand for up to a couple hours, then sit. The problem with bad backs and hips is not that sitting is bad, nor that standing is bad. For me, doing any one thing for a full 8 hours is bad. So instead, I will sit for a few hours, then stand for a couple hours, then sit again. The change-up is what helps.

I don't have a sit/stand at home, but might decide to get one someday; for the same reason: variation is good.
 
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Re: Standing desks?

Tue Mar 14, 2017 5:35 pm

RickyTick wrote:
derFunkenstein wrote:
synthel2 - yea or nay on those padded standing mats? Did you ever use one?

Can tell you from experience, the anti-fatigue mats are wonderful for the feet and legs compared to standing on a hard surface.
Ditto here. I sit for reporting data but stand the rest of the time prepping loading samples and tending the PC's that run my instruments. I have mats along all the lab benches.
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derFunkenstein
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Re: Standing desks?

Tue Mar 14, 2017 5:45 pm

The frame is here. Heavy sum bitch. Probably won't at it up until the weekend.
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Shobai
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Aug 17, 2018 5:20 am

derFunkenstein wrote:
The frame is here. Heavy sum bitch. Probably won't at it up until the weekend.


Well, now that it's necro'd: how did it go? Did you get it set up? And if so, are you still using it?
 
demolition
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Re: Standing desks?

Fri Aug 17, 2018 6:44 am

Well, I just bought a motorized standing desk for my home two weeks ago. I have been wanting a larger desk for a long time anyway. Despite being a quality desk, it was used so the price was very reasonable - about the same as a low-cost manually controlled desk. I still get 2 years warranty though since I bought it at a store. While some wear can be seen around the sitting area, it is in quite good general condition so I am quite pleased with that so far.

Around here, pretty much all office workers have motorized standing desks and although I will admit that most of my colleagues just keep them in a sitting position all day, I like being able to work standing up and I use the feature quite a lot (I think I stand up more than I sit down).

While most people know that sitting down all day is certainly not good for your health, I will also think that standing up all day is bad if you're just standing still. Not sure if it is better or worse than sitting down, but if you have a motorized desk it is very easy to change position. Some of the more expensive ones even have presets so it just takes one click of a button to switch between sitting and standing.

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