Intrepid Powerpuff Girls

Since we’re only fortunate to see you for about an hour a day, it comes to stand that what you do the other 23 hours of the day has a direct impact on your health, your mobility, and your performance.  An average American spends upwards of 15.5 hours per day sitting when you factor in sitting to eat, sitting to commute, sitting at work, and sitting in front of the television.  Marcus posted on the ills of sitting for extended periods of time, tips to get yourself up and about, and the benefits that standing and moving more often.  I, myself, have experimented with a standing desk at my previous job with positive results.  My standing workstation was very rudimentary, to say the least, but it got the job done.

Date Nite sent me a recent Lifehacker.com post on relatively cheap standing desks made from IKEA components.  Depending on the brand and quality, standing desks can really put one out a good chunk of change.  The three IKEA options in the Lifehacker post run between $150-$250, look professional in my opinion, but require assembly.

Another option that I learned about from Mark’s Daily Apple is the Ninja Standing desk, which began as a Kickstarter project.  The Ninja Standing desk is simple to install and simply hangs on the back of a door or on the wall.  It is easily collapsable and portable so it’s easy to pack and bring when you travel, and is selling for $147 at the time I last checked the site.

Face the reality that staying in any position for long periods of time causes adaptation in your body, and the adaptation from sitting too long are counterproductive to your health, mobility and performance.  A standing desk is an easy way to achieve balance (pun intended), and I’m pleased to know there are affordable standing desk options available.  I’m considering getting a standing desk for the Coaches’ office, which might also help free up some more space (an added benefit that standing desks are typically more compact than traditional desks).

Reference this online tool to help you set up your work station to the proper height, and your keyboard and monitor at the proper angles to help prevent back, wrist, and neck pain that is associated with poorly set-up standing workstations.  Post your experiences with standing workstations and standing desk ideas that have worked for you in the comments.

WOD 8.17.12

Bench Press 3×5/Wendler

400m Run

3 Rounds:
12 Box Jumps
Max Handstand Pushups

400m Run