Stand Up Desk at Home & Work

I spend and hour and a half in the early morning sitting in my car for my commute to work.

When I arrive at work I sit for approximately 9-10 hours (there may be a bathroom break or walk to the copier in their) at my desk in front of a computer.

After work I spend another hour and a half sitting in my car commuting back home.

I prepare a light dinner and sit down to eat it.

I like to catch up on my reading by sitting up in bed before I fall asleep.

…

Notice a reoccurring theme here?

I do a whole lot of SITTING.

My home office standing desk.

It’s not cool in any way shape of form. Even though I practice yoga each day and love working out a few times a week, my sitting triumphs it all and my body is finally starting to speak to me. I’ve had loads of tension in my neck and shoulders for years, uber tight hips, and more recently have found my back beginning to pain me. Not to mention, I’ve suffered from stomach issues for quite some time…not that sitting invokes these problems, but it certainly doesn’t help! Our bodies literally use no energy at all to sit. While I teach my yoga classes I’m constantly making references to un-doing the damage of sitting at a desk all day and the effects it has on so many aspects of our body. After much research, I decided to take my own advice and turn both of my offices into standing workplaces.

For my birthday this spring I wished for Lammer (my fiance) to get me a standing desk for my home office. My wish was granted and I’ve not got a standing workplace at home! It’s inviting, it’s comfortable, it’s energizing, I’m in love with it! With a push of a button I can easily lower the desk so that I can take a seat when needed. So far, that hasn’t happened because standing feels so good.

My DIY stand up desk at work.

At work, it was a different story. Since I already have an existing desk structure in my office, I had to build my own standing desk. Thanks to loads of bloggers out there who have done the same (because official stand up desks are a pretty penny as you’ll see below). I am constantly moving bending down to write on my desk or to open drawers, and can easily stretch as needed while I stand to work. I now can work comfortably at work on my own two feet and not have the worry of my body going to crap. It’s funny, now I actually look forward to my commute where I can sit for a bit!

To share with those of you who are looking to purchase a stand up desk or convert their existing one, I’ve gathered my own research and will provide you the links below to make your life a bit easier.

Make your own Ikea stand up desk, (thanks to Colin at Customer.io). This is how I built my desk at work. I purchased a few more of the Ekby Viktor shelves to give it a little more of a lift (just stack them on top of one another), but this depends on your body and the position that your arms are comfortable at. This came to not even $50. If you’re interested in other creative ways to create a stand up desk on top of your existing on, check out Brit & Co.’s blog post which gives some really great suggestions!

Ergotron Workfit-D Sit-Stand Up Desk. This is the desk I requested for my birthday that is in my home office. I purchased the Mounting Arm for Keyboard with this as well. This came to roughly $750 at the end of the day. (Thank you Lammer!)

Gel Pro Anti-Fatigue Mat – This is a MUST! I actually bought both of these mats before the desks. If you do not have one, you’ll be exhausted and sore by the end of the day. I didn’t skimp here. Our feet are awesome and they deserve the best since they take us wherever we want to go. I got the 20″x32″ for $79.95 for my work office and it’s totally fine. For home I got the larger 20″x48″ and it’s a bit longer and really nice too. My feet, knees and low back have a sweet smile of relief every time I step onto it!

Do you use a stand up desk? Or are you interested in using one? I’m open to any comments or questions below. Let’s create even more of a buzz about this and start talking about it!