A Standing Desk

So I have been reading a lot on different blogs about standing desks and then I saw this “sitting is killing you“ that I found on John Durant’s blog hunter-gatherer.com. One of the comments correct stated that link between increased sitting and weight gain is a correlation and not a causation, but I believe it is quite clear that standing has many benefits to sitting, if you are fit enough and physically able to do it. Also, recent studies have shown that diet is more key to weight loss (fat loss) and that exercise is actually more for maintain weight (preventing) gain.

I will repeat the fact that our obesity epidemic here in America (and the world is following us) is a systemic problem. Yes, our food is a factor and our hectic lifestyles. And while we each do have personal responsibility it is still a system problem that has system solutions.

I think that it is obvious that many of our health problems are related to the reduction in physical activity and for complete health we all should get a good amount of regular activity. Something John Durant mentions is being physical not just for good health but also for survival. While we have (opposite of chronic) for chronic health dangers- there may be instantance when we are confronted with an immediate physical danger. Since everyone here in New York is talking about the world ending in a few days who knows what is in store for us.

I have been thinking of switching to a standing desk for the last few weeks and the above link prompted me to take the plunge. It took me about 5 minutes to move my laptop to a shelf at stomach height and figure out how to re-configure Windows to position my laptop and desktop screen. So that was easy. It also helps that I can convert back quickly.


I spent about 6 hours total standing when I would normally be mostly sitting. I felt good and energized. I still made my run that night. I ran two miles instead of my normal three, but it was raining intensely. I had heard at my barefoot meetup.com that running barefoot in the rain might cause blisters, but I didn’t have a problem. I thought it might be too cold as it was in the mid to low sixties, but that was also not a problem.


I am now on my second day and I made it from 6:30am to about 9:30am until I had to sit. The main benefit of my simple conversation is how quickly I can change back and forth as needed. I sat for an hour and then felt the “need” to stand again. I made it until lunch and sat for while eat. I am back standing at my desk and feeling fitter.

I will share about this again next week.