How To Start Standing at Work: 30 Day Challenge For Beginners
Sitting is the new smoking. Extensive research has brought forward findings showing that prolonged sitting is linked to heart diseases, diabetes, obesity and even a few types of cancer. For someone who works at least 8 hours a day at their desk, this should ring some alarm bells. It doesn’t end there, as when the person gets home, they continue to relax sitting on their couch or just chilling in their favorite chair, further adding to their total sitting time of the day. However, in as quick as 30 days, you can turn things around for yourself, and Standing Desk Guides are going to show you how.
Why Should You Start Working in Standing Pose?
Working at a desk all day and spending most of that time sitting can be detrimental for your health. The increasing sedentary lifestyle level is slowly harming us all. Sitting all day at work is wreaking havoc on our health, and nothing is being done to counter that. In fact, it doesn’t matter even if you hit the gym regularly, as it is the long stretches of sitting that are damaging your health. Compare sitting vs. standing at work, and you’ll immediately realize it isn’t as hard as it may seem and holds massive benefits for your health as well. Standing while working will give you the following benefits:
- Increased productivity
- Weight loss
- Better mood
- Reduced back pain (for those suffering from it)
It might seem like quite the chore, and some might even make the argument that standing while working actually reduces their productivity, but we’ll answer all that later in this guide.
How to Get Started?
A job well begun is a job half done, and that holds true in this case as well. By ensuring a good start to your working standing up challenge, you can increase your chances of success. The very first thing you’ll need to start is a standing desk. You can choose from two options and either get yourself a sit-stand desk that lets you work while standing or get yourself a sit to stand desk riser for your current desk, which will let you convert your desk into a standing desk whenever you need it. Keeping a good posture is also quite essential. Make sure your chest sticks out, and shoulders are back while you stand. Your chin should be up and your ears over your shoulders.
Starting Your 30 Day Standing Challenge
Week One:
This is where you start with your challenge but make sure that you take it slow. Aim for achievable goals. Standing at work is a marathon and not a sprint, so don’t push yourself too hard. Don’t sit for more than 40-50 minutes at a time at your sit-stand desk, switch positions from time to time. Stand for as long as you’re comfortable and keep shifting and moving throughout the process.
Week Two:
By week two you can start to push yourself a little. If you had been averaging at 10 or 15 minutes of standing time per session, you could now try going for 15 or 20. Alternatively, you could subtract time from your sitting periods. Instead of 20, shift to 15 minute sitting sessions and then return back.
Week Three:
At the end of week two, you’ll be getting pretty comfortable with the standing and learning which tasks are easier to do while standing and which to do while sitting. You can now start going for standing a total of 50% of your day and planning your tasks accordingly.
Week Four:
By now you should be shifting between sitting and standing every 20 minutes or perhaps spending half of your workday in this pose. You can make standing more funny for yourself by incorporating these simple standing desk exercises into your routine like:
- Calf raises
- Stretching
- Squatting
- Stationary stepping
Standing May Hurt Your Joints And Feet
Standing with your feet planted flat all day is hard on your joints, so it is no surprise most people experience this pain in their joints and feet when they stand for prolonged periods. The floor doesn’t provide enough cushioning for your feet. Moving about and exercises can help too, but the best remedy for this is to get yourself a standing pad. With different options available, you can easily pick out the one that suits your needs. Such pads provide cushioning for you to comfortably stand on so that the least amount of pressure is applied and your feet and joints remain pain-free.
Tips for Succeed in Stand Up Challenge
Getting through with your challenge might prove a challenge in itself since you might be tempted just to drop it altogether or even forget to stand when it’s time since you’re not used to it. You might even slack off or maybe just skip the whole thing because you’re not in the mood for it. The best way to counter laziness is to recruit a buddy or several. This will make things more fun and keep all of you in check. Additionally, make sure to keep a good posture and get enough sleep so that you can truly enjoy the benefits of a standing desk as well as cutting down on the sitting time of your day.
In standing vs. sitting debates, standing is the clear winner. Most of us know this but don’t know how to add more standing time into their routine. This standing guide is a great way to get started towards a healthier lifestyle and even answers the most common question of is standing better than sitting? If you’ve started this 30-day challenge or incorporated standing into your work routine on your own, then feel free to let us and others know and share your experiences below!
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