WFH equipment - get your steps in!

[Lily]

I've got a standing desk converter thing which makes a massive difference to me. I am considering getting a stepper or a walking pad, both of which I can get second hand on marketplace. I am keen to really up my exercise.

The pad is obviously more expensive but might be better for me. Does anyone use either of them while working? What are your opinions? Thank you!

[SunnyMum]

I have a desk at work that goes up and down. I do like being able to work standing up. It makes a difference. I couldn't afford to pay for a WFH one though. And I'm not sure I'd be able to concentrate if I were exercising at the same time.

[Derek Nimmo]

You'd be surprised SM, I bought myself an electric sit stand desk for £100 off Amazon, not crazily priced at all.

No idea re walking pads, I quite fancy one myself but also think I lack the co-ordination to use it without unfortunate incident whilst working!

[wendy james]

I have a walking pad but need a sit/stand desk to make the best use of it. I'm waiting on one from work, and will rearrange the study (get rid of the higher sleeper).

I can't use it when on a call with video as it would be distracting. However, doesn't stop me using it when on a call and off-screen. I'm not sure I'd use it all that much while doing any work that requires typing but I haven't really tried it with my current set-up.

[Bat Macdui]

I have a sit/stand desk but I think I would find it hard to do anything other than read or listen if I was walking as well as standing. I don't have a lot of camera off calls in this job so I've never bothered with a treadmill or walker. My colleague had one and did camera on calls whilst treading, which was mildly disconcerting. If I do have a camera off call I tend to just stand up and welly some weights about. Or clean the window.

I bought my Mum one of those sitting cycle things to keep her legs a bit more mobile and I am tempted by one of those.

[ParisGal]

I have a sitting cycle but keep stopping to do something complicated and forgetting to start again Better than nothing though. I can't imagine being able to do anything except listen or think when using a stepper though.

[Lily]

Thanks! I have found a walking pad for £60 on FB Marketplace, did some bargaining and pick it up this evening. There's a stepper going for a tenner as well which I'll get at the weekend so I can do stuff in front of the TV when I'm not on my computer. I'm looking forward to getting more exercise in.

My sit-stand desk converter was £40 from FB Marketplace!

[lazzbo]

It sort of sounds like you're in a manic phase and refusing to let yourself relax again, Lily.

[Lily]

Manic? Finishing ones painting at half midnight just makes sense, doesn't it? where tf is the winking smilie?

[Red]

What is a standing desk converter? I've been looking at a desk that you can raise up with a crank but I'm not totally convinced by it, and the other type feels expensive, or more than I want to pay.

The step/exercise thing in the winter when you WFH is hard, let us know how you get on working and stepping, Lily!

[Lily]

It's one of those cranky things, literally! You use a lever to push it up and let it down - it doesn't need to be anything spectacularly mechanical to make a big difference to how you feel. I stand up for a few minutes, sit down for 15, stand up for 5 ... when I first got one, I stood up for 2 hours solid and nearly died of tiredness so you need to break the time up.

I am going to use my treadmill this afternoon during a meeting so I'll let you know. I have been meaning to use it/the stepper in front of the TV, but I have been too busy doing other stuff while I watch TV!

[Disco]

I used my ironing board as a standing desk for a while during lockdown. Most use it's ever had.

[Lily]

I managed 20 minutes today. Would have done longer but I was in my slippers which has buggered my knee. A reminder that you still need to wear trainers on these things! It was great to do though.

[SunnyMum]

I had a training session yesterday with an occupational therapist at work.
She totally loves the stand-up / sit-down desks. She did however say that our desks were not standard as when sitting down one should be able to sit with both feet flat on the floor, knees bent at 90° (she measured and checked our chairs) and have arms bent at 90° to rest on the desk. Our desks don't go lower than 72cm, which is too high for people who are 1m60 or under.
Also, the desks have a vertical band accross the front with stops us from clamping the big (31.5") screen in the centre which means they are clamped onto the desk at an end and we have to set them at an angle to work. This is obviously a BAD IDEA. The OT whipped out a screw driver and took the bands off the desks and reclamped the screens nicely in the centre of the desk. The lady who had been in charge of our recent renovations and all the new office furniture was hauled into the room to be told that her purchases should have been checked by OT beforehand. Then the OT asked the CEO to come in and gave him a blow by blow accout of everything that wasn't up to scratch!

She also told us that the top of the screen should be level with the top of our ear and 70 cms distance from our face.
She warned us that having a screen against a wall is a BAD IDEA. 9 out of 10 of us at the session are in that configuration when WFH, but not when we're on site. The reasoning behind it is that if you look away from the screen, all you can see is the wall, which is basically the same distance away as the screen and we need to be able to look further than that at regular intervals during the day to prevennt eye fatigue.

She likes the idea of a walking pad at work (work has bought one) but NOT at the same time as you're working. She suggested that every 1h30 / 2h we walk away from the desk to do 3 to 5 mins of stretching exercises, including eyerolling with our eyes shut!. The walking pad thing should be used either before starting the day's work, at lunchtime or after work. She says we should not be asking our bodies and our brains to work at the same time.

It was very interesting and informative.

It's going to take a while to get used to being in the correct position as I'm so used to being twisted round that it feels wierd not to be.

[ParisGal]

Interesting, SM! It all seems logical except that I don't see the point of a walking pad for when you're not working!

[Lily]

It is! Thank you for sharing that. I know you're supposed to look away every 20 minutes, somewhere 20 feet away, for 20 seconds, and need to try to do that. The sit/stand desk makes an incredible difference to how I feel at a desk.

I guess you could use a walking pad in front of the TV or whenever you can't walk outside.