Anyone used a kneeling chair somewhat extensively? I've been interested, in part because they take up less room, but they're always over my college-status price range.
The cost of a [programmers] chair
21–30 of 41 posts
Re: The cost of a [programmers] chair
#22For those without the cash to drop on Herman Miller, consider what I believe is the lowest-cost, leanest solution to good ergonomics: the standing desk. Don't wear shoes, stand up straight, and adjust the surface to where your arms drop down and relax on the home row of your keyboard. After a brief adjustment period it's possible to find yourself feeling better, with better posture, breathing, and general well being.…
I've got one of these at home, my main PC has 5 monitors (throwouts from work, so most were free), 2 of which sit on top of the tower. I simply put a couple of shoeboxes under my keyboard/mousepad and use the top 2 monitors when I want to use a standing desk.
My feed and knees really hurt though, I find wearing shoes helps alleviate this discomfort for a bit longer, but eventually I sit down (for some more Back Pain). Do you use an anti fatigue mat or anything like that? I think I should try and buy one.
Re: The cost of a [programmers] chair
#23Anyone used a kneeling chair somewhat extensively? I've been interested, in part because they take up less room, but they're always over my college-status price range.
I owned one for 4 years and it was absolutely fantastic for my back. It helped strengthen the muscles in my back leading to much less back pain in general and overall it made me feel much better.
The only issue I had was that it put pressure on my knees, which at 340 lb is not really something you want to do. Ultimately I got rid of it for a simple stool. It had the same effect since there was no leaning back and overall I felt that because of it I had a better posture.
Re: The cost of a [programmers] chair
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think everyone knows you are supposed to adjust your chair correctly. I recently bought an Embody chair, and it came with a link to a video on how to adjust everything. Something I don't understand, though, is how many desks are around that don't adjust at all. I bought one for use at home and am going to have to replace it soon; its height is unusably high. I've found that if you can't adjust your chair, desk, and…
but what is "correctly?" what feels best in the short term is not always best in the long term... for example, those wrist rests feel pretty good for a little while, but long term, if you actually rest your wrists on them, they will cause serious problems for your wrists. As for the desk problem, Ikea sells adjustable desks (that can adjust from "on the floor" to "standing desk" in what looks like 1.5" increments) fo…
I have the Apple keyboard and was able to do away with the wrist rests. So much better for my wrists as I am able to put my whole arm on the table flat and not have to strain my hands.
Re: The cost of a [programmers] chair
#25Anyone used a kneeling chair somewhat extensively? I've been interested, in part because they take up less room, but they're always over my college-status price range.
My parents used them around the house for years and my mother still uses one. You need to adjust to them, but they are very comfortable after a few days. My mother swears by it. I've used for a few hours and, yes, I can see why. Your posture is correct with your spine vertical and straight.
I'm not sure why you say they take up less room, they're actually a little longer than a normal chair. Also, they weren't particularly expensive.
The other alternative for correct posture that I've been recommended is sitting on one of those large exercise balls. The idea sounds terrible to me so I haven't tried it, but I can see the sense in it.
Re: The cost of a [programmers] chair
#26For those without the cash to drop on Herman Miller, consider what I believe is the lowest-cost, leanest solution to good ergonomics: the standing desk. Don't wear shoes, stand up straight, and adjust the surface to where your arms drop down and relax on the home row of your keyboard. After a brief adjustment period it's possible to find yourself feeling better, with better posture, breathing, and general well being.…
I think I might just give that a go.
Re: The cost of a [programmers] chair
#27For those without the cash to drop on Herman Miller, consider what I believe is the lowest-cost, leanest solution to good ergonomics: the standing desk. Don't wear shoes, stand up straight, and adjust the surface to where your arms drop down and relax on the home row of your keyboard. After a brief adjustment period it's possible to find yourself feeling better, with better posture, breathing, and general well being.…
I have a regular desk that converts to a standing desk on my command.. http://picplz.com/user/stammy/pic/gntn/
Hacky, but it works and I can't tell you the number of other startup folk I've met with that have the same kind of setup. Although theirs is usually more permanent with reams of paper or textbooks.
I used to have a Herman Miller before I moved to SF, now I'm on a $47 office max chair. It's only so comfortable for about 2 hours then I notice my posture is horrible.
Re: The cost of a [programmers] chair
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
but what is "correctly?" what feels best in the short term is not always best in the long term... for example, those wrist rests feel pretty good for a little while, but long term, if you actually rest your wrists on them, they will cause serious problems for your wrists. As for the desk problem, Ikea sells adjustable desks (that can adjust from "on the floor" to "standing desk" in what looks like 1.5" increments) fo…
I have the Apple keyboard and was able to do away with the wrist rests. So much better for my wrists as I am able to put my whole arm on the table flat and not have to strain my hands.
my understanding is that putting your wrists on anything is pretty bad. Your wrists, I believe (and I'm not an expert) should be absolutely straight, like you are hitting the heavy bag. "there is no wrist."
Re: The cost of a [programmers] chair
#29Anyone used a kneeling chair somewhat extensively? I've been interested, in part because they take up less room, but they're always over my college-status price range.
My parents used them around the house for years and my mother still uses one. You need to adjust to them, but they are very comfortable after a few days. My mother swears by it. I've used for a few hours and, yes, I can see why. Your posture is correct with your spine vertical and straight. I'm not sure why you say they take up less room, they're actually a little longer than a normal chair. Also, they weren't partic…
Many I've seen are a bit lower than my current desk chair, and also lack the high back. All of which means my current desk chair can't fit entirely under / flush with any desk. Having something which can fit entirely under a desk would be extremely useful at times. Cost tends to be in the $200+ range, so not bad for a good chair, but also a lot when that's a lot of food, or a couple bills.
Re: The cost of a [programmers] chair
#30For those without the cash to drop on Herman Miller, consider what I believe is the lowest-cost, leanest solution to good ergonomics: the standing desk. Don't wear shoes, stand up straight, and adjust the surface to where your arms drop down and relax on the home row of your keyboard. After a brief adjustment period it's possible to find yourself feeling better, with better posture, breathing, and general well being.…
I've got one of these at home, my main PC has 5 monitors (throwouts from work, so most were free), 2 of which sit on top of the tower. I simply put a couple of shoeboxes under my keyboard/mousepad and use the top 2 monitors when I want to use a standing desk. My feed and knees really hurt though, I find wearing shoes helps alleviate this discomfort for a bit longer, but eventually I sit down (for some more Back Pain)…
Yes, you should always be standing on a mat, do not do this on hardwood or cement floors. Fortunately they are not expensive and are easy to move.
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/558061/Genuine-Joe-Air...
I had one of those hollow doors with a smooth surface, and bought a couple of adjustable aluminum sawhorses (Stanley FatMax is a good option). I spent about 15 minutes making small adjustments to the height of the desk surface while standing on the mat, and using an editor on the workstation and keying the home row on my Model M. I ran the cables through the cutout for the door handle to the UPS and power on the floor. I adjust a pair of monitors to be below natural eye level to reduce neck and eye fatigue. The result is simple, easy to move, and works equally well for hand work like writing with a pen or mechanical pencil. Total cost: less than $100 USD.