Conclusion | Standing@Work

The Start

Standing@Work was a project embarked upon before Cubesapien was even a concept. Initially rumors of a treadmill desk were spread by the water coolers at my office, followed closely by laughter and comments of insanity. But the concept of standing, not sitting, struck a cord. Humans didn’t evolve to sit for such extended periods of sitting. Everything about our anatomy is focused to increase the individuals ambulatory mobility, keep on our feet enabled the propagation of the species.

Living a common sedentary life, it is possible to sit for almost 22hrs in a day. Between sleeping, commuting, working, meals, relaxation time you would be lucky to spend a mere 2hrs on your feet. This notion of spending almost the entire day sitting down or horizontal is an abomination to the human genetic code. This was the initial realization that got me out of my chair.  Without standing we wouldn’t have been able to evolve into the dominant species on the planet. One of the key factors in our rapid expansion was the different between how we locomote (bipeadal) and how our closest primate cousins get a round (quadrupeds). So why give up what made us such an evolutionary success? We won’t, here at Cubesapien we will have our cake AND eat it too.

The Experiment

The goal for Standing@work was to spend more time out of the office chair in the hopes of seeing increased mobility and increased productivity. Daily Observations were made chronicling the difficulties of standing all day (Shooting PAIN), the technique of good standing posture (Standing is a Skill, Cure to Lower Back Pain, How to Create a More Stable Arch), and cubicle life & ergonomics (Workstation pt 1 & pt 2, Mobilizing in le Office, Office Ergonomics -or- You're Doing it Wrong,Observational Awareness, and Club Cube).

Standing@Work wasn’t just a cubesapien idea either. During the weekly Theory articles we learned about Death by Sitting , Get Ripped@Work, Reasons to Not Stand and Why Those Reasons are DEAD WRONG.

One of the more difficult aspects of the actual experiment was determining metrics by which to measure the success of the project. How would increased mobility be observed? How will productivity be related to the act of standing? Because of the multitude of daily factors AND the extremely limited sample size of one, quantitative data would have been useless and impractical. The metrics that were taken therefore reflected the qualitative experience I had. Am I seeing general mobility improvements in the gym? Am I staying productive? Were aspects of the experiment surprising or unexpected? Does anything hurt? For the most case these are pass/fail question that are combined to determine the success of Standing@Work.

The Results

Standing@Work was a success! … But to elaborate further there are some qualifications.

Am I seeing general mobility improvements in the gym?

Yes, before Standing@Work I was experiencing hip flexor issues while air squatting and with weighted squats. This flexor issue was addressable but only with 10-15min of concentrated mobilizing and stretching during my limited gym time. Since Standing@Work those hip flexor issues have gone away.

That issue has gone primarily because standing for extended period my hips are at their full extension and the hip flexors are not given the opportunity to contract over long periods of time. However, the flip side is I feel as though my hamstrings become much stiffer. Not necessarily a bad thing, it does keep my squat at just below parallel. It also means I need to be more conscious about warm ups and mobilizing post WOD to insure I don't accrue negligent injuries.

Another reason for seeing increased mobility because of Standing@Work is simply because I mobilize a TON more now than I did when I was sitting (Mobilizing in le Office). I will break out the lacrosse ball for a good 30min a work day, rolling over quads, hamstrings, foot arches, forearms, and even calf muscles to alleviate tension and tightness accumulated from standing still for long periods.

Am I staying productive?

Tricky question to answer, productivity is a function of focus/concentration, having projects to work on, and mitigating distractions. Standing@Work has been a component of my productivity but isn’t the sole contributor so take the following section with a grain of salt.

Standing has provided three key components I didn’t have sitting.

The first, no drowsiness. It is almost impossible to fall asleep while standing(Getting my Zzzzz). Even with a minimal of 3-6hrs of sleep a night, standing will keep you alert and moving. The products during those sleep deprived days won’t be the best but you will keep working.

Secondly, awareness is a greatly appreciated factor for my work environment. My height allows me to see over my cubicle walls and as such I can watch the movement of the office and know when people are coming to see me (Observational Awareness). The awareness benefits also provide me higher visibility in the office, having people come by and ask questions, upper management now knows me as “that guy that stands up all day”. The visibility of Standing@Work has even reach hilarious national levels (Mainstream).

Lastly, Standing@Work gets me moving around more. I get out of my cube at the drop of a hat, walking to the printer, talking to a coworkers, ect. Fidgeting / Cube dancing has also been on the increase (Fidget & Focus, Club Cube).

If there is a productivity downside to Standing@Work it would be the increased difficulty of deep thought (Scatter Brained) and the added distraction of seeing everything that goes down in the office.

So is Standing@Work a benefit to productivity? Maybe...

Were aspects of the experiment surprising or unexpected?

Definitely, unexpected surprises and observations were seen on a regular basis. Did you know your gluts are CRITICAL to standing (K-Star (if you don't know him you should), Cure to Lower Back Pain, How to Create a More Stable Arch, Banging on the Old Glute Drum)? Did you know you can train for both a long distance run (Standing@Work = Training) and practice the bench press while standing in a cubicle(Bench Press'n in the Cube)? Very interesting and unique observations.

Did Standing@Work provide unexpected surprises? YES

Does anything hurt?

Unfortunately, things did hurt. A critical realization is that Standing is a Skill and that particular attention needs to be used to insure injuries are avoided. Even with the zen monk like concentration that was I used to insure proper technique was used discomfort and minor injuries still were present.

The largest issues from standing still arose from muscles tightening up, leaning forward to much and not activating my gluts. It was very important in those cases to roll out with the lacrosse ball (Tight knee and a little pain ball) to elevate shortening muscles, have equal weight distribution (How I Stand@Work), and to maintain active gluts (Banging on the Old Glute Drum). These were all issues that were easily delt with once they were identified and some effort was put to their corrrection.

I did experience an anomaly of an issue that was completely unexpected Shooting PAIN in my foot one day. It was worry some since it was a sharp nerve pinching sensation that required me to hobble around until it was magically fixed. Some how if I just put weight on the leg after commuting or standing for long periods the pain would be stunning. After a little walking it would subside and more vigorous activities were not a complicating issue.

Luckily the community were able to sound off and give some of their advice about the situation (Shooting PAIN - Update). Two pillars in the Crossfit circles Robb Wolf (The Paleo Solution / NorCal Strength &  Conditioning) and Brian Mackenzie (Crossfit Endurance) recommended me to see a MD about the issue. Luckily for me I had sent a question to the MobilityWOD to get their expert opinion on the situation. I was rewarded for my questions by a very useful response from a “mobility savant” by the name of Roop Sihota, who recommend a number of techniques to address the shooting pain (MobilityWOD Sounds In). Ultimately I was able to redouble my efforts to focus on proper technique while standing and my mystery pain went away.

It would be untrue to say that standing for long periods is without possible injury (Reasons to Not Stand and Why Those Reasons are DEAD WRONG). And without the will to enforce correct posture and technique injuries will happen while standing still. Is it worth standing as apposed to sitting? I would say yes, for the majority of the time standing is superior to sitting based probability of injuries. I’d much rather get an injury from being active than completely passive all day long.

Does anything hurt? Yes, doing anything to an extreme will cause injuries of some kind. A little bit of technique will go a long way to keeping safe.

The Conclusion

Let me be the first to admit that there ARE concerns about standing still for long periods of time. Even while standing it is required to fidget (Fidget & Focus) and engage in periodic activity. Long duration / repetitive activities can and will cause injuries. But with the proper technique they can be minimized.

Is Standing@Work worth perusing? Yes, Standing@Work is worth all the effort. But you need to use it as a way to get out the cube more often, mobilize during the day, as a way to practice proper techniques / body mechanics.

The Standing@Work experiment has been a success. As of this posting I’ve been in touch with my offices erogonomic manager and have been able to get them to supply me with a bunch of gear to make my workspace more customizable. They hooked me up with a sliding keyboard tray, metal desk extension, and comfort mouse pad. Given this increase in workspace customization and the success that was seen in the Standing@Work project I will continue to stand at work outside of the 30 experiment. AND I plan on standing for the foreseeable future.