Yo dawg we heard you don't want to die, so we put a _____ in your cube so you can gyrate while you collate

May 14, 2010 7:29 AM

Help me find some alternatives to normal desks and chairs! For health!

I was re-reading this thread about being more active and less sedentary yesterday, and comments like FFF's really jumped out to me.

Can anyone suggest online or brick-and-mortar stores or resources for this kind of thing? I would especially like to figure out something for a chair substitute, but anything you can suggest would be welcome.

Any price range welcome, but the most helpful products will be in the few hundred dollar area, not the few thousand.

Sorry for the corny title.

posted by Work Related MeFi to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

If your primary concern is being too sedentary, your best bet is to avoid sitting altogether. Ikea has several desks that can be adjusted to standing height, and they're not expensive at all.
posted by decathecting at 7:36 AM on May 14, 2010

Response by poster: I should have mentioned: I have an improvised standing desk at the moment. The problem is that when I know I have a long project to work on it is too easy to talk myself out of using. Also as my legs stand for too long them seem to get fidgety and want to wonder off. So something where I can sit seems like it might be a smart addition to what I have now.
posted by Work Related MeFi at 7:59 AM on May 14, 2010

A colleague here uses one of those big inflatable exercise/fitness balls (is that what they're called?). However, I quite like the look of these kneeling chairs.
posted by jonesor at 8:51 AM on May 14, 2010

I use a $10 yoga ball that I picked up at Ross. It's worked for me so far, but you have to be a little careful with them. Don't start off using it exclusively or you'll torque your back and legs. Try it for 15/30 minutes at a stretch and slowly increase the time you use it.
posted by lekvar at 12:41 PM on May 14, 2010

Seconding the yoga ball-- I use a 75cm model and have way less back pain than I do even on the super-expensive ergo chairs at work. Every once in a while I do some backbends or other little excercises on it.
posted by Erasmouse at 1:42 PM on May 14, 2010

My physio is a big fan of the yoga ball as a chair - apart from the exercises it does require a significant amount more activity to use it to sit still. He recommended it to me as a way of increasing my core strength to deal with some back/hip/pelvis issues.
posted by geek anachronism at 5:57 PM on May 14, 2010