The Innovative 7500 Wing Dual Monitor Arm is a great addition to any standing desk.

Contrary to popular belief, an adjustable standing desk with a treadmill is not the be-all, end-all of ergonomic office accessories. Now, I know what you’re thinking — a standing desk or treadmill desk is a big investment! Of course, this is completely correct; for many people it’ll be the one of the biggest investments in their own health they’re likely to ever make. However, it’s important to realize that even though your new treadmill desk keeps the blood flow going during the day instead of letting you fall into a zero-caffeine coma after lunch, there are quite a few more improvements you can make to your new standing or walking workstation that will improve your productivity and comfort.

One of my biggest recommendations for upgrading your ergonomic desk — doubly so if you’re using a treadmill — is an ergonomic monitor arm with fingertip adjustment, such as the Humanscale M8 or Innovative 7500 Wing Dual LCD Arm. Having recently switched over to a treadmill desk, I’ve noticed my Innovative 7500 Wing arm makes a huge difference in viewing comfort while walking on the treadmill. It gives me the extra height range necessary for eye-height viewing, as the treadmill puts my eye level an extra three inches or so above my normal standing eye level.

Of course, you could hypothetically raise your new standing desk high enough to put your monitors right where you need them, and many people do. There’s a problem with this technique, however. By raising your monitors on your desks to comfortably view while standing or walking, your keyboard and mouse will then likely be put into an uncomfortable position. This makes it important to not only have a fingertip-adjustable monitor arm, but an ergonomic keyboard tray too. I prefer the Humanscale 900 keyboard trays equipped with a 6G arm. These trays allow for the keyboard and mouse to be lowered to elbow height, independently of your desktop, and also help to prevent a hunched posture while typing in a seated position.

These two accessories form the cornerstone of a complete ergonomic workstation, and while I recommend them for any type of desk, they become especially useful at a sit-stand workstation. If you’re like me and trying to live healthier by working at a sit-stand desk, don’t settle for “good enough” — go the extra mile and kit out your new treadmill desk with a monitor arm and keyboard tray!

Learn more about ergonomic accessories for standing desks at TheHumanSolution.com.

Staying engaged while working an 8 hour day can be difficult for anyone. For people and children with learning disabilities and attention problems, this normal issue is even more compounded and problematic.  As it turns out, certain stools that move with the body and encourage movement can also help you hone your focus, and there are studies that have proven it.

There have been a handful of recent studies on fidget-friendly work environments and their affect on children with ADHD. A 2008 study revealed that children actually need to move in order to focus on a complicated task. To read more, check out this article by the National Education Association, it has some great ideas for ways to integrate movement structure into the learning experience, and more information on these studies.

We offer a number of ergonomic stools that encourage natural movement of the body and can help you maintain focus while you work. Here are some of my favorites:

The Varier Move Stool

1. The Varier Move Standing Stool is designed with movement in mind.  This stool has a very comfortable feel to it – a bounce that moves with your body as you adjust, and a base that lets you tilt at different angles. In addition, the saddle seat gives you a comfortable feeling of stability, even as you’re moving. Because of this type of seat, I think this option is my personal favorite, because I like how you can be completely free to move, without feeling like you’re about to fall off the stool. This particular chair is also available in child size.

2. The Steelcase Buoy is a brand new release and very cool chair. This stool feels literally like a buoy, and is a lot of fun to experience. With up to 12 degrees of tilt for active seating, this chair also is very easy to move around, so if you work in various locations in the office throughout the day, this is a great option.

The Steelcase Buoy

3. The Via Swopper Chair is also a fun and progressive chair. It looks like a corkscrew, and is very buoyant and movement-encouraging. You can check out a great review of this chair here.

Via Swopper

4. The Neutral Posture ONGO stool is also a great choice. Its curved base allows easy tilt in any direction, and lightweight design allows you to move locations within the office.

Movement is important; if you can integrate a little activity while you work, the benefits will affect your productivity and focus as well as your health!

Learn more about ergonomic office products at TheHumanSolution.com

Niels Diffrient with his famous Humanscale Freedom Chair

Niels Diffrient, the celebrated Humanscale chair designer who created the popular Freedom Chair and Liberty Chair, died this month at the age of 84. Dubbed “the granddaddy of ergonomic design” by Forbes, Diffrient revolutionized the world of industrial design when he established what an ergonomic chair could and should be.

With a sharp eye for style and simplicity, Diffrient’s Humanscale chairs supported the central idea of ergonomics; that the workplace should be fitted to the worker.

The Freedom Chair, Liberty Chair, and the Diffrient World Chair (his latest design), all offer elegant and timeless aesthetics with intuitive ergonomic adjustments. The chairs are constantly praised by industry professionals and users for their flexibility, support, comfort, and ease of use.

Diffrient once asked “Why should you have to read a 20-page manual to know how to run a chair?” This kind of thinking informed Diffrient’s work and inspired him to create slim, striking, comfortable and efficient chairs that offer the same support and adjustability of bulkier and more complicated ergonomic chairs.

We celebrate Diffrient’s profound influence on ergonomic design every day at The Human Solution by using and enjoying his chairs. His legacy will live on not only with the unique and popular ergonomic chairs he created, but also in the influence his work will continue to have in the design world for generations to come.

Even with my tips, I can't promise you'll look this cool (Photo: bikingbis.com).

My love of bike-riding has become a common joke in the office. I am admittedly obsessed, but up until recently I still drove my car the measly 6 miles to work every day (for shame!). I always imagined that if I were to bike in, I’d spent my 8-5 hours torturing my coworkers as a sweaty, sloppy mess.

As it turns out, you don’t have to be disgusting all day if you want to take the scenic route to work. Last week I figured out a couple of simple logistical swaps that make biking to work a piece of cake. It takes 5 minutes of foresight, a backpack, and (if it’s hot like it is here in Texas) possibly a small towel. On a typical day, I throw on a pair of simple khaki shorts and a tank top for the ride to stay cool. Once at work, all I do is add a blouse, some heels, and presto! I am in business attire. These two items are simple to either keep at work, or to throw in your bag in the morning.

The market is catching on, too. Major cycling brands are now offering stylish pants and tops that are easy to move in, breathable, and professional.

I should also mention two added bonuses I didn’t expect: First, lunch errands are a lot easier and faster to run if you bike instead of drive around town. I was breezing by traffic on back roads and short-cuts! Second, just riding outside allows some time apart from the stress of being in a car or in the office. I can think through and prepare for the day ahead, and in moments of particular clarity, I can actually appreciate the world around me.

For more information on maintaining a healthy lifestyle in and out of the office, visit us at www.thehumansolution.com.

One of our one-of-a-kind cedar wood tops is pictured here on our silver UpLift 900 sit-stand desk base.

It’s summer here in Austin, Texas. Despite the impending heat and humidity that is characteristic of central Texas summers, here at The Human Solution we’re introducing our newest series of adjustable height standing desks, the UpLift 900 series, and we couldn’t be more excited! Not just because we are a bunch of ergonomics geeks who are on a tireless mission to help make people comfortable and healthy at work, but because they are our very own line of desks. They are manufactured by The Human Solution, and, as a result, we are able to offer them at a great price point, making it easier and more affordable than ever to upgrade your desk to a sit-stand workstation.

Because this is our newest line of desks, we’ve been able to incorporate a lot of the features you want to see in a standing workstation. A memory keypad comes standard, whereas a memory keypad is usually either an upgrade or not available at all on older adjustable height desk models. The UpLift 900 series desks also come with a heavy duty lifting capacity: 335 lbs. for the two-leg UpLift 900 and UpLift 920, and up to 465 lbs. on the three-leg UpLift 950.

The UpLift 900 desks are also incredibly versatile and highly adjustable. They have a telescoping center beam design, not found on many other desk models, so you can easily adjust the width of the desk base if you decide to switch out the desktop down the road.  If you want to mount a keyboard tray, you have the option of mounting one of our Humanscale keyboard trays with an 11” track, or, if you want the flexibility to stow the tray completely when not in use, remove the center rails. This make room for a longer track, and you don’t lose any stability. Better yet, order an UpLift 920, which has all the same great features as the UpLift 900, but without the center rails.

With the UpLift 900 desks, you also have a great height range, from about 25” to 51”, depending on the thickness of your desktop. So it works for tall or short users, or those who want to pair it with a treadmill and create an exercise workstation. Of course, the UpLift 900 is still available with our signature solid wood and Texas native wood tops, made to order right here in Austin, Texas, by a local woodworker.

You can also choose from a variety of laminate colors, or, use your own top! I’ve talked to customers who have used interesting pieces of wood they’ve found on the beach to fashion a desktop, and even one who was making a desktop out of an airplane wing. If you do decide to get creative with one of our desk bases, send us a picture; it might end up right here on our blog!

Find more information about adjustable-height desks at TheHumanSolution.com

Photo: facebook.com/KGSRBLUES

Summer is upon us here in Austin. We are finally into the sweltering mid 90s, but there are so many activities and community events to cure those summertime blues. My personal favorites are the free summer concerts.

Austin offers several great free concert series of varying sizes and music tastes around town. A couple that I frequent are Blues On The Green at Zilker Park, which can attract thousands of concert-goers, and the much smaller and more intimate Unplugged at the Grove, hosted at the Shady Grove restaurant on Barton Springs Road.

While it’s tempting to try to attend every free concert in Austin, it would be nearly impossible. Austin is “The Live Music Capitol of the World” after all. I have however found that I have been training myself for the upcoming concert season.

Now, you may be asking, “How is that you train yourself to go see a concert, Derek? Isn’t that kind of ridiculous?” First of all, no! Do I put music on at home and stand directly in front of my speakers on full blast for a couple of hours a night, gathering neighbors to stand much too close and bump into me and turn off the air conditioning in my house to simulate the hot Texas summer weather? No, I “train” myself at work, in the cool air conditioned office. I use a standing desk.

I am fortunate enough to work at The Human Solution, where you could say we practice what we preach. We all use standing desks (and desk treadmills) here at the office and just another added benefit that I have found is that standing for large chunks of my day at work on a consistent basis has strengthened my back. It’s given me the energy to stand and be more active outside of work, even after a long day at the office.

Parking a mile away and walking to Blues on the Green is common. Photo: KEYETV.com

I love going to see live music and like to try and get as close as possible to the stage and the band as I can. There’s no sitting down in front of the stage and the possibility of standing for three hours or more is entirely possible at any given show. Combine that with the walking that you have to do just to get to the concert location after parking far away and that can be quite a feat for your feet if you aren’t used to it. Fortunately, I am, but my standing desk has really helped to build my endurance and allow me to get the most out of live shows.

It’s just like any exercise. Unless your name is Forrest Gump, you can’t just walk out your front door and run a complete marathon without ever having trained for it. So in the same respect, you can’t expect to be able to stand for hours at a time without first taking it slow and building up your endurance to standing.

Training yourself to stand is simple. Take it light at first, alternating between sitting and standing fifteen minutes at a time. Increase your standing time by what you are comfortable with. Take a quick walk around the office to stretch your legs every now and then. There’s no need to over-do it and immediately stand for eight straight hours a day. That’s not easy or recommended.

Once you do get used to it though, it becomes second nature. I find myself standing all the time when not at work. People say on the weekends, “Hey Derek, don’t you want to sit down and relax? Here’s a chair,” but I politely decline. Really. I honestly just feel great standing.

Train your body to withstand more standing! TheHumanSolution.com has a standing desk for everyone.

Here's what happens when we sit down. (Graphic: prafulla.net)

Here at The Human Solution, we’ve blogged several times about the very real and quite frightening dangers of prolonged sitting. We have new subscribers to our blog every day, though, so we think it’s worth repeating this information, as the truth will set you free! Free from your sedentary lifestyle and all the health risks associated with being chained to our desks, cars, and couches.

Many people believe that as long as they exercise at a moderate-to-vigorous level for the minimum recommended 150 minutes a week, they are doing enough to ensure good physical health. Unfortunately, this is just not true. Even someone who exercises vigorously for an hour a day or more is still subject to the significant negative health effects of sitting for the rest of the day: during the commute, all day at work, and in front of the television in the evening. This is because, according to a 2010 study published in the Exercise Sport Science Review, “too much sitting is distinct from too little exercise.” You can go for an early-morning five-mile run or hit your Crossfit box for a bunch of double-unders and kettle bell swings, but it will not compensate for the other 22 hours of sedentary time in your day.

So what are the health effects of prolonged sitting? As soon as you sit, muscle activity shuts down, which in turn suppresses lipoprotein lipase activity. LPL is necessary for breaking down fats. Without it, fat accumulates in the blood, and we all know where that train leads: Heart Attack Station. A suppression of LPL also results in reduced glucose uptake, and that train stops at Diabetes Central. Sitting also places us at a higher risk for obesity, no real surprise there. Our calorie-burning rate drops to about one per minute, so we just sit there with fat and glucose hanging out in our bloodstream, thickening our middles and leading us to an early death. Perhaps most surprising, prolonged sitting is also linked to an increased risk of cancer, particularly breast cancer and colon cancer. And again, this is the case even if you regularly exercise. If you don’t exercise at all, the numbers are even more frightening: women who sit for more than six hours per day and are also otherwise inactive are 94% more likely to die prematurely. 94%, ladies!! Inactive men who sit more than six hours per day increase their risk of early death by 48%.

There is good news in all of this. You can significantly reduce your risks of all of the above by simply moving a bit more and breaking up those long periods of sitting. At a minimum, stand up every 45 minutes or so and take a quick walk around the office. You can also stand during phone calls, have walking meetings, or walk to your colleagues’ cubes rather than emailing. It may not seem like this small amount of movement can make a difference, but studies show that it does. Movement reactivates our muscles, gets that fat and glucose processed, and helps us burn more calories. It’s the seemingly small things that add up over time; just as one additional can of soda per day leads to an average 20-pound weight gain in a year, so can small, subtle movements throughout the day add up for good health.

If you find that you enjoy standing up for part of the day, you might want to go for a height-adjustable desk. We want everyone to join the standing desk revolution, and we provide desks for a range of budgets. You may also be able to work with your employer to have them provide a desk for you. Tell them that a 2011 study of sit-to-stand desks showed that 87% of participants felt more comfortable and energized, 75% felt healthier, 71% felt more focused, 66% felt more productive, and 62% felt happier.

Our bodies are simply not designed for this ridiculous amount of sedentariness. Sure, it’s nice to be lazy, but it’s also nice to be alive!

Find more info on staying healthy at work at TheHumanSolution.com

… Missouri Tigers, that is. Nutrition and exercise specialists at the University of Missouri’s College of Human Environmental Sciences have begun adding treadmill desks to their workstations in an effort to become living embodiments of the research they’ve been referencing that shows the positive effects of walking at work. In the video above, you can see them in action and listen as they go over all the same stats and reasons we here at The Human Solution focus on as well, including high calorie burn, weight loss, improved focus and decreased health care costs.

Of course, I do disagree with one number they reference — the expense of a treadmill desk. While they suggest a standing desk as an affordable alternative, The Human Solution carries several fully height adjustable treadmill desks with full sit-to-stand capabilities well below the $3,000 they reference as the commercial cost of a sit-to-stand treadmill desk. The numbers when it comes to the statistical benefits of walking while you work, however, can’t be denied.

Learn more about treadmill desks at TheHumanSolution.com

There has been a lot of buzz about height adjustable standing desks and treadmill desks lately. We’ve noticed several blog posts on the subject of ergonomic desks trending on social media, and standing desks have even popped up on Duck Dynasty. We’ve gotten a lot of calls from people trying to find the best way to transform their office in a way that complements their particular aesthetic, space dimensions, and budget. Here are a handful of recurring questions and tips we’d like to share:

1. Common question: “Aesthetically, I love the look of my current desk because it has a wood top.  The natural wood is important to me, and I think the laminate tops on adjustable stand desks are not ideal.”

You might find our natural wood desk tops a great option for your height adjustable desk upgrade. We are the only source for this kind of Texas-made wood top standing desk, and we are very proud of how beautiful they look. We work with local woodworkers here in Austin, who designs desk tops to order using native Texas wood. These desks are stunning, and they’ll bring an element of nature to your office.

2. Common question: “I really want a height adjustable desk, but my budget does not allow the full desk set up.”

We offer a variety of adjustable standing desk bases that you can purchase separately, without a top. You can find your own desktop locally and save on cost and shipping charges. Right now, the Uplift 900 desks are the most affordable option on the market, and they are the newest and best quality as well.

3. “Why do I need a monitor arm? The desk just moves up and down, it will move with it!”

When you are sitting, the ergonomically correct eye level when viewing your monitor will be different from when you are standing. Your monitor should always be just below eye level, but there are different angles and positions that are more comfortable, depending on your sit-stand position. If you are going to be using a treadmill desk, it will be even more crucial to be able to move your monitors from one end of your desk to the other, as you go from walking to sitting. Monitor arms allow screen adjustments to be fast and easy, and they keep your monitor safe as well. They also saves you valuable space on your desktop!

4. “I have a very limited work space, and cannot fit a large desk into my cubicle at work.”

There are pedestal desks available that are much more compact than our regular desk option. Budget friendly to boot, these desks come in a variety of sizes, shapes and pneumatic and electrical options.

5. “I purchased a keyboard tray, but now that I have my new desk, I see the keyboard tray does not fit!”

When you are looking to purchase a keyboard tray along with a desk, or if you’re trying to check on whether your new desk will accommodate a current keyboard tray, we can help you figure out those logistics. They key is in looking at the distance, or depth, under the surface of your desk from front to back, and making sure you measure the space that is unencumbered by things like crossbars, or any other attachments. If you have limited space underneath your desk top due to a crossbar, have no fear. We can make recommendations for keyboard trays that have smaller tracks! If you have an existing keyboard tray, we may be able to find you a track that will work with what you have.

6. “I need an expansive desk space, and am afraid that if I switch to an adjustable desk, I’ll have to downgrade to a smaller size for stability purposes.”

We offer many different corner and L-shaped adjustable desk that can be customized to very large surface areas. These desks are built to handle substantial weight capacity, and some can be customized to be as large as seven feet wide on each side. You can even order L-shaped desk bases to go with a top of your choosing.

For further help with our many different options, and with your particular needs, you can use a handy tool on our website called the desk selector. Here you can enter your specific requirements and we will send you recommendations. It might seem like a tall order to re-vamp your workspace to integrate an adjustable height desk, but we are here to help you along the way to working in better health, so don’t give up!

More information on how to get healthy at work is at TheHumanSolution.com.

Enter to win a new office full of Steelcase furniture, including a Sit-to-Walkstation Treadmill Desk and a Leap chair!

Ask anyone here, and we’ll tell you that since we started working at The Human Solution, we’ve started paying closer attention to chairs and office furniture in movies, TV shows, and in our daily errands. I was at my bank the other day and noticed that they were fully decked out with Steelcase Think Chairs and Details monitor arms, and I’ve noticed more Steelcase chairs in commercials and TV shows recently as well. Steelcase is definitely one of the brands that I see most often — the design fits into most modern offices and the adjustability of the chairs means that they’ll fit a wide range of body types, making them the perfect choice when buying chairs for a large group of people. The modern look and bright colors help create a fun, stylish workplace, and items like the Sit-to-Walkstation treadmill desk or the Buoy stool encourage you to get up and move during the day, helping you to stay healthy and active.

Does your office need a Steelcase makeover? Are you tired of your non-ergonomic office chair and your stationary desk that forces you to sit all day? The Human Solution is coming to the rescue! We are giving away a complete Steelcase office to one lucky reader, and three others will receive a brand new Steelcase Amia chair. All you have to do is send a photo of your current office to us — we’ll randomly choose one entry to win a new office including a Sit-to-Walkstation treadmill desk, Leap chair, FYI monitor arm, Currency storage cabinet, Dash Mini lamp, Turnstone Campfire Paper Table, two Buoy chairs, a Slatwall with Stanchions for mounting, and a slatwall-mounted Pen and Pencil Cup and Letter Tray to keep your new desk organized. Three other entries will be chosen at random to win a Steelcase Amia chair. If you’ve been reading our blog posts and wishing that you could join the standing desk revolution, this is your lucky day. Official rules and entry details can be found on our contest page; just be sure to get your photo in before June 28!

Our full line of Steelcase furniture and accessories can be found at TheHumanSolution.com.