Switched to standing desk at work, need suggestions for a good mat

Spike

Diamond Member
Aug 27, 2001
6,770
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As stated in the title I just switched to a standing desk at work and am looking for a good anti-fatigue mat to go under it. The desk is a simple affair (Amazon door desk for anyone who is curious) and a tall, rolling chair is provided for the times I want/need to sit. What I'm looking for is a good mat that can stand up to being rolled over in an office chair, but that will also help my feet. My first thought was pouring some asphalt down as I hear that it's far softer than concrete and it would handle the chair just fine, but that did not seem practical in an office building.

Any suggestions? The desk is 5 feet wide including the 4x4 supports so the mat can be a max 4.5 feet wide, I can go as far as 5 feet deep.

Thanks!
 
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momeNt

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2011
9,290
352
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Congratulations on cutting out the most unhealthy thing you do all day. Sitting for extended periods leads to greater incidences of cardiovascular events than overeating and smoking.

Bartenders and chefs might have some good opinions on this, sadly I do not.
 

Spike

Diamond Member
Aug 27, 2001
6,770
1
81
Get a chair.

Have that, will use part of the time (as stated in original post)

Get the rubber one with holes in them so you can hose them down.

Um... what, exactly do you think we will be doing in the office? I'm not sure how a rolling chair would work on a mat with holes.

People work standing 8 hours a day?ut be good for back. What about the knees?

Good question, there are downsides to standing all the time. I'm trying to find a balance of standing at least half the time, if not closer to 75%. That way I still protect my heart (apparently standing up can lead to a greater chance of a heart attack) while getting the benefit of standing.
 

chitwood

Golden Member
Aug 21, 2008
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1312215844-matt-damon2.jpg
 

dighn

Lifer
Aug 12, 2001
22,820
4
81
Congratulations on cutting out the most unhealthy thing you do all day. Sitting for extended periods leads to greater incidences of cardiovascular events than overeating and smoking.

Bartenders and chefs might have some good opinions on this, sadly I do not.

standing for 8-9 hours a day can't be that health either?
 

momeNt

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2011
9,290
352
126
standing for 8-9 hours a day can't be that health either?

Standing and shifting the weight on your feet, moving but remaining in relatively the same place, and maybe an occasional sit, is optimal if you must be in one place for a long period of time.

Sitting nonstop is the worst, eventually the science will probably begin to influence insurance premiums, but it is not at that point yet.
 

Murloc

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2008
5,382
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I'm not sold on this thing.

Anyway rubber mats with holes are pretty common as entry mats but I don't think you can roll on them easily.
 

Baked

Lifer
Dec 28, 2004
36,052
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That's retarded. So you're going from having bad back because you don't know how to sit right, to having bad sole and knees from standing around too much. Good job.
 

Spike

Diamond Member
Aug 27, 2001
6,770
1
81
That's retarded. So you're going from having bad back because you don't know how to sit right, to having bad sole and knees from standing around too much. Good job.

Wow, thats odd, I don't remember saying I don't know how to sit right or that I have a bad back, where did you get that?

What I'm doing is switching from sitting all day to a combination of sitting and standing, I'm trying to find the best of both worlds. By standing not only am I burning more calories, I'm keeping the blood flowing and keeping my metabolic rate higher (apparently sitting still your body goes into storage mode). It also should help me keep alert on those days I'm really dragging at work. However, I still have a chair (it's really tall) so that I can sit when I need to. Right now my aim is to sit for ~30 min every 2 hours but I will likely adjust that.
 

tfinch2

Lifer
Feb 3, 2004
22,114
1
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Lulz a lot of people switched to standing desks in their cubes at my office. After about 2 weeks every single one of them is sitting in some high ass chair and does not stand.
 

Spike

Diamond Member
Aug 27, 2001
6,770
1
81
Lulz a lot of people switched to standing desks in their cubes at my office. After about 2 weeks every single one of them is sitting in some high ass chair and does not stand.

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to avoid. I won't have any issue standing at least a few hours a day, I'm ADD enough that standing actually helps me calm down, but I'm not sure about my grand scheme of standing 50-75% of the time.

Of course, as I type this I'm sitting down ;) Though I did make it standing 5 hours today.