Bronco standing desks 6 months on…

Six months ago there was a change in the Bronco office, after we had a gym installed in the Broncoplex we all started to take our health and fitness more seriously. We decided we needed to make a change to the office and installed standing desks. The idea was pushed by myself, Craig, Matt and Dave and soon the whole team was on board, even our new starter Sarah when she arrived in October wanted to join in too.

We know the benefits of standing desks and what damage being sat for long periods of time has on your health, if you read our post from six months ago; When the Bronco office got standing desks, you can find out for yourself. The post was written after trialing the standing desks for 2 weeks and all the reviews were positive with most of us standing for large periods of the day. So after 6 months of having and using the standing desks, the Bronco team discuss their thoughts about them and if they have seen improvements in health/fitness plus. Also most importantly how long they spend standing up now, compared to when we initially got them.

Dave

I still love that just standing for 4 hours a day rather than sitting for those 4 hours will burn 120 calories and strengthen your core it’s a win win! I do try to stand as much as I can, even after a grueling workout in our gym when it can seem too hard to manage.

Becky

I really enjoy standing up to work and do feel the benefit being able to have good posture… but I need to get back into the habit of doing it every day. If I have a lot of paperwork to do it’s easier to sit at a desk so that I can spread out so there are times standing doesn’t work.

Sarah (the newbie)

Standing desks are awesome. I don’t use mine enough but when I do it’s because my legs have got so impatient and fidgety I need to give them something to do and it really does help. Often I’m more focused when stood up too. Basically, they’re grrrreat.

Hannah

I enjoyed using the desk and had a good pattern going over the first couple of months use, standing from 9am to 11am and then sitting back down again for an hour and so on throughout the day. However after my holiday I broke my schedule and although I do stand up for a couple of hours a day now, it’s not as much as when I first started. I’m not sure why, probably general laziness on my part, which is something I will focus on again. I did see some health benefits from standing mixed with working in the gym, old pains and niggles seem to have subsided and I do feel better after standing.

Kean

After questioning whether to get a standing desk at all I started to regret it instantly. As a designer who uses a mouse a lot the dimensions of the standing desk I got weren’t ideal. It took some time to find and then adjust to a new position for my mouse to sit; this included a certain amount of wrist pain in those early weeks.

Another make or size of standing desk may have better suited my needs as I’m sure it’s not the act of standing that is the issue. But feeling unable to give up too quickly on what is a costly item I got used to the new norm and luckily there’s no more wrist pain.

I manage to stand for around 2-3 hours on average and find myself able to stand for longer periods of time than I could before. As for my overall health I’ve not noticed any improvements but I’d probably not notice anyway. Even if there’s no obvious benefits I’m happy that I’m able to sit a little less as even that can become uncomfortable after a while.

Rory

I actually thought I’d stand up more, but find it hurts my knees a bit.

Adam

I stand all day, every day…  unless it’s a few days after a tough leg day.

Hard to say what difference I have seen as I hit the gym since getting the standing desks. I do however appreciate and look forward to and sitting down on the sofa when I get home, other than that I like the freedom of movement I get standing. I’ve never liked been sat on my ass all day at a desk, so I’m a little bias anyway.

Craig

I stand a few times a week but, honestly, I’m a wimp as it hurts my little legs and tends to make me hot – I’ve been upping my usage lately and it’s nice to have the options

Laura

Getting my desk later than everyone I was really excited when it finally arrived. When I first saw everyone else standing in the office I thought it was really odd, and worried that standing would make me feel self-conscious, but it’s had the opposite effect. I love the freedom it offers and I feel so much better in myself for not sitting constantly.

Sian

Like everyone else mentioned, I haven’t been using my standing desk as much recently because of the cold weather –I prefer not to use shoes on my gel mat and I don’t like getting cold feet! I’ve also had an RSI in my wrist which means lifting up the desk has been more difficult, but I feel like having it lifted might ease a bit of pressure on my wrist too, so it’s a bit of a catch 22. I’m determined to make an effort to get back into using it more after Christmas.

Matt

The best thing in my opinion is that it’s good to stretch your legs after being sat down for a while, especially if you’re not leaving the office for the day. The Gel mats make a big difference too!