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Date: 14 Aug 2006 13:22:06
From: Charlie Pendejo
Subject: office chair
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I thought to ask rec.running this question, and when I brought up the
newsgroup lo and behold Ozzie was back! Thanks for dropping in, Oz,
and I bet either you'll have some thoughts or at least your
reappearance is a good omen that someone will.
Question: can anyone recommend either a specific chair for computing,
or else where and how I should look for one?
In the last year or two I've - largely inspired by what I've read here
- made a conscious effort to change my sitting posture. I now
generally try to sit upright on my sitz bone, near the edge of the
seat, rather than sitting back on my hamstrings as encouraged if not
demanded by so many ostensibly "comfy" chairs.
The chair in front of my home computer doesn't work very well with such
posture: its seat and back are made from bungee cords strung across the
frame. I'd consider using a kitchen chair but need at least height
adjustability if not swivel and slide.
I'd appreciate any suggestions, general or specific - things to look
for, brands, models, places to buy, links to "how to buy an office
chair which is friendly to your back and your running muscles" sites,
testimonials, whatever ya got. Anders, haven't you mentioned using one
of those kneeling chairs? Thoughts?
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 16:34:38
From: Ed Prochak
Subject: Re: office chair
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runsrealfast wrote:
> Charlie Pendejo wrote:
> > I thought to ask rec.running this question, and when I brought up the
> > newsgroup lo and behold Ozzie was back! Thanks for dropping in, Oz,
> > and I bet either you'll have some thoughts or at least your
> > reappearance is a good omen that someone will.
> >
> > Question: can anyone recommend either a specific chair for computing,
> > or else where and how I should look for one?
> >
> > In the last year or two I've - largely inspired by what I've read here
> > - made a conscious effort to change my sitting posture. I now
> > generally try to sit upright on my sitz bone, near the edge of the
> > seat, rather than sitting back on my hamstrings as encouraged if not
> > demanded by so many ostensibly "comfy" chairs.
> >
> > The chair in front of my home computer doesn't work very well with such
> > posture: its seat and back are made from bungee cords strung across the
> > frame. I'd consider using a kitchen chair but need at least height
> > adjustability if not swivel and slide.
> >
> > I'd appreciate any suggestions, general or specific - things to look
> > for, brands, models, places to buy, links to "how to buy an office
> > chair which is friendly to your back and your running muscles" sites,
> > testimonials, whatever ya got. Anders, haven't you mentioned using one
> > of those kneeling chairs? Thoughts?
>
>
> I worked in the furniture industry for a few years and one thing we
> would tell customers is that they need to sit/lay on the furniture to
> make sure it felt right for them. I would recomend this for an office
> chair. Many stores have chairs that you can sit in and see if it is
> egronomically correct. Unfortunatly most stores would not let you do
> this but I would see if they would let you take it home, even if for
> only an hour. That way you could sit at the computer and see if it will
> work for you. Thats a longshot, so you may just have to sit in the
> chair in the store for a few minutes.
>
> Some people would say a few minutes is 2-3 but I would recomend 5-10 at
> least! Its the same mistake people make when purchasing a mattress.
> They all to often look at the price tag and then lay of it for 5
> seconds and say this will work. Well your health is more important than
> "this will work". Spend the time and a little money and your back,
> shoulders, hips etc will thank you.
To complement these thoughts (or maybe to contrast them), I found for
me the chair doesn't matter as much,as long as I get my stretching done
regularly. When I am not stretching like I should, few chairs feel
comfortable. S I guess I have a wide comfort zone most of the time
while yours may be different.
HTH,
ed
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 23:34:06
From: Tony S.
Subject: Re: office chair
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"Charlie Pendejo" <Charlie.Pendejo@gmail.com > wrote in message
news:1155586926.159652.267500@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> I thought to ask rec.running this question, and when I brought up the
> newsgroup lo and behold Ozzie was back! Thanks for dropping in, Oz,
> and I bet either you'll have some thoughts or at least your
> reappearance is a good omen that someone will.
>
> Question: can anyone recommend either a specific chair for computing,
> or else where and how I should look for one?
When I needed one I just went to Costco and got a cheap but decent $100 one
with full back support.
> In the last year or two I've - largely inspired by what I've read here
> - made a conscious effort to change my sitting posture. I now
> generally try to sit upright on my sitz bone, near the edge of the
> seat, rather than sitting back on my hamstrings as encouraged if not
> demanded by so many ostensibly "comfy" chairs.
I think you're onto it - being aware of posture is key. I try to keep my
neck straight consciously, and I tend to read at night lying on my stomach,
which arches the back and forces the neck back and up too. Bicycling also is
good in that it forces the neck and head back - the opposite of a hunched
over working position.
> The chair in front of my home computer doesn't work very well with such
> posture: its seat and back are made from bungee cords strung across the
> frame. I'd consider using a kitchen chair but need at least height
> adjustability if not swivel and slide.
>
> I'd appreciate any suggestions, general or specific - things to look
> for, brands, models, places to buy, links to "how to buy an office
> chair which is friendly to your back and your running muscles" sites,
> testimonials, whatever ya got. Anders, haven't you mentioned using one
> of those kneeling chairs? Thoughts?
I had one of those kneeling chairs and it worked ok, but overall it wasn't
very comfortable, and occasional counteractive stretching throughout the day
helps. For me the easiest and most effective is the simple back bend while
pushing the hips out forward.
-Tony
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 21:43:17
From: Dan Stumpus
Subject: Re: office chair
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"Charlie Pendejo" <Charlie.Pendejo@gmail.com > wrote
> Question: can anyone recommend either a specific chair for computing,
> or else where and how I should look for one?
> In the last year or two I've - largely inspired by what I've read here
> - made a conscious effort to change my sitting posture. I now
> generally try to sit upright on my sitz bone, near the edge of the
> seat, rather than sitting back on my hamstrings as encouraged if not
> demanded by so many ostensibly "comfy" chairs.
I do the same thing -- sit with back vertical, usually on the front part of
my El Cheapo typist's chair. We also have one of those kneeling chairs, and
that more or less forces you to into the healthy vertical spine posture.
Lynn uses that for her computer chair, and I find it perfectly comfortable,
too.
I like to have my eyes only a foot or so away from my dual-screen Cinerama
setup, so buying a monty-pythonesque comfy chair would be a waste for me --
there's no way to get close enough to my work and sit back and keep my spine
vertical with an armed chair without getting into some serious yoga poses.
> The chair in front of my home computer doesn't work very well with such
> posture: its seat and back are made from bungee cords strung across the
> frame.
While you're at it, save those cinder-block and 1 x 12 bookcases, they'll be
classics someday :-)
> I'd consider using a kitchen chair but need at least height
> adjustability if not swivel and slide.
Hence my minimalist adjustable typing chair...
Good luck in your Quest...
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Date: 14 Aug 2006 14:34:28
From: runsrealfast
Subject: Re: office chair
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Charlie Pendejo wrote:
> I thought to ask rec.running this question, and when I brought up the
> newsgroup lo and behold Ozzie was back! Thanks for dropping in, Oz,
> and I bet either you'll have some thoughts or at least your
> reappearance is a good omen that someone will.
>
> Question: can anyone recommend either a specific chair for computing,
> or else where and how I should look for one?
>
> In the last year or two I've - largely inspired by what I've read here
> - made a conscious effort to change my sitting posture. I now
> generally try to sit upright on my sitz bone, near the edge of the
> seat, rather than sitting back on my hamstrings as encouraged if not
> demanded by so many ostensibly "comfy" chairs.
>
> The chair in front of my home computer doesn't work very well with such
> posture: its seat and back are made from bungee cords strung across the
> frame. I'd consider using a kitchen chair but need at least height
> adjustability if not swivel and slide.
>
> I'd appreciate any suggestions, general or specific - things to look
> for, brands, models, places to buy, links to "how to buy an office
> chair which is friendly to your back and your running muscles" sites,
> testimonials, whatever ya got. Anders, haven't you mentioned using one
> of those kneeling chairs? Thoughts?
I worked in the furniture industry for a few years and one thing we
would tell customers is that they need to sit/lay on the furniture to
make sure it felt right for them. I would recomend this for an office
chair. Many stores have chairs that you can sit in and see if it is
egronomically correct. Unfortunatly most stores would not let you do
this but I would see if they would let you take it home, even if for
only an hour. That way you could sit at the computer and see if it will
work for you. Thats a longshot, so you may just have to sit in the
chair in the store for a few minutes.
Some people would say a few minutes is 2-3 but I would recomend 5-10 at
least! Its the same mistake people make when purchasing a mattress.
They all to often look at the price tag and then lay of it for 5
seconds and say this will work. Well your health is more important than
"this will work". Spend the time and a little money and your back,
shoulders, hips etc will thank you.
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Date: 15 Aug 2006 02:19:55
From: anders
Subject: Re: office chair
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Charlie Pendejo kirjoitti:
> I'd appreciate any suggestions, general or specific - things to look
> for, brands, models, places to buy, links to "how to buy an office
> chair which is friendly to your back and your running muscles" sites,
> testimonials, whatever ya got. Anders, haven't you mentioned using one
> of those kneeling chairs? Thoughts?
I plead guilty to being the idiot who had a proper saddle-type chair at
home, thought highly of it and still did nothing about sitting
increasing hours at work in a semi-slouching position on a chair that
should've carried a mandatory sign "Warning: sitting in this chair may
damage your health".
FWIW the chairs of Norwegian brands Stokke and H=C5G have a very good
reputation for their solid ergonomic design. They may take some time
getting used to and they may perhaps not easily fit in with other, more
conventional furniture, but...
The choice between a kneeling and a saddle type is IMHO very much a
matter of individual preference, neither is more recommnedable than the
other.
Anders
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Date: 18 Aug 2006 11:38:43
From: Charlie Pendejo
Subject: Re: office chair
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Pendejo wrote:
> can anyone recommend a chair for computing
Thanks all for your thoughts.
After carefully weighing everyone's suggestions, I hoofed a couple
blocks east to the Target and the Office Max. The former had no office
type chairs in evidence; the latter, a whole bunch.
I tried all the reasonably minimal (in some combination of price and
features and plushness) choices and two stood out. One was a saddle
chair (thanks for the terminology, anders, beats saying "normal
chair"), armless, billed as a drafting chair. But its height wasn't
sufficiently adjustable - at its lowest, I couldn't rest my feet on the
ground. Guess that's why it's a _drafting_ chair and not a typing
chair.
The other, which I bought, was the only kneeling chair in the store.
This just immediately felt right. It's cheap - I have my doubts
whether it's the last word in ergonomically perfect geometry, and
replacing the foam padding might improve it a fair bit - but the frame
seems likely to hold up forever and it struck me as not a bad idea to
live with a cheap kneeling chair for a while rather than plunge right
into the good stuff and find out it doesn't suit me.
Having lived with this thing a few days, I can report a fairly positive
experience. I've rotated it out for the other chair a couple times
when it became uncomfortable - which I think mostly had to do with a
feeling that the kneeling position shortened my hamstrings more than I
liked after a while (and after all I'm using them harder lately than
ever before) - but I also think it's likely that says more about my
spending too long in front of the computer, period, and also too long
between breaks to walk and stretch.
I'll probably also keep my eyes open for the El Cheapo typist's chair,
the shorter sister of the drafting chair I liked. Wouldn't mind having
two good perches to rotate.
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Date: 02 Sep 2006 10:14:28
From: Ozzie Gontang
Subject: Re: office chair
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In article <1155586926.159652.267500@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com >,
"Charlie Pendejo" <Charlie.Pendejo@gmail.com > wrote:
> I thought to ask rec.running this question, and when I brought up the
> newsgroup lo and behold Ozzie was back! Thanks for dropping in, Oz,
> and I bet either you'll have some thoughts or at least your
> reappearance is a good omen that someone will.
>
> Question: can anyone recommend either a specific chair for computing,
> or else where and how I should look for one?
>
> In the last year or two I've - largely inspired by what I've read here
> - made a conscious effort to change my sitting posture. I now
> generally try to sit upright on my sitz bone, near the edge of the
> seat, rather than sitting back on my hamstrings as encouraged if not
> demanded by so many ostensibly "comfy" chairs.
>
> The chair in front of my home computer doesn't work very well with such
> posture: its seat and back are made from bungee cords strung across the
> frame. I'd consider using a kitchen chair but need at least height
> adjustability if not swivel and slide.
>
> I'd appreciate any suggestions, general or specific - things to look
> for, brands, models, places to buy, links to "how to buy an office
> chair which is friendly to your back and your running muscles" sites,
> testimonials, whatever ya got. Anders, haven't you mentioned using one
> of those kneeling chairs? Thoughts?
Charlie,
Used the Balans Kneeling chair for a number of years. That was after I
sat for about 4 years on my exercycle seat pedaling while at my
computer. I jacked my desk up so that I could type and pedal. After a
while I just sat and didn't pedal.
Am now on a stool from IKEA that is pneumatic, but the cylinder is gone.
So I am now going to play with sitting on the stool and use my Nada
Chair to keep my lower back from hunching.
I'll let you know how it goes.
In health and on the run,
Ozzie Gontang
gontang@electriciti.com
Maintainer - rec.running FAQ
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/rec/rec.running.html
Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic, est. 1975
Mindful Running http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.html
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