Nov 3

Nov 3 Welcome to My Sit, Stand, Pedal and Kneel Home Office

Hi, I'm Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

Today, I'm taking you on a tour of my home office.

Two weeks ago, I wrote about Doctors Ayesha and Dean Sherzai’s book: The Alzheimer’s Solution and specifically shared the research on the value of exercise coupled with moving your body throughout the day as a pivotal piece of brain health as we age.

The research suggests two hours of aerobic exercise in your aerobic heart rate zone (220 minus your age times .7 and .8) coupled with weekly strength training. Meanwhile, if you think that a good sweat during a jog, bike ride, or at the gym gifts you a copious amount of time sitting on your rear end, you’re wrong!

Exercise to be effective in staving off mental decline as we age needs to be a part of your everyday life. Physical movement needs to be your lifestyle.

What do I mean exactly and how would you accomplish that?

For starters, I thought it would be fun and informative if I shared what my work environment looks like in the hopes that you'll get some good ideas on how to transform your space into one that supports physical activity throughout the day.

Two weeks ago, I shared that I had cobbled together a standing desk using a board and two yoga blocks. I originally purchased this board to strap to the arms of my treadmill, making a walking desk. It wasn’t very successful because the board hit around my hip level and was too low to be useful. However, now I’m glad I saved it. The board/yoga block combo isn't strong enough to put weight on it, nor would I think of resting a drink or food on it. It’s much too rickety, yet it worked fine for several weeks.

Then when I saw my commitment to this lifestyle, I decided to explore purchasing a legit sit-stand desk.

After some research, I purchased a FEZiBO sit-stand desk. It measures 40"x24", perfect for my cozy sunroom, and it’s a budget-friendly $199.

It was a bit of a challenge to put together because it seemed to have way more parts than any Ikea furniture I’ve ever assembled, and I don't love that the top is in two pieces. Although it’s extremely sturdy, so that's more of an esthetic opinion than fear of a future structural failure.

I use this desk while standing, and then I lower it to the lowest setting if I want to kneel. Yes, sometimes I kneel with a blanket or pillow beneath my knees. I think it feels good and it’s a great hip flexor stretch. Or I sit on my exercise ball. My exercise ball is an URBNFit product, and I purchased it for $27. It comes with a pump to inflate it.

I can also sit on my ball and use my under-desk elliptical machine. In my video two weeks ago, I mentioned a very inexpensive pedal set I was using at the time. After several weeks, I chose to return it and purchase this more expensive sturdier product. And I'm thrilled I did!

My under desk elliptical was gently used but still returnable, so I thought it was worth the savings. The cost for the brand new elliptical is $239, and I spent $163 on mine. There are eight tension control settings, a readout with rpm, time, and calorie stats. Two small bungees strap down the floating pedals for more accessible transport. Which for me is between my desk to the sunroom sofa to a chair next to the fireplace for movie watching. It doesn’t go very far!

The elliptical works with my ball and with a black chair a keep in the corner of my office.

So those are my office options: stand at my fabulous, perfect-sized desk for my cozy little sunroom office, kneel, sit on my exercise ball, activating my core, back, and legs, or either sit on the ball or chair while using my sweet under desk elliptical.

The sit-stand desk, under desk elliptical, and the exercise ball all together cost me $389, not a bad investment for my future cognitive health. Although the under desk $27 bike worked, as did my board and two block contraption, which I assembled from existing items.

No matter your budget, I hope I have given you some ideas on creating a workspace that fosters movement throughout your day. Your future healthier self will thank you.

I’m Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and thank you for reading this blog exploring ways you can support your physical movement throughout the day. If you have any questions about this vlog, health, wellness, or wellness coaching with me, please reach out via my website at lizmosercoaching.com.