Review: Ninja Standing Desk
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| Ninja Magnet! |
I used to work as a barista at Starbucks, and during that time, Frappuccinos haunted my nightmares. Due to no fault of my employer, I injured my rotator cuff from the repetitious pouring of said beverage. Because I'm short, and the proper form to pour a Frap requires longer arms than I have. Against policy, I would raise the pitcher above my shoulder height to shake the frozen evil into its cup.
This damaged my right shoulder's rotator cuff. I wore a sling for six weeks for the muscle to heal, but it still gives me problems. This all happened in 2008.
What does this sad tale have to do with a product review? Everything.
As a result of this injury, if I sit at a desk for too long, my fingers start to tingle and pain starts shooting down my arm and up my neck. And, then the headache sets in. Unfortunately, my two careers, writer and teacher, require me to spend most of my time on computers, so you can see my dilemma.
This summer several agencymates turned me onto the prospect of working at a standing desk or a treadmill desk. This seemed like a great solution to my problems.
However.
Standing desks are expensive, gentle readers. I started researching possible alternatives in my price range, when I happened upon the Kickstarter for the Ninja Standing Desk. This standing desk didn't break my budget at $160. After watching their demos, I decided to invest, and I ordered one.
Because of many life reasons, I hadn't needed to set up my standing desk until a week ago. Having used it all this week, I will sum up my review in one sentence. I love it.
I'm going to break down the aspects of the Ninja Standing Desk into set up, adjustability, sturdiness, pain, and fatigue.
Set Up? Easy. Their website has a video tutorial for setting up the desk. I chose to set up mine on my closet door, and it took me maybe 30 minutes to adjust it how I wanted. It took 30 minutes, because I needed to familiarize myself with the process and kept fiddling with the heights of the shelves.
Adjustability? Very. This is quite an adjustable product, because its basic design uses industrial-strength velcro. I readjusted the shelves today--for the purpose of recording the process to post with this review--and it took me 17 minutes, which included the recording time. (WARNING: the audio is out of sync for large portions of this video.)
Review: Ninja Standing Desk from Lis Mock on Vimeo.
Sturdiness? Solid. The shelves come as butterflied particle board, so you have to wiggle them till the boards separate and line up correctly. Each shelf rests on military-grade anodize aluminum tubing, which provides decent strength and stability. I haven't noticed any swaying or bouncing, even when I type vigorously. Even though the shelves are particle board, the tubing creates a sturdy work surface. I never feel like I'm going to damage or break the shelves when I'm working.
Pain Management? Wonderful. This is the main reason I purchased the Ninja Standing Desk. A really nasty headache last week compelled me to set it up, and the first day I used the standing desk, the headache disappeared. There was some pain in my lower back as my body got used to standing for such long stretches, but a week later, my body is readjusting and even that pain has diminished.
Fatigue? Barely noticeable. I spent all last week using the standing desk, and on Sunday, I beta read a friend's novel for 7 hours using it. I spent 9 hours total on the critique, but I interspersed periods of sitting that I limited to no more than 20 minutes throughout, since this was the second day using the desk. So, clearly, the fatigue isn't bad either.
Tips: There isn't any magical posture for using a standing desk. Everything I researched suggested that the key is to keep from locking into any one posture for too long, but, instead, to keep moving and changing your posture. Also, you want good shoes with good orthopedic support, since you're standing for long stretches.
Unexpected Effect: I've found over the last week's use that I focus much more on my primary task when using the standing desk. Maybe it's because I'm kinesthetic and the constant movement helps me focus. Regardless of the explanation, I'm less likely to be distracted while working at the standing desk.
Overall, I'm very pleased with my purchase of the Ninja Standing Desk, and I'm so happy with the switch to a standing desk. Darth Hubby even commented that I'm in a better mood and I've had more energy, since I made the switch. Even though my brain might be empty after a long work session, not being in constant pain makes all the difference.
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