FlexiSpot Blog
Tips for a healthier way to work

Weight Training: Better Posture Starts in The Gym
Weight training is having a bit of a renaissance. While cardio had a heyday for a few years (just look at the spinning craze), fitness classes centered around strength and resistance training have been steadily growing in popularity. Cardio may be good for burning calories, but you need weight training in order to get the defined muscle tone many of us hope for when we hit the gym.
If you’ve been skipping the weights because you’re concerned about “bulking up,” you’re missing out. The benefits of weight lifting go far beyond muscle definition.
Weight lifting benefits include:
- Higher resting metabolism
- Reduced risk for osteoporosis
- Improved sleep quality
- Enhanced mental clarity
- Lower stress levels
- Better posture
- Reduced back pain
It’s true — weight lifting can improve your posture and reduce or prevent chronic back pain! Lifting weights strengthens your back, shoulder, and core muscles, which are all essential to standing with proper posture and preventing lower back pain. Considering that half of all American adults experience back pain symptoms each year and 80% will develop back pain at some point in their lifetime, we would all benefit from lifting weights.
However, weight lifting does come with a warning: You can do more harm than good if you don’t practice correct posture while lifting. Too many people hit the gym without proper training, and as a result they use poor form and develop bad habits that will cause pain and even injury over time.

Curved Desk vs. Rectangle Desk: What are the differences?
Just as you think that you know everything about height adjustable desks, there comes along a new detail that you must consider anew. Maybe you have done your research about pricing, surface finish, or height and load capacity, That’s great. We move on now to choose the shape of your potential new desk.
What is the best desk for you?
You can choose between the classic rectangular edge or the one with a slightly curved edge. They both deliver ergonomic relief to your workstation. You can further narrow down your decision making by considering some of the factors below.
l Comfort
When it comes to comfort, this desk with a curved edge provides a room for your wrist, avoiding strain and possible carpal tunnel. Designed with an optimal reach zone, avoid leaning forward unnecessarily and help improve your posture. Ensure comfort while you work and see your productivity levels increase!
Meanwhile, the hard-straight line of the regular desk design comes with benefits too. For example, this desk with a rectangular top is a basic height adjustable standing desk that allows you to transition from a sitting to a standing position with ease. The rectangular desk also comes with multiple desk size options for any and all your needs! You can even choose the type of material it’s made of; from bamboo, glass and more. With a multitude of options, you can easily customize your desk.

4 Ways Standing Desks Improve Employee Productivity
If somebody told you that making one simple change to your work habits could increase your productivity by almost 50%, you’d probably be more than a little skeptical. But one study by the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health found that call center employees were 46% more productive when they used sit-stand desks.
Like ride-sharing apps, smartphones, and streaming services, standing desks are a trend that started in Silicon Valley and has spread throughout the country. Companies like Facebook and Google have provided standing desks for their employees for years now. Facebook employees were singing the praises of standing desks all the way back in 2011.
In recent years, more and more companies have started providing standing desks as a way to improve employee well-being, encourage collaboration, and increase productivity. The number of employers offering sit-stand desks and height-adjustable desks for employees has increased by over 30% in the last five years.
The numbers supporting the positive impact standing desks have on productivity are impressive. That’s because there are multiple different physical and psychological benefits of using a standing desk that each contribute to the overall increase in productivity.
Calories Burned vs Calories Consumed: The Mathematics of Weight Loss
For many people, losing weight is an emotional, challenging, and complex process, one that never seems to end. It’s an array of new fitness regimens, new diets, new “superfoods” and supplements, and emotional investment. Many of us are confounded by our inability to lose weight despite the many different strategies and solutions we’ve tried over the years.
But for all that build-up and complication, the actual formula for weight loss is startlingly simple. Weight loss is ultimately a question of mathematics – calories consumed minus calories expended. Your body is an ever-changing balance between the energy you burn and the energy you consume.
Calories Consumed
When you’ve been on the ferris wheel of dieting, going off the diet, then starting a new diet for years, calories start to become loaded with emotional baggage and even moral implications. We attach so much significance to those little numbers on the nutrition labels of the food we eat that we forget what a calorie actually is: a measure of the energy contained in a serving of a particular type of food.
When you distance yourself from the emotional and psychological implications of calories and get back to the simplicity of thinking about them as measures of energy, the formula of calories in versus calories out becomes a lot less fraught and a lot easier to balance.
Calories Burned
On the other side of the equation from calories consumed, we have calories burned. All day long, your body burns calories just to keep you alive. That’s right – you burn calories just by existing. Without ever stepping on a StairMaster, your body burns calories by maintaining your basic bodily functions, like breathing, pumping blood, and digesting.
The average man (5’10 tall, 150 pounds) will burn 68 calories per hour “

6 Benefits of Using a Monitor Mount
The way you set up your workstation impacts your work performance and even your job satisfaction. Finding the right arrangement for your desk can streamline productivity, boost confidence, and help you feel happier at work. On the flip side, an unsatisfactory setup can cause frustration, make it difficult to get things done, and may even have health consequences if the ergonomics are bad enough. Many employees have developed chronic back pain as a result of a poorly designed desk arrangement.
A monitor mount can help you achieve the ideal desk setup that will unlock your productivity and help you feel more comfortable at your desk.
What is a monitor mount?
A monitor mount is a strong but flexible ergonomic arm that supports your monitors. While traditional monitor stands hold your monitor in a stationary, locked position, a monitor mount allows you to move and adjust the height, angle, or position of your monitor. If you have two monitors, you can use monitor mounts to find the perfect arrangement of the two, so they are easy to see and comfortable to look at.
Benefits of Using Monitor Mounts
Monitor mounts let you customize the arrangement of your monitors, which has numerous benefits for your comfort, productivity, and work habits. Read on to learn the top six benefits of using a monitor mount.
1. Work Efficiency
If you’re still using only a laptop to do your work, you’re probably wasting lots of time every day. It can be frustrating to switch back and forth between multiple different windows while you attempt to complete

6 Health Benefits of Using Sit-Stand Desk
As American jobs have become increasingly desk-bound and tied to computers, workers are spending more and more time sitting at their desks. In fact, between work and home, the average American spends over 12 hours a day sitting.
This sedentary lifestyle, termed “sitting disease” by the medical community, is one of the biggest health threats of our modern lifestyle. Sitting disease refers to metabolic syndrome and the ill-effects of a sedentary lifestyle, including increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, weight gain, obesity, and early death. Prolonged sitting actively promotes several avoidable chronic diseases that are eating away at our health.
The good news is that making a few small changes to your daily habits can make a huge improvement in your well-being and help you attain a healthier lifestyle. Making an effort to stand and move more throughout the day benefits your mind, body, and overall health in numerous ways.
One of the easiest ways to incorporate more standing and movement into your day is to start using a sit-stand desk at work. After all, the workday accounts for at least 8 hours of sitting every day. A sit-stand desk is a height adjustable desk that allows you to alternate between sitting and standing at your desk while you work.
There are countless health benefits of using a sit-stand desk, but here are six of the most important:
1. Sit-stand-switch capability.
Members of the medical community are promoting a “sit-stand-switch” philosophy for optimum health. This philosophy says to alternate between sitting and standing every 30 minutes to prevent too much strain from being placed on you

How to Choose the Perfect Standing Desk for You
You’re sold on the health benefits of using a standing desk to break up your sedentary work day. Now, you just need to buy the right one for you. Before you shell out hundreds of dollars on a model that doesn’t quite meet your needs, it’s important to recognize that standing desks are not a one-size-fits-all purchase. Here are 4 factors to keep in mind when shopping for the perfect sit-stand desk for you.
- Your Height vs. The Height of the Sit-Stand Desk
One of the worst things you can do for your health is buy a sit-stand desk that causes you to strain your neck, back, or even forearms (while typing) because it doesn’t adjust to the ideal height for you. To give yourself maximum flexibility to make proper height adjustments, we recommend buying a sit-stand desk that offers at least 12 different height adjustment settings. That way, whether you’re 5’1” or 6’6”, you’re sure to find the most comfortable standing height for you.
- Desk Design vs. Personal Style
Your personal taste and style should definitely play a part in your selection of a sit-stand desk. After all, who wants to spend 8 hours a day working at a desk that’s too bulky, the wrong color, or just plain unattractive? Fortunately, many standing desk manufacturers now offer a wide range of colors and styles to complement your existing office decor. So, don’t settle for a traditional black standing desk when you really want a mahogany one. Look for a reputable standing desk company that gives you style options. Also keep in mind that some some standing desks, have unique designs that are better for certain functions like laptop use. For example, FlexiSpot’s AlcoveRiser

Protect Your Spine by Optimizing Your Sleeping Position
You can do everything within your power to protect your spine during the day—sit and stand with proper posture, alternate between sitting and standing at your desk, using correct form when lifting weights, and use a backpack instead of a shoulder bag—but your unconscious hours can undo a lot of your hard work. That’s right—your sleeping position at night can have a huge impact on your overall spinal health.
There’s much discussion online about how to get more sleep or to get better, more restful sleep. But you don’t hear as much about how the position you sleep in affects your health, even though a poor sleeping position can cause everything from heartburn to wrinkles—and, of course, neck and back pain. Ever woken up with a stiff neck or a sore back? You can blame your sleeping position.
The position you sleep in at night plays a big role in your spine and neck health. Some positions can help prevent you from developing back problems, while others can help increase comfort if you already suffer from chronic back pain. In fact, according to the Global Burden of Disease study, the most common cause of back pain isn’t serious medical conditions—it’s lifestyle factors, such as awkward sleeping positions!
Read on to learn which sleeping positions are the best for your back—and which are the worst.
GOOD: Sleeping on Your Side With a Pillow
If you sleep on your side already, you can count yourself in good company. The vast majority of people report sleeping on their side. With the weight of popular opinion behind this option, it may come as no surprise that it’s good for your back.
Positioning a pillow between your legs helps to align your spine, hips, and pelv

Stress and Back Pain: 8 Ways to Get Relief for Both
Most people think of back pain as a physical issue, but stress and negative emotions often contribute. If you’re stuck with ongoing discomfort, or even disability, knowing how to address the emotional side of pain can help you change the situation.
Pain sufferers often overlook or avoid emotional contributors to pain because of pressure to perform, shame about emotional challenges, and a lack of support for developing emotional health.
Thankfully, the situation is changing. Groundbreaking work by physicians like Dr. John Sarno has shed light on the connection between emotion and pain and provided relief to thousands.
The growing popularity of emotional intelligence and mindfulness practices has also been shifting attitudes toward emotions, and new scientific findings are providing physical proof of the mind-body connection.
Solutions for Reducing Stress and Relieving Pain
So let’s look at a few simple ways to get started taking some of the emotional weight off your back.
1. The TMS Approach
In his bestselling book Healing Back Pain, Dr. Sarno described a new diagnosis for chronic pain, which he termed Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) and a simple approach to resolve it.
He believed that ongoing emotional stress, especially unconscious anger, causes the body to tighten, which prevents your muscles from getting enough oxygen. When that happens, you get pain.
He found over many decades working with thousands of patients that simply by understanding their condition as emotional, they often got better.

The Difference Between FlexiSpot Height Adjustable Desk EC3 vs EC4
Been eyeing for a height-adjustable desk from FlexiSpot for a time now – but can’t fully decide whether to get an EC3 or EC4? We feel you there, but don’t worry! We’ll compare these two models so you can choose as early as now which one to get.
Both the EC3 and EC4 are the top choices among the height adjustable desk from FlexiSpot. Now that most of us are working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic, having the proper setup and workstation needs is a must.
In this article, we’ll help you distinguish the difference between FlexiSpot’s EC3 and EC4. Which of these two desks would meet your needs and how both of these desks are a standout among any other brands. Read along.
Price
The EC3 desk is sold at $359.99. From its original price of $459.99, the brand has decided to make it affordable with a $100 discount to make work from home attainable and more manageable without spending too much. On the other hand, you need to shed $40 for the EC4 desk because of its added features from weight capacity, h

Back Benefits from a Standing Desk - and 5 Tips for Making the Switch
A very common ailment of office workers is back pain. Sitting at a desk all day at work puts unnecessary pressure on your spine and can lead to discomfort and injury. But trading in your traditional workstation for an adjustable standing desk can reduce that pressure and help to increase the health of your spine. Read on to find out why your back can’t stand all that sitting.
Sit or Stand – How Does Position Impact Your Spine?
Sitting for extended periods has been shown to shorten and harden abdominal and hamstring muscles. At first glance this change might not seem related to the spine, but the imbalance that it causes impinges on the rest of the body’s core, reducing spine alignment and muscle symmetry. Standing helps strengthen muscles in the core and legs – essential to general strength and to preventing spinal injury.
Slouching is also much more common while sitting, and dipping your head toward the computer screen can cause neck and back pain and eventually impact your spine’s curvature. Performing repetitive tasks, particularly while seated, puts stress on muscles and joints and increases the risk of back and neck injury such as spine misalignment, pinched nerves and degenerative discs.
One advantage of an adjustable desk – whether used for sitting or standing – is the ability to customize its height and provide an ergonomic advantage for your body, promoting good pos

5 Effective Treatments for Lower Back Pain
What would you guess is the most common reason for missing work is among Americans? The flu? The common cold? Those are up there, but in fact, back pain is one of the most common reasons given for missed work. It’s also the second most common reason for visits to the doctor’s office, following upper-respiratory infections.
If that number seems high, so will this one: over 80% of Americans will experience back pain at some point during their lifetime. And that number is rising. Since 1998, the percentage of Americans who report experiencing back pain in the last three months has risen from 29.5% to 33.7%, and 30% of those say it impacted their ability to work. Americans spend $50 billion every year on treating back pain, and $100 million in indirect costs – such as lost wages and productivity.
The culprit behind back pain isn’t hard to identify. Most cases of back pain are non-organic, meaning they aren’t caused by serious medical conditions such as inflammatory arthritis, fracture, or cancer. Here’s a hint: Of those who experience lower back pain, 54% report spending the majority of their workday seated. The primary culprit of our growing back problem is our sedentary lifestyle.
If you’re one of the 33.7% of Americans who have experienced back pain within the past three months, we have some tips for how to cope with or even eliminate the pain. Try these 5 effective treatments for lower back pain.
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Yoga
Yoga is trendy right now – but it’s not all about cute yoga gear and

To Overcome Your Back Pain, You Need to Understand It
Do you experience chronic or periodic back pain? If so, you’re not alone: over 80% of Americans will experience some form of back pain during their lives, and 31 million are suffering from back pain at any given time. In fact, lower back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and one of the most common reasons for missing work. That’s not surprising when you consider that half of all working Americans will experience back pain every year.
So what’s causing this epidemic of back pain, and what can we do about it?
Causes of Back Pain
The spine is one of the most complex and interconnected anatomical structures in the human body, and because it is subject to so many daily stressors, it is also one of the most prone to injury. It is often difficult to locate the origin of back pain because it is made up of so many different bones, vertebrae, joints, ligaments, nerves, discs, and muscles – any one of which could be causing or exacerbating the pain. The overlap between these different anatomical structures also makes it hard for your brain to differentiate one from another to locate the origin of the pain.
Some of the most common causes of back pain include:
- Muscle or ligament strain/sprain
- Spinal nerve compression
- Lumbar herniated disc
- Degenerative disc disease
- Arthritis
- Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
- Compression fracture
However, most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic in origin, meaning that they are not caused by a serious underlying medical condition. If you’re experiencing back pain, you migh

3 Accessories You Need For A Standing Desk
Switching to a standing desk can transform your work life. You’ll feel better, have more energy, and you’ll get more done throughout the day. A standing desk is hugely beneficial on its own, but adding a few accessories to your standing desk set-up can make it even more ergonomic.
We hand-picked the three best stand-up desk accessories you should have for your workstation. These stand-up desk accessories were designed to enhance the sit-stand experience by increasing comfort, maximizing efficiency, and adding more movement into your workday.
The 3 Best Standing Desk Accessories:
1. Anti-Fatigue Mat
Even standing can start to be hard on your body if you do it all day. Using an anti-fatigue mat will make a long day on your feet easier on your body. An anti-fatigue mat is a rubber pad with a cushioned layer of support that alleviates pressure on your knees and ankles by stimulating subtle movements that promote blood flow in your muscles.
You could use an anti-fatigue mat anywhere that you stand for long periods of time, such as the kitchen, but it is especially beneficial at work where many people wear uncomfortable shoes.
2. Dual Monitor Mount
A standing desk won’t do you as much good if your workstation isn’t set up ergonomically. The placement of hardware on your desk, such as your monitor, keyboard, and mouse, can have a huge impact on your physical well-being. A poorly set-up workstation wi

Your Favorite Music Can Help You Be More Productive at Work
There are two types of people in this world: those who prefer to work in silence, and those who insist they’re most productive while listening to music. Both camps find it hard to understand how the other group gets anything done. So who’s right? Well, in a way… both groups are!
According to one study published in Scientific American, how music affects your brain varies from person to person – so it’s completely plausible that while a good playlist might help you power through writing an important report, it might distract your colleague from making any progress at all.
If you’re in the musical camp, have you ever stopped to what it is about listening music that makes it so good for your work ethic? Turns out there’s some pretty solid scientific evidence to back it up.
Music Boosts Your Mood
It’s no surprise that listening to sad music can make you feel sad, while listening to upbeat music can make you feel happier – we all know this intuitively. What’s more surprising is that regardless of the type of music playing, listening to music at work can boost your mood.
As Teresa Lesiuk, associate professor of music education and music therapy at the University of Miami, is quoted in an article on Futurism.com, listening to music you enjoy will produce a “mild, positive mood” about “90 percent of the time.” She goes on to say that being in that particular mood state is good for productivity because “you’re better at problem solving and thinking creatively.”
Music Counteracts Noise Distraction
While some people find music it

Standing Desk Ergonomics: How to Avoid Muscle Fatigue
It’s a great day! Your brand new standing desk just arrived, and you’re ready to put an end to your sedentary workstyle so you can enjoy all the health benefits of working at a standing desk.
But, before you dive right in, it’s important to acknowledge that your standing desk can only live up to your ergonomic expectations if you use it correctly. Poor posture and bad habits will have you in the same unhealthy boat you were in when using a sit-down desk. So, let’s review the basics of proper ergonomics so you can reap the rewards of working at a standing desk.
The Best Way to Stand
- Use an Anti-Fatigue Mat: Veteran standing desk users swear by anti-fatigue mats. These super cushioned floor mats help ease leg, foot, and lower back fatigue and pain whenever you stand for extended periods.
- Wear Comfortable Shoes: If you love to wear high heels or other less than comfortable dress shoes to work, keep a comfortable pair of shoes below your desk that you can switch into while standing.
- Maintain Proper Neck & Elbow Positioning: Even when you’re standing, it’s important that your computer monitor is at eye level, at least 20 to 28 inches away from your eyes and tilted at a 20-degree angle. Your elbows should also rest comfortably at a 90-degree angle while using your keyboard.
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