Make a healthy life choice and stand at your desk
In the past few years, I’ve noticed a trend where lifestyle and technology merge together — fitness in the workplace. I first noticed this when my fiance started talking about how one of her clients implemented an open office/shared workspace philosophy. In addition to encouraging a collaborative working space, the corporate culture also rewarded its employees for being active and taking steps to be healthier in their lifestyles. I have to admit that over the past several years, healthy decisions haven’t been my strong point. I sit behind a desk for 8-10 hours a day and have poor eating habits. It’s a hard habit to break because it really takes a lifestyle change. I’ve been more committed in recent months (since CES, January 2018) to implementing healthier behaviors in my daily life so that I can start to make changes in my personal well-being. I’ve been looking for ways to eat better and exercise more.
I discovered that one fairly simple thing I can do for myself is to add a standing desk into my daily routine. There are numerous studies that denote the benefits of a standing desk in the workplace and even though some recent studies suggest that using only a standing desk can be detrimental to your health rather than helpful, I think that with most things in life what it really comes down to is balance. If you have a good balance between standing and sitting while you work, you are sure to improve your well-being simply by moving more when you were still before. With that in mind, I recently added the ZipLift Standing Desk Converter by iMovr to my set-up to see how it might improve my daily routine.
Details
The ZipLift is one of many options that iMovr provides for people to become more mobile while they work. It’s a standing desk converter, which means that it will work alongside your current set-up and not cause you to have to replace the entire thing. It is compatible with nearly all desk set-ups because it just sits on top of a table or desktop. There is no assembly required and all that is needed to get started with it is to unbox the product. The ZipLift ships with an anti-fatigue standing mat and is compatible with almost every monitor arm (can be attached using grommet or clamp). The ZipLift comes in two different sizes — 35″ or 42″. You want to make sure that you get the right size for your table/desktop. It has a tilting keyboard tray (+10 degrees, -15 degrees) for proper ergonomics. With a top work surface of 35.4″ W x 15.7″ D and a maximum weight capacity of 35 pounds, the ZipLift can hold multiple monitors comfortably (dual 24″ monitors or an Apple iMac). It has a maximum height of 20 5/8″ which beats the VARIDESK Pro Plus 36’s top height (17.5″). The Z-lift mechanism is silent and features gas pistons and infinite stops.
User Experience
One of the main reasons I chose to go with iMovr’s standing desk converter was because of their corporate culture and mission. They have developed a HealthTech ecosystem to combat “sitting disease,” an epidemic health crisis related to sedentary office work and lifestyles. Since 2013, iMovr has been on a mission to attack health problems by providing easy to use office products to workers so they can spend less time sitting and more time standing or walking while they work. iMovR is the first company to earn a NEAT certification from the Mayo Clinic in both the standing desk and treadmill desk categories.
The ZipLift arrived in a large shipping box. As I mentioned above, it was pre-assembled and ready to work with immediately. There is nothing better than opening a box to find that the device is already fully put together. In the past few years I’ve had the experience of putting a few desks together and because of the time it takes from my day, I end up just getting aggravated. So when iMovR sent the ZipLift I was ecstatic to find there was no installation or assembly required. You just pull it from the box and place it on your desk. That was it.
I looked at using the ZipLift a couple of different ways — a set-up with two monitors, keyboard and mouse and a set-up with two laptops as a basic standing workspace. I found that both circumstances worked beautifully. There is a center grommet on the back of the top that is perfect for either a monitor mount or simply just routing your cables through it so you have a clean set-up free of cable clutter. In the first set-up I mentioned, I found that there isn’t a great way to manage the cables for the keyboard tray. If you use a wired keyboard/mouse, you are going to have dangling cables. Honestly, this is the only issue I could find with this standing desk converter. Otherwise, it’s perfect for creating a more active workspace while maintaining your current set-up.
The lifting mechanism is very easy to operate. There are two levers on either side of the ZipLift. They must be compressed in order to lift or lower the desk. When you release the lever, the desk is locked into place. When it’s fully extended, it is still solid, but when I first set it up with two monitors, I had them placed a little too close to the edge and the desk tilted on me a bit. This was user error though and I haven’t had any issues with the desk since I moved the monitors so that they were better balanced with the desk’s center.
Conclusion
The ZipLift from iMovr is a great option for anyone who wants to adapt their workspace into a space for health and wellness. I have found that since I’ve had the desk installed that I stand more throughout the day. That has helped alleviate some back issues I’ve had for quite some time and I notice that I don’t feel as fatigued at the end of the day because I’ve gotten up more often. I can wholeheartedly recommend the ZipLift as a fantastic addition to any workspace.
For more details, visit iMovR.com.
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