Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World

First, this book is much more than just a message about standing up and moving more. I was honored to receive an advanced copy and the book is amazing, very practical, and essential for people living in modern times. Unfortunately, many people have literally become “Deskbound.” This book is a powerful solution to that problem. The book offers immediate solutions to the issues associated with static sitting postures. The health consequences of sitting are a significant problem in today’s world and anyone who remains seated for long periods is causing problems in the short term and long term. Static sitting is an "orthopedic mess." Deskbound is beautifully organized and visually represented, which I’ll get to in a minute. I should also mention that this book is much different from other books I’ve read on the same subject - it’s extremely “actionable.” While there are mobility “fixes” in the book, Deskbound expands on mobility concepts from Supple Leopard and presents things in an entirely different way. The book is also not a light read. It’s extremely comprehensive and more “textbook-like”- as is its predecessor, Supple Leopard. Essentially, this is a book about movement, biomechanics, and optimizing positions to prevent the problems associated with sitting all in a very useful and complete system with amazing visuals to support the concepts and principles. Deskbound is divided into 7 main sections which are: 1-Consequences of Poor Posture (which provides a deep understanding of the problems with static sitting) 2-Natural Body Principles (discusses optimizing body positions, essential information on the spine and breathing) 3-Moving Well (enough said here, this is an essential and important chapter) 4-The Dynamic Workstation (great workstation solutions here) 5-Optimizing Sitting Mechanics (very important chapter with unique insights and many suggestions to sit better - much better!) 6-Performing Basic Maintenance on Your Body - understanding mechanics and key mobility concepts. 7-Mobility Prescriptions - 14 different “Mobility Prescriptions” (targeted mobility programs) Here’s something important to keep in mind. It’s important to remember that even if you’ve read the previous work by the author(s), you can never hear things (or read things) enough as “repetition is the mother of learning.” What I’m saying here is that the more we read something, the better we learn it and hopefully apply it. The book is simply amazing and valuable for all and it’s a book you’ll actually use to make a difference in your life. What I really like about Deskbound is the "practicality" and immediate impact it can have. For example, I quickly discovered there were many more things I could easily do in standing (computer work, writing, long phone conversations) as opposed to statically sitting behind my desk. It really comes down to: awareness plus action equals change. Get the book! I’ve been fortunate to read a few outstanding books recently. Books I consider being “mandatory reading” for all humans. Deskbound is one of those books! You’ll love it and it’s a book that will make positive behavior change for the rest of your life. Free yourself from the hazards of sitting.

It is more than likely that this review is being read while sitting down. Kelly Starrett, with the help of his wife Juliet and Glen Cordoza have written Deskbound - Standing Up to a Sitting World. Modern living is gradually causing a shift from the human body's main function and what it was designed to do and that is to move. Kelly Starrett suggests that the invention of the chair, which most people take for granted as being a brilliant invention, is a main cause of postural problems because too much of the day is spent on one. He offers that sitting is now considered to be the new smoking. Deskbound is a reference book divided into sections where an introduction is given about various topics and more detailed information is covered as the chapters of the sections are investigated. Posture and moving well are covered in the early part of the book. This is followed by a section called The Dynamic Workstation that discusses the benefits of using a standing desk. The next part looks at sitting in a way that allows for optimal positioning. In the last third of the book, the writers discuss basic maintenance of the body, plus activities that can be used to achieve this outcome. There is a short afterword that mentions how the Starretts were successful in introducing standing desks into the classrooms of their children. With further support from the principal, this idea was expanded to other year levels in the school. Thereafter, with a number of other interested parties, standupkids.org was established with the aim of encouraging more schools across the United States to use standing desks in their schools. This book provides its readers with some thought provoking ideas about the impact of sitting and how it affects modern lives. It considers a number of useful alternatives that may be helpful in maintaining positive health.

This outstanding book reintroduces principles of movement and structure of the human body that many of us have forgotten. Backed by an incredible amount of research, this book will teach you just how bad sitting can be for your overall health. “Sitting is the new smoking,” claims Dr. Kelly Starrett in his new book DESKBOUND. Dr. Starrett demonstrates how we are literally sitting ourselves to death, and he provides some necessary insights as to how to address and overcoming bad sitting habits. Kelly drives home the point that our bodies were designed to move a certain way, and sitting is very detrimental to us. After reading this book I began to notice a change in my own life as I sat less, or improved posture while sitting. Being a full-time college student, I cannot escape from being tied down to a chair most of the day. I am however able to manage how I sit and correct the damage done by sitting. Not only is it all about sitting less, but standing more, and how to stand correctly. He teaches to keep your feet pointed straight, giving your glutes and abs a 20% constant squeeze. After standing for a while we all experience fatigue, and what I love most about the book is he gives so many suggestions for what can be done in any situation to not give in to slouching back into a chair. It is a must read for anyone looking to improve their health in a simply but meaningful way.

Anatomically modern humans have been on this earth some 200 thousand years. The lifestyles we have adopted in the past half century that see us chair (or couch) bound for the better part of our waking hours is not only unprecedented, but completely incompatible with our biological evolution. As a holistic health counselor with certifications in a wide range of movement disciplines, I see people in their 20s and 30s with neck, back, shoulder, and spinal issues more serious than people decades older would have experienced previously. The quote from Dr. James Levine in the introduction, "We are sitting ourselves to death" is no exaggeration, and unfortunately it is a slow and painful death, as dysfunction piles on top of dysfunction, until it becomes disability. It's estimated Americans spend fifty billion dollars a year on medical costs just for back pain alone. For many people who are conscious of the problems of long-term sitting, the solution may be to buy a gym membership and somehow expect that a few days of exercise a week will counteract the effects of long-term sitting. Unfortunately, believe it or not, that often makes people worse. Once your spine and pelvis are out of alignment, and key muscles such as the glutes and hamstrings are fried from excessive sitting, gym workouts often only exacerbate the problem. What is needed isn't exercise for the sake of exercise, but protocols to restore normal movement patterns. Think of it this way – if the wheels of your car are out of alignment, you don't improve the problem by driving your car more. You only make it worse. In "Deskbound" the author provides techniques, movement principles, and very importantly, breathing protocols to try and correct the issues created by long-term sitting. This is certainly not the first book on the problems of lengthy sitting, but the author brings his own unique and professional perspective to the problem, and how to deal with the inevitable consequences of sitting too long. The only problem for me, and the reason I only give it four stars, is that it is ironically too comprehensive. I also own Kelly Starrett's "The Supple Leopard," which I enjoy, but suffers from the same issue as well. As someone who has studied extensively and coaches people in movement, I know how to pick and choose what is appropriate and appreciate the comprehensiveness. However, for the "average" person who just wants a simple protocol that can be done quickly to remedy the damage from sitting, it may be hard to decide what to choose among the many exercises he outlines for all the parts of the body. In that case, one might be better served by something such as Foundation Training, which accomplishes a similar goal, but has a few key movements that can be done in just a few minutes a day. Still, a worthwhile reference.

I love this book. As other reviewers have noted, this book is packed full of tips for using a standing work station and general body maintenance. For the first time in my life, I have been inspired to use the stretches in this book 1-2 times every day. They work! During a strenuous uphill hike recently, I was experiencing tight painful muscles. I stopped on the trail and did the stretches. Problem solved! The book has an easy conversational style with great bits of LOL humor. The directions and pictures are great for clear understanding of how to perform maintenance/stretching postures. I am so happy that I found this book and am getting my flexibility back and my pain is gone. I have recommended this book to several coworkers and friends.

(I’m writing this standing in a good position. )Running and having a sedentary job aren’t the best combination. I knew this- everybody does- but what to do about it, right? So I was sceptical about how much bad news this book would bring without being a game changer, because I’m not going to change jobs anytime soon. However, I badly underestimated how many adjustments I can make in my life to minimise the consequences of so much sitting. This book is chock full of helpful information and tips. As for the bad news, whoa. Sitting is so much worse than I thought. I’ve implemented a few easy changes already and working on some others. I intend to be healthy till a ripe old age if I have any say about it (and there is a lot of ripe old age in my family, only I suspect my grand parents led a much more active life than we do, and that’s why they are still healthy in their 90s) I just read Kelly Starret’s other book “Ready to run” and there is not a lot of overlap. Both are proving extremely valuable to me. Thank you Mr. Starett!!

You can’t spend more that 15 minutes on the Internet without seeing an article or new book professing the dangers of sitting and how being generally sedentary is bad. But you certainly can speed 10x that amount of time reading through myriad explanations what to do about it, none of which are realistic for most people. Deskbound really has come at the perfect time in that sense because, while it will educate you on the dangers of sitting, it is really geared toward taking action to solve the problem. Deskbound is very well illustrated and broken down in such a way that it can put use immediately. No need to read the entire book or study each chapter, just flip through to the active workstation section and on to prescription section and you are in business. I have both editions of Becoming A Supple Leopard and there is definitely crossover from an information perspective but in my opinion this book is much more user friendly and approachable. If you are serious about your health but have to conform to modern furniture this book is a great guide to optimization.

I was extremely skeptical when my friend recommended this book to me. I thought to myself, who is this person to tell me the correct way to stand? But he was so adamant about it that I decided to give it a try. I bought the Kindle version and I use it on my iPad. The formatting looks great on the iPad, but if I use my phone or my kindle, it's not the best. It is designed as a large book. When I started reading this, I still had my doubts. Kelly was making a lot of points and I just kept thinking, these sound like opinions. But as I read on, the claims were backed up by good research. As I kept reading, I started to really agree with the points Kelly made. It made sense to me that humans were designed a certain way and that obviously sitting was detrimental to us. It is so much more than just standing though. I'll give a quick example, he talks about standing up and planting your feet straight, then turn your knees outward without moving your feet. This start to put your legs back in to a natural alignment. I have been doing this technique for a couple weeks now and can honestly say it has made a huge change. I used to have rubbing between my thighs and always thought to myself, "how can humans be designed like this?" Turns out we are not designed like that! We have been molding our bodies to lay naturally in a position that was causing our knees to point inward and causing my thighs to rub together (you may not have that issue, but it was a pain for me). I'm not sure if that was the point of that exercise, but it alone started to do wonders for me. I have been approaching my work trying to get a solution for sit to stand desks. I also told my boss that I will be getting up every 30 minutes for at least 2 minutes. I now walk to the stairwell and go up and down a couple flights. This has made my life feel a whole lot better in general. If you are nervous about approaching your boss about something like this, just know that your health is more important that work. I made that clear with my management and they agreed with me, they had no issues with me leaving my desk every half hour to get the blood flowing. Needless to say, this book is a must buy. I see no long term issues with it since everything described in it seems like natural human positions/functions. I can't imagine studies coming out in 10-15 years saying something like, "Getting up and moving causes negative health issues!"