Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Sit on Your Ass All Day? Reconsider a Stand-Up Desk for the SitTight Chair

Sit Tight Chairs, SitTight
Image used with permission by copyright holder
You probably sit for your job. Most of us do— around 86% of us, in fact. And there’s even a disease being named after it–the oh-so-original “sitting disease.”

That’s because sitting has been linked to cardiovascular disease and weight gain. And everyone who works in an office 9-to-5 will agree, it zaps your energy.

Scott Bahneman felt the same way. After taking an office job, he gained weight and noticed his health diminishing. So he got off his ass and created a chair that acts as part desk accessory and part workout equipment.

Sit Tight Chair
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The SitTight, which he brought to the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, allows you to work on your fitness in the same hours you’re working in Word and Excel. And the concept is pretty simple: Sitting in the chair, you balance on your center of gravity, which keeps your muscles engaged. Bahneman even says your mind gets a flex from having to stay aware and be mindful of your body’s stability.

The crew at SitTight call the overall experience: “Balanced Active Sitting.”

The bottom of SitTight looks similar to a half-Bosu ball, while the seat is arm and back-less, with a curved and cushioned sitting base.

We’re just happy it’s not the size of a treadmill desk and doesn’t involve a bouncy ball.

The adjustable height allows for changes depending on your build, the platform base serves as a footrest and prevents you from falling on your ass in front of your boss, while the balance component is an adjustable air bladder below the foot platform.

“What I love about this chair is it makes sitting an active process and engages the core and postural muscles, increases heart rate, and burns calories,” said Owner and President of Restore Physical Therapy, John Horsely.

So wait… we can get fit while we sit?

Yeah, that’s the goal. Not in the sense of making up for your gym workout, but in breaking the sedentary lifestyle we’ve come to adopt as a culture.

And it’s critical for our health, since reports say even if you exercise hard for 60 minutes a day, but then sit or lie down the other 23, the quick workout doesn’t make up for the rest – think of it like drinking one glass of water and every other drink beer. (Only on vacation, fellas.)

Sit Tight Chair
Image used with permission by copyright holder

SitTight’s model for solving this huge problem shows great promise… $18,825 worth to be exact (as of Sunday, July 16). But on their way to a $30k pledge, it might be hard for backers to rationalize a $365 pledge getting them one chair. The normal cost for a SitTight will be just shy of $600— which is the ballpark (higher for some and lower for others) for stand-up desks on the market today.

The perk compared to its compatriots? Size.

SitTight weighs only 39 pounds and takes up only 24 inches. Stand-up desks also don’t have any elements of destabilization to them, so you’re never firing those stabilizer muscles.

And in the end, I’m willing to bet you’d value your health higher than $600, so think of it as an early Christmas present.

Topics
Jahla Seppanen
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Born and raised off-the-grid in New Mexico, Jahla Seppanen is currently a sports, fitness, spirits, and culture writer in…
Your weekend watch list for September 30-October 1: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, Still Up & more
Looking for new movies to stream and new shows to watch? We've got you covered
Benedict Cumberbatch and Ralph Fiennes in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

With every new weekend comes new opportunities to catch up on the latest streaming options across movies, TV, and sports. There's always plenty on at home, and in the midst of the end-of-summer heat, home might be the best place to be. Here are our picks for the best new shows, movies, and sports to check out over the coming weekend:

Best new shows to watch
What to watch on Netflix

Read more
Everyone is dunking on MLB’s Oakland Athletics about a gift they gave player Miguel Cabrera – here’s why
Miguel Cabrera's gift from the Oakland A's was both cheap and stunningly insensitive
Miguel Cabrera holding the wine alongside the manager of the Oakland A's.

Few players in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB) have had more storied and impressive careers than Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera is in an elite club, and now that he's coming to the end of what will be the final season of his career, teams are offering him gifts on his last tour through their ballparks.

These gifts are typically nice tokens of how much Cabrera has meant to the league over his time playing the sport, but more than a few eyebrows were raised when it came time for the Oakland Athletics to present their gift to the Tigers legend. The A's decided to gift Cabrera with a bottle of wine, and when eagle-eyed fans looked the bottle up, they realized that it only cost $90.

Read more
The best shows on Netflix to stream in October
From BoJack Horseman to Derry Girls, these are the best series you can binge on Netflix
Bojack Horseman and Princess Caroline

TV may not be peaking quite the way it was a few years back, but there are still more than enough shows out there to keep you busy. After Netflix emerged on the scene and revolutionized how we all watched TV, it was joined by a huge swath of competitors determined to take advantage of the streaming boom. All of those competitors have great stuff to watch, but Netflix is still many people's hub for all things TV. Even within the streamer, though, it can be difficult to figure out what the best shows on Netflix are.

Thankfully, that's where this list comes in. We've compiled a rundown of what to watch on Netflix, and these Netflix shows should add up to days and days of endless binging. You can also check out our list of the best Hulu series, best Amazon Prime series, best Disney Plus series, and best Netflix movies after you've made it through the series listed below.

Read more