Horizon treadmill maintenance

Video on Horizon Treadmill maintenance.

 

Notes from the Just Stand third annual conference July 17, 2013

 

Full pdf and videos of the presentation are available at the Just Stand Summit site.

Blue zones power 9 concept focused on 9 key factors to living longer with four major components.
Move naturally
Right outlook
Eat Wisely
Belong

American Council on Exercise

Nutrition tips
Exercise videos

Chris Freytag

Food -  2Q's focus on quality and quantity -

• Change DIET to EDIT
• Eat food that can rot.

Mental Health - reduce stress / increase positive talk
Fitness -  3 C's Commit, consistency, convenience
CDC fitness guidelines

• 150 minutes/week heart pumping exercise with mouth open
• 2 times/week strength training.

Quotes:

"Everything that is worth fighting for unbalances your life. "
"If you talk to your friends the way you talk to your body, you would have no friends left."

Ergotron had some new product specifically geared towards the Mac including a tablet arm

Ergotron tablet arm

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Ambidextrous mice

http://www.ergonomicoffice.com.au/catalogue_view.asp?catID=1&prodID=604

 

 

 

 

I've often tried to find solutions for using a mouse or pointing device on either side of a keyboard.  This new OysterMouse appears to solve the problem .  It has both a wired or wireless version.  I have yet to try it out and would be interested in reader comments.

http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/rm-free2.htm

 

 

The RollerMouse Free2 also allows for ambidextrous mousing in tight spaces. 

Becoming a Supple Leopard

This comprehensive book covers what you need to know about exercising and minimizing the possibility of injury during exercising and related sports activities.  The authors are very thorough covering the finer points of the form needed to safely do exercises while gaining the most benefit.  The illustrations help understand the need to control balance and torque for each exercise. 

The book covers three levels of exercise difficulty and has a section in the back on exercises for each region of the body. 

I found the discussion on the finer points of a situp to be very helpful.

The subtle art of sitting and standing on the View with Dr. Kelly Starrett

The book Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance is available from Amazon.com

de Quervain's Syndrome Diagnosis and Exercises

http://www.riversideonline.com/health_reference/Disease-Conditions/DS00692.cfm

De Quervain's Tenosynovitis is a fairly common problem with individuals doing repetitive hand work with an emphasis on the thumb.  The following references can be used prior to seeing a medical doctor as an indication that there may be a problem.  Specific range of motion exercises from Kaiser Permanente can help.

 

 

 

http://www.3pointproducts.com/quervains-syndrome/

Diagnosing de Quervain's Syndrome

Are introverts being run over by the alternative workplace?

http://www.designbyccd.com/thinking/hot-desking-in-the-workplace/

I ran across, This is not the office of the future from Office Insight.  It crystallizes my misgivings about the alternative workplace design movement.

One: It ignores roughly 50% of the population who are introverts and would prefer a modicum of privacy to concentrate and get their work done.  There needs to be a proper balance between privacy and collaboration.  Give people personal space both visually and auditory to allow them to concentrate and get work done. 

As noted by one commenter:  It ignores 17% of the population who have some form of disability and need accommodation.

There are two forces driving alternative workplace design.  The need to compress the amount of space allotted per person in the building to save capital cost in new construction.  Eliminating two floors out of a 5 story building looks good.  This also reduces operating costs and carbon foot print by cutting the amount of space that needs electricity, heating, cooling and custodial service.

It assumes that office work can be done almost anywhere.  The new well compensated Yahoo CEO, . Marissa Mayer, has put the breaks on this vision. 


Ted Talk - Open office plans reduce productivity 66% due to lack of aural privacy.  - Julian Treasure

Mayo Clinic weight loss study

A Mayo Clinic study found that people who were paid to lose weight or suffered a penalty for not losing weight were more successful than a control group without monetary incentive.  Participants in the intervention group were either paid $20 if they lost 4 pounds over the course of a month or had to pay $20 to a pool if they did not lose 4 pounds per month.  If they stayed in the program for the duration of the study they had a random chance to get the pool of money.   The participants were followed for 12 to 36 weeks.

The average weight loss for the incentive group was 9.08 pounds as compared to 2.34 pounds for the control group.

This makes sense as the task of weight loss is similar to the task of manual labor.  Incentives work to increase production when manual labor is involved but do not work when high levels of creativity are needed as noted in the book Drive by Daniel H. Pink. 

Click the highlighted text to access the Mayo clinic online Healthy Weight Pyramid tool.  You are required to input your age, height, current weigh and gender.  The tool will produce a daily goal for total caloric consumption if you wish to lose weight and tips on how to achieve it.   My target caloric consumption was 1,400. 

Touch screen ergonomics moving while working

Sit better

Cynthia Roe Purvis, former ergonomist in HP, has offered a free streaming webinar on touchscreen ergonomics.  You need to register for the talk.  The introductions end around 7 minutes into the presentation.  She offers the research behind the HP users guide.

Highlights 30 - 60% of people working with computers have neck and should problems.  Need to have text at least 3mm high.  This prevents turtling.

http://www.thefeelgoodlifestyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/incorrect-sitting-posture.jpg

Touch screens are much lower and much closer than standard computer monitors at about the distance of the knee from the body while sitting.   The angle range must be adjustable from 20 degrees to 60 degrees.  The touch screen may be below the desk.

Scan your body for discomfort.  Monitor placement.   Move monitor through out the day.  Scan body for tension and adjust workstation and position to relieve the discomfort.  The display should be designed without speakers or other hardware under the display.

Move better

Work better

Jim Lavine at Mayo Clinic answers the question: What are the risks of sitting too much?

Excerpt:

One recent study compared adults who spent less than two hours a day in front of the TV or other screen-based entertainment with those who logged more than four hours a day of recreational screen time. Those with greater screen time had:

• A nearly 50 percent increased risk of death from any cause
• About a 125 percent increased risk of events associated with cardiovascular disease, such as chest pain (angina) or heart attack

Lenovo's Table top Tablet

Lenovo has developed a 27" table top tablet weighing 15 pounds.  The size is equivalent to eight iPads placed together.  It runs on Windows 8 Software.  Peter Svensson from AP reports that 4 people can use the screen at once.

http://www.techspot.com/news/51244-lenovo-27-inch-ideacentre-table-pc-yoga-11s-laptop-thinkpad-helix-convertible.html

The ergonomics of this coffee table top PC are problematic.  I can see it causing significant problems with shoulder or lower back discomfort.  It would be difficult to get the surface on a small enough table at the right height to allow someone to manipulate the screen without having to lean forward or fit 4 people comfortably around it.

After talking to an art instructor, the tablet could be an interesting larger canvas for digital painting or drawing if it would accept variously styled stylus tips.  If it was set up on an adjustable easel stand the ergonomics would be fine. 

Visually, it would be useful for comparing multiple documents or programs at the same time.  The air hockey simulation looks fun.  It could also be used as a message board in an alternative workplace environment or a collaborative tool at a meeting.