The way we sit is simply wrong. It’s leading to a range of health issues such as back pain, spinal degeneration, muscle aches and strains, headaches and poor circulation among many others. The Workhorse Saddle Chair has been scientifically designed by a Chiropractor to comfortably maintain the body in it’s ideal sitting position. It's time to quit the way you sit, for better health, performance and quality of life. If you missed the Kickstarter campaign you can still pre-order now and save.
Hi
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Kind regards
David France (founder Workhorse Saddle Chair)
Hi everyone
Just a quick note to acknowledge it is 12 months today since our campaign for the Workhorse Saddle Chair closed. It was a fantastic campaign for us, far out stripping our wildest expectations so thanks so much to all our great backers. There were certainly plenty of challenges on the manufacturing and logistics side and while we made a few mistakes we have learnt an amazing amount which only goes to make us stronger and better as we plan to stay in this space until they put me in a pine box.
We haven't remained idle either. While our orders are steadily growing we are working on a new Workhorse Rise. This is a bar stool for domestic, commercial or office (for use with standing desks) use that is a little more "conservative" in shape. We hope that this will make it a little more appealing for the bar and restaurant scene and also for those ladies who are wary of sitting in a saddle while still giving the benefit of maintaining our spine in its ideal posture. So please keep an eye out for us.
So thanks again to all our backers for your generous support. I hope you're all enjoying your new sitting posture and the consequential health benefits. Merry Christmas and all the very best for 2020 from the Workhorse Team.
kind regards
David (Founder)
You should all have your Workhorse Saddle Chairs by now and hopefully you are all using them to some degree in your lives. I can assure it will significantly reduce back pain in the medium to long term as well as improve your posture, strengthen your core and have a positive impact on more organic issues such as your breathing, circulation, digestion and energy levels.
I’ve had lots of positive feedback from those who have loved the chair from the get go - thank you. Others of you have had a few adaptive issues and for some the chair just hasn’t suited you. Below I have listed a few of the questions and comments along with my answers that you may find interesting. Also a few observations – things you may be doing incorrectly that you can change to improve your sitting experience.
Remember for those experiencing frustration with saddle soreness or other adaptive aches and pains why I have spent 10 years developing the chair. I have had a life of treating patients with acute back pain. Classically worn out low back discs, wedged vertebrae between their shoulder blades or a worn-out neck from a forward head carriage. Every hour of every day filled with people in this situation, in pain and miserable. If you continue sitting in the regular chairs for long periods it is inevitable this will happen to you to – eventually. I needed to try to change it. So, while the adaptive discomfort may be temporarily frustrating, I can assure you it is better than the alternative.
I find a burning pain on my sit bones and an almost numbness. Is this normal ? Will it go away ?
Yes, it is normal and yes eventually the body adapts by strengthening the outside of the bone and the ligament that stabilizes the pelvis. It is not dangerous, and the adaptive process is a good one. This varies for different people.
There is a gap between me and the backrest when sitting up straight.
I included the pillow to fill this gap however when sitting in the normal position at the desk you shouldn’t use the backrest – only use it as time out. Lean back and relax the muscles. Take a little more weight on the feet. In the forward rotated position, the pillow is particularly useful to fill this void.
How high should I sit I feel my desk is too low.
Remember your thighs should slope to the floor at around 45 degrees. This means you are sitting quite high. Refer to our previous desk set up post . In this example :
I am 175 cm tall or 5’9”(average for a male)
Desk is set at 86cm or 2’8”from floor to the top of the desk.
Workhorse Saddle Chair height from the middle of the saddle is around 66cm or 2’1”
At the correct chair height your legs will slope down towards the ground at approximately 45 degree angle. You will feel like you are sitting a lot higher than normal.
Compared this to the average regular desk and chair. Average desk height for a regular desk is 73.5 cm or 2’4” with an average regular office chair height of 41 to 52 cm or 1’3” to 1’7”
I do find some people are not sitting high enough.
Lifting the Desk – is it necessary ?
Yes – in fact it is essential. If not the desk you need to lift your key board, monitor and ideally work surface on average around 3 inches. Again follow our desk set up video a link to which you can find in an earlier post.
I get pressure on my inner thighs and I find it simply too wide.
This comment has come from some of the ladies. I am prototyping narrower chairs but there are problems associated with making it too narrow to do with nerve pressure on a nerve and artery at the back of the thigh – so it is not at all a simple fix. I plan to bring out a few different sizes and shapes. I also plan to have these available on the Rise stool – which is less expensive and easier to ship so it may be possible for people to try the different shapes in an inexpensive version.
I get pressure on my groin and find it uncomfortable.
This feedback has come from a few of the guys. I have tried to scallop out an area to alleviate this pressure, but some have said they still suffer symptoms. I hope to develop a small foam “topper” which should alleviate the issue so please watch this space.
Is there any danger to the nerves in the area from any of these settling pains.
No. There is no risk whatsoever – the major nerves and arteries are not impacted by the chair.
I get a tired ache in my back when sitting on it for long periods. Is this normal?
Yes. Bones, ligaments, muscles, tendons and connective tissue are all living tissue. They adapt directly to stress, this is a good thing. The Workhorse maintains your body in a natural position and those pains are the new tissues getting used to taking up the load. They will strengthen. Similarly, those areas that aren’t designed to carry weight but wear quickly when sitting in your old chair will now get relief. Stick with it it’s a great process for your body.
Should my feet be flat on the floor?
Yes. Your feet should take a little weight. This is important as it activates the muscles of the legs, this helps stimulate blood flow and turns over glucose and flushes toxins. Having said this move your feet around putting them on the wheel base for periods is fine.
How long should I sit in my Workhorse Saddle Chair?
Ideally all day long. However, if you simply spend half an hour a day sitting in the chair it is better than nothing and your body will start to crave more time as it is how it wants to carry your weight. If the transition to increasing time is taking time – please be patient. It is worth it.
Please fire in any questions you have. I will circulate a questionnaire as I need to formalize feedback in order to improve the product and we also want to get some basic research started.
Thanks again for all your support. The campaign has been remarkably satisfying, enlightening and exhausting all at the same time. But the journey has just begun. I know the chair is not perfect. I hope to keep refining and improving the product to change the way the world sits.
Regards
David (Founder)
Hi Guys
Just an update on the US and Canadian chairs that have enjoyed their journey across the Pacific and are due to hit North America.
US: they are expected to arrive in Port on the 12th and take a few days to clear customs and head to the warehouse in Oakland CA. They will be distributed from there over a couple of days. Likely arrival at your door on the 19th to the 21st of July but we will know more when they get to the warehouse. It is only then that we get tracking numbers.
Canada: the chairs arrived today. It will take a few days to clear customs and the agent will then start distributing them. I would think they will start arriving in a week to 10 days. Again we only get tracking numbers when they are in the hands of the courier.
Kind regards
David
Hi Guys
We’re really excited that our first Workhorse Saddle Chairs are arriving in the Asian region and we are getting lots of questions about the height of the chair and desk setup so I want to try to answer them as clearly as I can for all our first customers. To transition to a healthier way of sitting on the Workhorse Saddle Chair you need to understand that you will be sitting higher than you do normally and you will need to raise your desk. This takes some setup and getting used to and we have provided a guide in your delivery, and a special workstation setup video here to help you with the setup.
I highly recommend you view the video to help with your setup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LgaDkE8s7M&list=PLk3x_Til9ntq-ePXy5WkIJRneHhs_Q2zo&index=2&t=11s
We offered the 3 gas lift heights to suit all shapes and sizes.
There is overlap on the heights but the height ranges mentioned in the campaign were well thought out and accurate. Everyone must understand that for the chair to maintain you in the ideal posture you need to be sitting higher than you do in your regular chair otherwise your back will simply take up your regular slumped posture. So the chair won’t go as low as you are used to and will go much higher than your regular chair. To be able to sit higher, you need to lift your desk or workstation.
Please refer to the diagram below.
So as you can see as you must sit higher than you are used to for the Workhorse Saddle Chair. To be effective if you are sitting for long periods you must raise your desk.
Please refer to our video on how best to do this, refer to our brochure included with your chair or ask us directly – we are here to help with your transition to improving your health and posture.
Reach out to us:
These are small changes to your workstation that will provide you with massive long term and life changing health and performance benefits. As you will see in the setup video, height adjustable desks and workstations are now affordable and available throughout all regular furniture stores like IKEA and certainly any ergonomic furniture stores. The desk raiser discs put under the desk legs are similarly available or I can provide them at a small cost if you can’t find what you need.
I hope this additional information helps when setting your desk and chair height for office, home or workplace to get maximum health benefit from your new chair. We look forward to your feedback and would love to see some photos of your sitting on your new Workhorse Saddle Chair.
regards
The Workhorse Team
