How do people in IB sit for so long?

I am interning at a merchant bank for the spring semester and my back kills me at the end of the day (Normal 9-5) .. Just got me thinking how do people in IB sit down working on models and powerpoints for such a long time?

21 Comments
 
"Sil"

I got a standing desk. It's been amazing.

I've wondered about standing desks-don't your feet start getting tired? Or is it an adjustable one so you can lower it and sit? A few years ago half my office decided to waste a ton of money on all sorts of different chairs-the exercise ball on wheels with a small back support, those weird ones that look like an old school 1970's sit up board turned vertical so your weight rests on your shins and a few other torturous looking devices and everyone went back to regular chairs after a month or two. But no one tried standing desks.

 
Best Response

How? On my ass. Maybe others do it differently so they can chime in...

Seriously though, you should get your back checked out by a doctor, make sure you don't have a piece of crap chair (often companies will give you another chair if you say your back hurts), and/or make sure you're sitting correctly (not hunched over, etc-I'm sure you can find reputable ergonomic info online), maybe in reverse order. As a student aged person you really should be able to sit for 8 hours if you're in decent shape and nothing's wrong medically. Other than that, just get up occasionally, walk around (I've always been a fan of leaving the office a couple times per day and walking around the block just to get my blood flowing), stretch (nothing weird like downward dog on the floor), and make sure you're in decent shape otherwise so get regular exercise.

 

I second this method, it has been a tremendous help. Started doing this when I had a pinched nerve and I guess the habit just stuck.

 

Given IB hours and your schedule bla bla blah this advice may be of limited use. I squat a lot (not as in a ton of weight but frequently when I workout) using a full range of motion just below parallel squat. Even if you perfected squatting with only 135lbs I think your lower back would shape up as it seems to have cured mine but maybe I'm special. Who knows.

An alternative is doing some superman style plank exercises every day. I think that will help alleviate some of your issues. Three, one minute holds a day, and increase by 15 seconds from there.

For reference: http://www.zipheal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/exercises_for_core_st…

 

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