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I've decided to make this thread having that the handful of related topics aren't as particular or as spoutful for discussion than I would like them to be, and I'd like to moderate the discussion for a topic as such
When I am playing a session of craft I'm usually pretty batterred by ~15 games or about two hours of playing. Sort of like working out at the gym when you go for a session to lift, it would be simple to say good posture makes lifting easier, and I'm starting to adapt this mentality to playing SC2 in sessions. I know lots of people are able to go 8+ hours on a daily basis (ForGG for example, ~6days week, 8-10hrs of streaming) and I'd like to develop similar strategies when it comes to physical effects/endurance on the person.
Now I'm no kineseologist, but generally I'm a pretty athletic person and I'm well connected wit my joints, and I do my best to keep it that way. More than anything I find that my shoulders feel akward in that they are not on same levels (one is higher or lower than the other) and this affects my mouse control & keyboard co-ordination as well as putting physical stress on my shoulders and upper back. I do my best not to hunch over and to keep a straight back and to keep my chest up (gotta be buff for those mouse clicks and key strokes). What I'm keeping in mind is to have equal distance between my two hands, elbows and shoulders, while also keeping half that distance as close to the middle of my monitor at all times. This is mainly what is concerning me for keeping what I consider as my best posture.
My setup consists of a steelseries V/6 keyboard, Naos 5000 mouse, my HP w2007 monitor (1680x1050 res.) and a Steelseries 3HD mousepad. My desk is about 2'6ft long and wide and 2'6 off the ground. My monitor is usually about 20" away from my face (until a 30 min macro game). The distance from the end of the desk nearest to myself to reach my keyboard is about 14". The distance between my elbow & fingertip is 18". I sit 18" off the ground 'cause I got long legs & *I never play without socks*. I am 6'1. My the distance between my shoulders is 17" and my keyboard is 17". And for the sake I'll add my mouse weight which is 93g.
So for replies: Am I crazy and wayy particular? or do other people play with the similar thoughts? I feel like maybe I'm looking too into this haha, but honestly I can't help it because it's what I first notice when I'm under stress after losing a battle, a game, once I'm on poor tilt. I'd like to hear from everyone
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Intresting topic. I've always thought that chair and monitor height were the two most important things when trying to fix poor posture.
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Canada3132 Posts
I think it's a very worthwhile topic. All of us on TL spend a lot of time on games or on the internet. It would be nice to have a nice little resource here on an issue that affects us all very personally.
My contribution is to treat the computer sessions like a dinner in a restaurant. I tuck my my chair tight so I'm snug against my computer desk. It keeps my back flush against my chair and I can notice the support. Also, keep both feet planted on the floor. It helps a lot as well.
Of course, a lot of it is about habit. I often catch myself not following my 'rules' and suffering as a result. lol
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I do believe that posture is important. I'm pretty casual outside of SC so I never thought I'd have any trouble, but here I am, with a recurring pain in my right wrist and elbow even though I haven't played SC for two months.
There are some short ergonomic guides out there, essentially stating that your monitor should be in front of your eyes, and that your arms should rest at 90 degrees. Some handwarming and stretching should also be considered by anyone who plays more than 2 hours a day - remember, after that you're probably on the net, clicking and typing away. A good chair is probably a factor too.
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Not sure if this'll help but I came across this article a few days ago. I've been quite concerned with my own posture as well so I thought I'd look into ways in improving it. I'm quite an active person, and exercise just about everyday of the week, but when I'm not exercising I'm sitting in front of my computer...
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/principles_of_good_posture/index.php
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Getting a good chair will make a huge difference. Sitting for hours on a janky chair is going to kill your back no matter what position you're in. Aeron chairs are cream of the crop but they run into the hundreds but you can alternatives like Lorell which are almost as good.
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I sit in a lazyboy and put my mouse and keyboard on a slab of wood on my lap. Works well and is comfy as fuck.
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Try raising your monitor to eye level 
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Just getting up and stretching for a couple minutes every hour or two makes a huge difference as well.
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I don't think you can just give someone information like "your table needs to be exactly 19cm higher up" or something. Just adjust things around your playing setup until you find something which you find comfortable.
I used to have really bad posture and my dad took me with him to his physio, (who also specialised in alexander technique, if it's relevant.) And she basically explained that you just have to make sure your shoulders are always as far "back" as they can be, unless your posture is absolutely terrible they should sort of slot back. And make sure you have your chest out as far as possible and your spine straight.
As a sidenote, it took a few months for it to feel at all natural and not uncomfortable simply because the the muscles which were meant to hold your back up were way too weak because i hadn't used them for years ^.^ So if you have bad posture don't expect the "correct" posture to feel perfect and natural from the start, because you don't have the strength to hold it. Just make sure that you always have your shoulders back and chest out, and whenever you sit down make sure to keep your spine straight.
There are plenty of other things you should correct but imo those are the most important things.
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It's all about maintaining good position and spending as little time as possible in bad positions. Getting the right height chair, desk and monitor will help you achieve good shoulder, neck and spine position, but you can't escape the fact that every second you spend sitting down is detrimental to hip function.
I encourage everyone to check out the channel sanfranciscocrossfit on youtube. Absolutely priceless knowledge... for free XD
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On July 20 2012 09:29 Kukaracha wrote:
I do believe that posture is important. I'm pretty casual outside of SC so I never thought I'd have any trouble, but here I am, with a recurring pain in my right wrist and elbow even though I haven't played SC for two months.
There are some short ergonomic guides out there, essentially stating that your monitor should be in front of your eyes, and that your arms should rest at 90 degrees. Some handwarming and stretching should also be considered by anyone who plays more than 2 hours a day - remember, after that you're probably on the net, clicking and typing away. A good chair is probably a factor too.
Some handwarming and stretching should also be considered by anyone who plays more than 2 hours a day
tha'ts a good one. I feel like priming would be important aspect of one's strategy to train themselevs to compete at a level where you would be damanding from yourself more gametime.
I try not to crack bones habitually like I once did when I was younger, but it does happen naturally when you are stretching and forming your hands/arms/shoulders to adapt to a mouse&keyboard better.
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On July 20 2012 10:33 GohgamX wrote:Try raising your monitor to eye level
this is true! My monitor is a wee bit low I think, probably could use another 3" ;; the top of my head is about half that much higher than the top of the monitor ... yeah im gonna fix that right now ;D
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I have been told that I have bad posture in general, meaning I slightly hunch while walking, but this has never affected my SC2 at all. I just play in whatever position is comfy at the time.
Maybe I am just used to it...
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If you want good posture, you should do the following things:
This
![[image loading]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6105/6380927727_ffa09ba114.jpg)
and this
![[image loading]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2503/4163260788_0b42c379ec.jpg)
and if you want, some of this
![[image loading]](http://www2.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Olympics+Day+5+Weightlifting+nwSatDQRJbVl.jpg)
I'm really not joking. If you are a healthy, fit person with strong back and core muscles, you will find it much more difficult to injure your back
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nice article, makes good sense of what I am thinking when I maintain my own posture. thanks for the read
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On July 21 2012 06:30 BrTarolg wrote:If you want good posture, you should do the following things: This and this and if you want, some of this I'm really not joking. If you are a healthy, fit person with strong back and core muscles, you will find it much more difficult to injure your back
Confirmed
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/1KTbF.jpg)
(i lift almost as much as the chinese girl :D )
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/LCutA.jpg)
In addition to being a posture solution, it solves procrastination. No chance in hell of dicking around on the PC when you have to put in work to operate it XD
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On July 21 2012 06:09 braebot wrote:this is true! My monitor is a wee bit low I think, probably could use another 3" ;; the top of my head is about half that much higher than the top of the monitor ... yeah im gonna fix that right now ;D
You should be aiming to raise the monitor in such a manner, that when you're sitting straight up (shoulders to the back, chest to the front) and look straight forward, you should see the upper rim of your screen. 
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I think the lifting examples are actually some of the worst you can come up with in this topic. Weightlifting is generally dangerous for your back, even if you do it the right way and our bodies are not designed to do this.
That being said, there is indeed a need for a healthy lifestyle when being immersed in the hardcore gaming world, which is the same for everything that involves sitting a lot (like office work).
Day9 has done an episode on at least loosening up your joints and muscles in between every one or two matches, but doing decently intense movement for at least 30 minutes each day is just a simple requirement of a healthy lifestyle to prevent those veins from closing up.
Being a biologist and hypocrit here by the way, knowing all that can go wrong, but not doing much myself
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What about those huge balls/balloons to sit on, do they work?
Or are they too tiring to sit upon for multiple hours?
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On July 27 2012 20:58 JustPassingBy wrote:
What about those huge balls/balloons to sit on, do they work?
Or are they too tiring to sit upon for multiple hours?
Sitting properly should always be tiring in the sense that it requires muscular contraction and you to be actively thinking about your position. I sat on a ball for around a year prior to moving to a standing desk. It's a good primer to getting your glutes and abs more involved, but I found that once you toughen up you'll find ways to be lazy and cheat just like you did in a chair. They "work" by helping you learn how to sit properly, but they don't force you sit properly (though they will at first).
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On July 27 2012 20:54 Callynn wrote:I think the lifting examples are actually some of the worst you can come up with in this topic. Weightlifting is generally dangerous for your back, even if you do it the right way and our bodies are not designed to do this. That being said, there is indeed a need for a healthy lifestyle when being immersed in the hardcore gaming world, which is the same for everything that involves sitting a lot (like office work). Day9 has done an episode on at least loosening up your joints and muscles in between every one or two matches, but doing decently intense movement for at least 30 minutes each day is just a simple requirement of a healthy lifestyle to prevent those veins from closing up. Being a biologist and hypocrit here by the way, knowing all that can go wrong, but not doing much myself
I think weightlifting and sitting at a computar desk must be conflicting activities physically for every person. I wouldn't think that musuclar weightlifting routines are the ideal method for better posture while gaming, but every body is different.
I'm no sure what you mean by humans not being designed to lift heavy weights;; I think any form of weight lifting is fine for yourself as long as its performed properly and not overly intensified.
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here's a quote from Flash taken from an interview @ http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=426074
"Q: Will your ruler get a sponsor?
Flash: There was a time when my fans like to give rulers to me as gift. Before every game, I use a 30CM ruler to measure my mousepad, the height of the Mouse Bungee, the distance between monitor and keyboard, etc. When I saw the rulers from my fans, I realized for the first time that there are so many kinds of rulers. Sometimes I receive 5-6 rulers everyday. And they are all different."
I don't know what he menas by rulers but whatever
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Chair height. Desk height. Feet height. (In respective order)
If you make this, your posture will be better. But it all comes down to your back. If you keep slouching with your upper back and neck. You will develop pain in your shoulder and upper back and cervical area.
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On July 20 2012 10:39 killerdog wrote:
I don't think you can just give someone information like "your table needs to be exactly 19cm higher up" or something. Just adjust things around your playing setup until you find something which you find comfortable.
I think there's a mentality threshold where you have to find your own comfort and focus more on playing the game than helping your own posture or perhaps the distances for sitting, viewing, etc.
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On August 25 2013 02:18 braebot wrote:here's a quote from Flash taken from an interview @ http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=426074"Q: Will your ruler get a sponsor? Flash: There was a time when my fans like to give rulers to me as gift. Before every game, I use a 30CM ruler to measure my mousepad, the height of the Mouse Bungee, the distance between monitor and keyboard, etc. When I saw the rulers from my fans, I realized for the first time that there are so many kinds of rulers. Sometimes I receive 5-6 rulers everyday. And they are all different." I don't know what he menas by rulers but whatever
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/80Fn7.jpg)
This was the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title.
I really want an adjustable standing desk. I really like stand-up desks.
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EPT
