I didn't actually grow. Let's get that out of the way. But my posture improved enough that I reclaimed two inches I didn't even know I'd lost — and if you work from home and spend most of your day parked at a desk, there's a solid chance you're in the same boat.
Here's what happened and what I did about it.
Wait, You Can Actually Shrink?
I listed myself as 5'11" since high school. Went to the doctor a few years into working from home full time and measured at 5'9". I laughed it off. Figured the nurse got it wrong. She didn't.
My desk setup was quietly destroying my posture one hunched hour at a time. Think about it — we spent millions of years evolving to hunt, gather, walk, and move. Then in about forty years we collectively decided the peak of human civilization was sitting completely still, neck craned forward, staring at a glowing rectangle for eight hours a day. Our spines did not get the memo.
Mine started compressing around my neck and upper back. My shoulders rounded forward because my lower back had basically clocked out and my other muscles were trying to cover for it. The result? Two lost inches and a wife who stopped wearing heels because she didn't want to tower over me. That last part was the real motivation, honestly.
The Fix I Didn't Expect to Work
My wife — girlfriend at the time — got me an adjustable standing desk for my birthday. I was grateful but skeptical. It's just a desk. How much could it actually do?
The first time I used it standing up, I lasted twenty minutes. Twenty. My mammoth-hunting ancestors were absolutely disgusted. I used to work eight-hour retail shifts on my feet five days a week in my early twenties. My body had completely forgotten how to be a human.
Rather than give up and go back to my ergonomic disaster of a setup, I just committed to starting every morning standing. Not the whole day — just the morning shift. Here's the thing about afternoon energy: most people don't actually get that second wind they're counting on. Do the hard thing in the morning when your willpower is fresh, even if twenty minutes is all you've got. You'll add time gradually without even noticing.
Best Adjustable Standing Desks on Amazon.ca
What Actually Changed (And Why)
The lower back came back online first. Sitting hunched over for years had made mine weak and lazy — it just stopped participating. Standing forced it to re-engage. Uncomfortable at first. Worth it.
Once my lower back started pulling its weight again, something else happened. My shoulders, which had been working overtime to compensate, finally got to relax. And when your shoulders ease back, the compression in your spine starts to release. You go from bendy-straw to pencil. You don't actually grow — you just stop being folded in half.
My wife noticed before I did. Said I wasn't looking at the ground as much when I walked. Hadn't even crossed my mind that I was doing it. Those few hours a day at the desk were rebuilding muscles that were then showing up everywhere else in my life.
(Bonus tip if you want to speed this up: low weight, high-rep lat pulldowns and single-arm cable rows are your best friends. The desk does a lot but the gym seals the deal.)
The Second Thing I Was Wrong About
I used to cringe at people who carried laptop stands around. Looked like the most unnecessarily preppy accessory imaginable. What kind of person needs a stand for their laptop?
A person with a neck, it turns out.
When you sit at a properly adjusted standing desk and open your laptop, the screen still sits too low. So your chin tilts down. So your neck bends forward. So you're back to square one with a different piece of furniture.
A laptop stand raises your screen to eye level. Chin stays neutral. Neck muscles activate correctly. And just like the lower back situation — those muscles being engaged at the desk translates to how you carry yourself everywhere else.
The Setup That Actually Works
After eighteen months of trial and error, here's what my home office setup looks like:
The standing desk. Adjustable height, electric preferred so you'll actually use it. Set it so your elbows are at roughly 90 degrees when you're standing.
The laptop stand. Screen at eye level. Non-negotiable if you're on a laptop.
An external keyboard and mouse. Once your laptop is elevated, you need these. Otherwise you're reaching up to type and creating a different problem.
An anti-fatigue mat. Standing on hardwood or tile for a few hours without one is how you quit. These make standing actually comfortable.
Eighteen Months Later
I'm back to 5'11". I really wish I'd taken a before and after photo — missed opportunity for the ages. But more than the number, I just move differently now. I'm not folded forward. I'm not staring at the ground. My wife wore heels to a wedding last summer for the first time in years.
Two inches is a small number until it's yours. If you work from home and you've been telling yourself your setup is fine, it might be worth a second look. The desk you're sitting at right now might be slowly taking something from you that you don't even know you've lost.
The good news is a better desk can give it back.
Have questions about setting up your home office ergonomics? Drop them in the comments. I'm not a physiotherapist — I'm just a guy who got his two inches back and wants to help you get yours.