Yesterday’s post on the Ply Magazine blog about proper spinning chairs reminded me how remiss I’ve been in choosing a good spinning chair. A good chair should put your body in an optimal, ergonomically appropriate position in which to treadle and draft. A lot of people seem to prefer upright, wooden chairs, although Beth Smith says she prefers a rocking recliner.
Most of the time, I spin while sitting on the couch. It has nothing to do with ergonomic choices. It has everything to do with the position of the TV. In theory, there are other places I could sit in our living room that might be better suited for spinning. But none have such a good view of The West Wing, Bones, and Dollhouse.
So I remain on the couch, spinning away, with an occasional twinge in my back, shoulder or knee. Maybe one day I’ll wise up and choose something better to sit in. In the mean time, I treat my aches and pains (not all spinning related) with yoga and the occasional ibuprofen. And I justify my decision thusly: if I sat somewhere else, I’d just injure my neck straining to see the TV.
All She Wants To Do Is Knit 
Yoga works wonderfully for all sorts of aches and twinges- I don’t know how I get most of mine, but they’re all dealt with wonderfully 🙂
I actually spin while sitting on the side of my bed. I’ve spun while sitting on the couch, too…….but those are my two places to spin (not that I spin that often but, you know).
Hmm yes. My bed would probably be too high, unless I were using a spindle.
Yep, that’s where I spin too. Exercise and hot showers are lifesavers after a long spinning session.
Yeah. I figured I probably wasn’t alone in this one.
I can’t find a good chair for knitting, so I can imagine what it’s like to find the right one for spinning ! I end up putting epsom salts in my bath and arnica in my body cream to help with the pain. I think chairs decided knitting wasn’t good for me and they always make themselves uncomfortable when I reach for my needles.
Hah. I have occasional issues with my wrists too when I’ve been knitting , spinning and typing too much. So a commercial wrist brace is also helpful. What’s arnica?
Bravo for the couch!!!! Enjoy your posts.
As I write this I am sitting in an ergonomic office chair… that tilts to one side uncontrollably. DH has tried repeatedly to fix it. I finally just made one side of the seat higher with towels. Too bad a really nice chair is like $500.
That’s a funny picture in my head. :-). Do you spin from that chair too?
I think a lot of spinners do their spinning while seated on the couch or in the easy chair. I think the most important thing is to feel comfortable.
Although I can and sometimes do spin while sitting in my knitting chair, I usually sit in one of the chairs from my dining room set (bought in 1977). It’s a maple “captain’s” chair, so it has arms on it, which is a big plus because I have bad shoulders. And it is at just the right height for my body so that treadling is comfortable and my body position is good. And the chair is pretty portable within the confines of my house. I even take it out on the porch when I want to spin outside.
I’m sure they do. I’ve just begun to question whether I should do so. I sit where I do because of convenience. But I worry about prioritizing convenience over other things, like preventing injury. It’s hard to know if what you’re doing is going to hurt you until later…