This article includes a 5:08 video walkthrough.
Quick answer
The three most common Anthros setup mistakes are sitting bolt upright instead of tilting, working at a desk that's too high, and leaving your feet unsupported. Work in the 5-degree tilt or Free Float, set your desk or seat so your forearms rest level with your elbows at 90 degrees, and if your feet only skim the floor in tilt, add a footrest so your thighs stay flat on the cushion.
The 3 fixes
Use tilt for working. Sitting upright all day means fighting the downward pressure of gravity, and your body eventually slumps. Unlock the tilt, lean all the way back, lock it, and come forward to the 5-degree tilt. Or use Free Float with the tension set so you move between upright and about halfway.
Lower your desk (or raise your seat). Standard desks are too high for most people, which pushes your head and shoulders forward. Your desk should be at forearm height with your elbows at 90 degrees and shoulders relaxed. If the desk doesn't adjust, raise your seat. Then bring your keyboard and mouse close and adjust your armrests.
Support your feet. Your feet are part of the seated surface. In tilt, feet often just skim the floor, which creates pull and pressure under your legs. Use a footrest so your feet are firmly planted, but not so high that your knees rise above your hips. Your thighs should stay parallel to and in contact with the cushion.
Also called: setup mistakes, why isn't my chair comfortable, can't get comfortable, setup tips.
Still struggling? Book a free Posture Consult with one of our licensed therapists. Consults are educational and product-related only, not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Video transcript
I've met with so many people in their Anthros chairs, and I've seen the same things over and over again, and I don't want you to miss it. There are three simple things that you can do that will help you get the most out of your chair.
One of the biggest things that I've noticed is that people are not using tilt for tasking. The perception is that I need to be upright like this to maintain good posture, and that's a misconception. Now, I have my chair set up for me right now. I'm in the upright position. If I were to stay like this all day long, I'm experiencing that downward pressure from gravity, and over time my body is just going to collapse. It's inevitable.
And so what I recommend is that you utilize our tilt feature. That's why we did it. Unlock the tilt, go all the way back, lock it, come forward again. Now I'm in a five-degree tilt. And what I've done is I've shifted my center of gravity back. It's allowing my body to rest into the chair, but I haven't compromised my posture. So I can be sitting in a relaxed position during the day without having to fight that pressure, and be functional.
Now, the other option, if you get tired of being locked in like this all day, is the Free Float tilt option. So I've unlocked my tilt, and the tension is adjusted for my body weight, so I can move between upright and halfway, which is still a great tasking position. So I recommend sitting in tilt all day.
The second thing that I've noticed the most is that standard desk heights are just too high for most people. Let me show you what I mean. I can be sitting in the best chair in the world. I've got my chair set up for me, I'm in a nice five-degree tilt, and I come to my desk, which is standard height. This is what most people sit in, and then this is what I see. Look familiar? Look at my head. It's forward, my shoulders are forward, my traps are in a tense position. And this is how people are sitting, and they're saying, "I can't get comfortable."
Let's see the difference if we adjust the height of the desk. The desk height should be the height of my forearms when my elbow is at 90 degrees, so forearms parallel to the ground. Make sure your shoulders are relaxed. We're used to being tense like this, so relax your shoulders. This should be the height of my desk. Now you can see it's significantly lower than the common desk height. If this desk is not height adjustable, the solution is to raise my seat height. So when I raise my seat height all the way, let's see how I am. Much better. You can see my forearms are parallel to the floor.
The next thing I do is bring my keyboard towards me, bring my mouse towards me, and now I can just rest into the chair. Look at my shoulder position. This versus this. So keep your keyboard close. I can adjust my armrests, and now everything's relaxed. My traps are relaxed, my neck is relaxed, and this is how I should be working all day.
The third thing that I see most commonly is not treating the feet as part of the seated surface. Your feet should be making firm contact with the ground. And what happens when I go into tilt (I'm five-six, for reference): I go into my five-degree tilt, and notice how my feet came up a little bit. They're still touching, but they're just skimming the ground. If I sit like this for long hours, it creates a force that's pulling, and pressure under my legs. So I might feel discomfort under my legs, in my hamstrings, my lower back. This is when the foot support comes in. I can get my feet firmly planted, and then my body can just relax into the chair. So think of it that way: your feet are part of the seated surface.
The other thing that can happen is having the foot support too high. When you have it too high, your knee comes up over your hips, and it creates pressure through your sit bones. So you always want to make sure that your upper leg is parallel to the cushion and making contact with the cushion while your feet are firmly planted.
Fixing these three things is going to help you get the most out of your Anthros chair. If you're still struggling, schedule a posture consult. That's what we're here for. We want to help you get the most out of your chair.