How to Choose the Best Office Chair for Your Body Type

Body type, work style, and overall health all play a role in determining the type of office chair that is right for you. Here are the factors to consider when selecting your next office chair.

When it comes to health and productivity at work, it might feel like the cards are stacked against you. With limited breaks, artificial light, constant distractions, and hours sitting in front of a screen, it’s easy to see how burnout happens both mentally and physically. On top of that, the chair you’re sitting on was mass-produced in a factory, designed to be affordable and only somewhat comfortable for the average person.

The problem is, you’re not average, you’re unique, and sitting in a chair designed for someone else isn’t helping your health or focus; it’s actually doing the opposite. The wrong chair can create poor posture habits leading to further discomfort, distraction, and even long-term health problems.

So if you’re looking for a new chair, the first step is to change your perspective. Instead of viewing an office chair simply as a place to sit during work hours, see it as an investment in your health, productivity, and general well-being.

If your workspace were a football team, and the goal was comfort and productivity, your chair would be the quarterback. 

The question is, which chair do you choose to take you to the endzone? With every player on the bench claiming they have the best office chair, it can be hard to decide. Despite all the noise, one thing is certain: whether you’re tall, petite, or somewhere in between, the best office chair needs to be personalized.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the following factors to consider when choosing the best ergonomic office chair:

1. Body type
2. Posture
3. Comfort
4. Durability

1. Your Body Type: The Foundation of Comfort

As the title of this blog suggests, your body type is the most important thing to consider when it comes to finding the right office chair.

Think of your chair as you would your runners or football cleats: a shoe that’s too big and you’ll be floating around and have to adjust how you move, making it awkward and uncomfortable; a shoe that’s too small and you’ll be squeezed and pinched in pressure points. Similarly, if you pick a chair that’s too big you’ll be awkward in your positioning/posture. If you pick a chair that’s too small, you’ll be crammed which will create discomfort and distraction.

If you want to play at your best, the wrong sized equipment won’t only hold you back but will lead to long-term pain; an office chair is no different. Here’s how your size and shape should influence your chair choice:

• For Taller Individuals: Look for a chair with a higher backrest and adjustable seat depth to ensure ample legroom and neck support. Opt for models that offer adjustable lumbar support to accommodate a longer torso.

• For Petite Individuals: A chair with a lower seat height and a smaller backrest will help prevent discomfort compared to an office chair that’s too large and overwhelming. Make sure you can adjust the seat height and armrests so your feet remain flat on the floor for optimal circulation.

• Weight Consideration: Select a chair with a weight capacity that exceeds your own. This ensures the chair can provide proper support without compromising comfort or longevity. At LIFEFORM Chairs, we have a weight limit recommendation of up to 350lbs.

A chair that aligns with your body type and dimensions is the first step to creating a fully customized ergonomic workstation. Just like a pair of perfect fitting football cleats, the right size keeps you in control of your comfort and focus.

2. Posture: Chair and Body Communication 

A quarterback needs to have a clear communication with the rest of the team, to call plays and make successful passes. Your chair uses its specific ergonomic features to communicate with your body too. The right features in a chair will tell your body to stay in alignment, relieving you of slouched shoulders and a hunched neck. Correct posture is key to avoid long-term health consequences and to reach the comfort-focus endzone.

Here are the features to look for in an office chair that supports good posture:

• Lumbar Support: Choose a chair with built-in lumbar support that can be adjusted to fit the curve of your spine. This support is crucial for preventing lower back pain and maintaining a neutral spine.

• Seat Depth Adjustment: The right seat depth ensures that your hips are in contact with the back rest and that there is a small space between the edge of the seat and the back of your legs. This encourages a correct pelvic tilt, upright posture, and improves circulation.

• Adjustable Armrests: Armrests that adjust to your height and keep your arms at a neutral level helps reduce shoulder strain and a rounded back. Not to be overlooked, this simple feature can make a significant difference in comfort throughout the day.

A chair that communicates with your body and supports your posture effectively can help reduce fatigue and prevent musculoskeletal issues. With these ergonomic features in place, your quarterback will be at the top of their conference.

There’s just a few more items to address before the team is ready for the Super Bowl.

3. Comfort: Soft AND Supportive

A football player’s protective gear needs to be soft enough to move fluidly, but hard enough to support and protect the player under impact. A well-designed office chair is no different; it needs to cushion your body without being so soft that it lets you sink into more poor sitting habits.

Here are some features to look for when shopping for your next chair:

• Padded Seat and Backrest: Look for high-density foam or memory foam padding that contours to your body, providing relief from pressure points while you sit. A memory foam seat cushion that is soft but supportive will protect you from sit-bone pain, nerve pinches, and will allow circulation to flow naturally. If a seat is too soft, it will collapse under pressure, and you’ll feel the chair frame at the bottom after long-term use.

Our SmartCore Seating Technology is a two layer system, a high-density foam covering the frame to prevent bottoming out and to provide support, and then our proprietary LIFE-Foam™ memory foam layer on top to provide softness, reducing pressure on your sit bones and joints. It’s like sitting on a cloud.

• Recline Feature: A tilt mechanism that allows you to recline or shift positions throughout the day can help prevent stiffness and promote better circulation. Some chairs even have adjustable tension, so you can control how much resistance you get when leaning back.

• Headrests: If you often find yourself leaning forward or experiencing neck strain, a chair with a built-in headrest can provide much-needed support to reduce neck and shoulder pain. An adjustable headrest option is a great addition to a mid-back office chair model.

Ultimately, the more comfortable your chair, the longer you can work efficiently without distraction or discomfort. But remember, long-term comfort doesn’t just mean soft; it also means supportive.

4. Durability: Quality That Lasts

Last and definitely not least is durability. A top quality football player needs to have a long-term mind set. Without longevity, their legacy is short lived and their team will have to find a new quarterback, setting them back years of progress.

When we look at an office chair as an investment, it’s important to choose one that will stand the test of time. A high-quality chair can endure years of daily use without compromising its comfort and structure, ensuring you meet your goals with minimal hiccups and replacement players along the way.

Here’s what to look for in a durable office chair:

• Sturdy Materials: Look for chairs built with precision steel mechanisms, reinforced bases, and premium upholstery that resists wear over time. High-quality materials, from performance textiles to heavy-duty casters, ensure your chair delivers comfort and reliability for years, not months.

Don’t forget, the best performing players aren’t cheap…you get what you pay for.

• Warranty and Support: Reputable manufacturers offer warranties on their products, ensuring that you’re covered in case of defects or malfunctions. Always check for a warranty before making your purchase.

Each part of a chair plays an important role. A reliable manufacturer will help you make appropriate replacements when parts reach the end of their lifetime.

• Eco-Friendly Options: Many modern office chairs are designed with sustainability in mind, using recycled materials and environmentally friendly manufacturing practices. Opting for eco-conscious chairs not only benefits your comfort but also the natural environment and local communities.

Quality chairs are built to last. When building your team, make a wise investment that pays off in the long run, saving you from making a new purchase every few years.

A Custom Office Chair is the Perfect Office Chair

You wouldn’t pick a quarterback for your team from a catalog, so why would you for your office chair? Instead, look for the features and customizations that align with your unique needs and body type. Whether you suffer from back pain, want to improve your posture, or simply need a more comfortable place to work, LIFEFORM has a chair for you.

We’re committed to offering custom ergonomic office chairs, tailored to your body and built to last. With options for every body type and work style, we help you create a healthier workspace so you can win the Super Bowl of comfort and productivity.

Take our chair finder quiz to find your perfect LIFEFORM chair.

What can you do to prevent injuries and avoid healthcare costs?

Healthcare costs and serious injuries are avoidable: what can you do to stay out of the system?

Painful injuries from repetitive strain or long days of sitting in our office chairs are common. Most of us know someone who has been to physiotherapy or chiropractors to help them with pain in their back, strain in their wrist, or tightness in their hips.

These injuries can sneak up on us. We’ve often worked long hours with no pain or discomfort. How does it happen? Perhaps we noticed (and ignored) a small tweak before the pain? It also might have gotten worse over the last few months of working from home in uncomfortable chairs or sitting on the floor. In some, more severe cases, it may take pain medication to get us through the day.

Recognizing warning signs and preventing injuries – called Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) – can be complicated.

LIFEFORM® can help. We’ve been listening to our customers for almost 50 years. They tell us about their pain – when it comes, where it’s located, and how they manage it. Learning from these experiences, we design office chairs, adopting new and innovative technologies to identify solutions to issues before they become chronic. One such example is the Core-flex^® split seat; encouraging a small range of natural motion by actually splitting the seat. Core muscles are stimulated, allowing for improved comfort and increased circulation.

Learning the basic but important stats

MSD in North America accounts for the most lost-time injuries, the highest lost-time claim costs, and the most lost-time workdays of any type of injury. In Canada, Workers’ Compensation Board figures from various jurisdictions across the country indicate that MSDs account for 25% to 60% of total annual compensation claims. Statistics are very similar in the U.S.

Often painful and disabling, they can also interfere with all kinds of tasks at work, at home, and at play. Even in the early stages, recovery from MSD often requires months or even years of treatment. In severe cases, there may be a permanent disability. Promoting a preventive care program to avoid injuries before they develop seems like a smart decision for everyone involved. This can be large-scale, like creating an ergonomic program in your company. Or they can also be simple – with the purchase of a quality ergonomic chair to give your employees the support they need.

With over 20 ergonomic options to build our office chairs, LIFEFORM® designs each one to be easily adaptable to individual needs. If there is pain or discomfort in the wrist, we have an armrest for that. Need more back support? Our adjustable lumbar support goes where you need it most. Have a neck issue? Our built-in or add-on headrests will save you a lot of headaches. Literally.

The cost of MSD injuries

Ergonomics provides a means for adjusting your work environment and work practices to do just that; prevent injuries before they occur. If effective, these ergonomic programs are a cost-saving opportunity and the right thing to do for employers and employees alike. Considering injuries cost millions of dollars every year in direct and hidden costs, companies need to start asking if they can afford the price of not incorporating ergonomic practices into their operations.

And while there is a large burden to companies, and to the healthcare system in general because of MSD, the other side of the issue is more personal. What do MSD injuries cost the person affected by the injury itself? They are often left with pain, stress, loss of productivity, time off for medical appointments, and less time with family.

The Benefits

The scope of ergonomics is very broad but mainly refers to assessing work-related factors that may pose a risk of MSDs and recommendations to relieve them. Examples of these risk factors are found in jobs requiring repetitive tasks; typing and prolonged awkward postures; sitting for long periods of time without the proper support.

Good ergonomic design in the workplace can improve productivity, help avoid illness and injury risks, and lead to increased satisfaction among workers. Investing in injury prevention programs saves money on injury management.

It’s not just enough to HAVE these programs. Preventing injuries before they get to the debilitating stage needs involvement and buy-in from everyone involved. Support and active engagement is required – certainly from the company leadership, and also from the employees.

There are serious risks involved in sitting for long periods of time and performing repetitive tasks. However, we can prevent becoming a statistic, whether it’s a business or an individual employee. It’s essential to make sure your chair provides the right support to keep ergonomic alignment. And always reinforce to employees how important this alignment is. Keeping employees out of the healthcare system is a huge win for them and your company. If they’re paying attention to smaller aches and pains, these can be dealt with before they become a real problem that can cost money, time, and productivity.

Want to learn more? Call LIFEFORM® to get more details on how we can help your company with ergonomic office chairs and accessories.

Why is having an ergonomic chair for your office so important?

Now that many people are going back to the office, at least part-time, they may be spending more time working undisturbed, sitting in one spot, than they have in the past several months. If they haven’t experienced any pain or discomfort so far, that’s a good sign. But without having the proper office chair for ergonomic support, problems can begin for the lower back and neck. These issues reduce productivity, amplify lack of focus, and (research has shown) could lead to increased absenteeism.

There are several reasons why purchasing ergonomic chairs for your office is a good idea:

1. Support your body
When sitting at a desk for extended periods of time without the proper support, your body becomes fatigued and you may start to experience pain or discomfort, often in the lower back. Having a quality, a well-designed ergonomic chair will allow most users of different sizes – including big and tall – to achieve good support where you need it.

2. Achieve a neutral posture
Superior ergonomic office chairs have different adjustments to make sure you have the ideal neutral posture alignment to prevent many long-term health issues. For example, LIFEFORM^® chairs have over 20 ergonomic options, like adjustable lumbar support and seat slider depth, to fit your individual needs. Our unique contour seat design distributes your weight evenly and decreases pressure points on the back of the thighs and tailbone.

3. Reduce neck problems
Issues with the lower back are discussed most often, but your neck and shoulders are also at risk for long-term issues if you have an office chair without the proper neck support. Some ergonomic chairs have built-in headrests (like the LIFEFORM^® High-Back chairs) or they can be added to the design (Executive Mid-Back chairs) to help improve blood flow, which increases concentration while reducing neck muscle strain and stiffness or injury that may occur.

Mitigate wrist issues
Having armrests that can be adjusted to appropriately support the weight of your arms reduces muscle strain in the shoulders and upper arms. As well, armrests are beneficial when using the keyboard or mouse, to prevent strain which can lead to long-term wrist issues. Ideally, your armrests have a swivel function and a height adjustment so they can be positioned where and when you need them.

4. Identify unique solutions for back pain
not all ergonomic office chairs are created equal. Innovations need to be made, grounded in science-based evidence, to improve our work lives. At LIFEFORM^®, we pride ourselves on keeping your comfort and your health top of mind.

That’s why we were so interested in the Core-flex^® technology, created right here in Canada.

Most back pain and discomfort is caused by the inability of our body to move naturally. The ultimate solution is to re-engage postural support muscles by providing natural motion to the legs, pelvis, and core. When the core muscles are engaged through motion, the back is in a healthier posture. Research also shows that movement is important for thinking and creativity, spinal fitness, and the maintenance of a healthy metabolism.

With LIFEFORM^®’s Core-flex^® unique split seat design, the motion of the alternating sides stimulates natural movement. This “dynamic sitting” increases circulation in the largest muscles of the body, especially in those we sit on. Sitting with one leg slightly lower than the other off-weights the opposite ischia, or tail bone.

Improving the working lives of the people in your organization is a wise investment. There are numerous benefits that quality ergonomic office chairs bring to your bottom line and the future health and productivity of your workforce. Please contact our Customer Service representatives, who will be happy to offer help or advice on the types of ergonomic chair or posture supports we offer.

Are you sitting comfortably? Finally some ergonomic office chair relief for Big & Tall users.

However, that’s not the case for big and tall people. A good office chair that is an appropriate fit for larger people must not only support a heavier weight, but it has to be large enough – and comfortable – in several other essential design aspects.

We’re talking about considerations like extra room in the seat and a longer backrest. So you don’t end up feeling like you’re about to explode like a shaken can of soda after sitting at your desk all day.

At LIFEFORM®, many people come to us looking for relief and comfort because they know we tailor our chairs to fit the individual needs of our customers. Most of our chair models can be customized for your big and tall frame.

So, what is a big and tall person to do?

There are some very specific ergonomic options to look for when shopping for an office chair where you can be comfortable, productive, and focused for extended periods of time. We try our best to make things easy. This is certainly true working with modular furniture. Though each of our office chair models has preselected parts, it’s almost always possible to interchange them with parts from other chair models in order to create the chair that fits and works the very best for you.

Seat options

• Seat width: We have both a Deep Contour seat, which is a wider and deeper seat option, with more pronounced contouring. It measures 24” width x 20” depth, and an XL Contour, which measures 24” width x 22” depth
• Seat slider (also called a ‘pan’): With up to an extra 3” of seat depth extension, our seats are designed to handle taller people. Ideally, you should have a minimum space of two finger widths from behind your knee to the edge of the chair. This encourages blood flow behind the knees
• Seat height adjustment: Being able to move your seat up and down is essential for a taller person. Ensuring the proper height, your hips should be slightly higher than the knees also opens the pelvis allowing blood to flow freely through upper and lower body
• Memory foam: Our exclusive LIFE-Foam Memory Foam seat has an added high-density foam core, which assures your chair will never bottom out

Weight capacity: Some of our office chair models have a warranty weight capacity of 350 pounds.

Back and neck support

• Backrest: The backrest moves up and down with our ratchet technology, allowing you to get the ergonomic lumbar support where you need it. Maximum height??
• Headrest: Many of our office chair models are available with either a built-in headrest or an added cushion so you have neck support as well.

Adjustable armrests: Because sometimes both the height and width of the arm brackets need to be adjustable. Moving the armrests away from you can increase your mobility and comfort, especially if you’re not using the keyboard. But if you need them, they can be moved back into place to minimize tension in your shoulders and strain on your wrists.

Thermaguard temperature-regulating technology: Therma-Guard PCMs (Phase Change Materials) will actually absorb body heat and trap it away while you sit – keeping your body temperature constant and comfortable. Look for breathable fabrics like our Brisa fabric or natural leather.

Warranty: As a testament to the quality of workmanship, build and components, LIFEFORM® Chairs offer a lifetime warranty on most parts of our chairs.

Additional customization options for big and tall people (like a gas-assisted seat lift for additional height or an upgraded, sturdier base) are also available. Our amazing Customer Service representatives are ready and willing to answer your questions or if you need more specific information on how to get your perfect ergonomic office chair.

So you can DRINK that can of soda instead of feeling like one under pressure (just don’t shake it first!)

Office hours are:
(Mountain Timezone)
Monday – Thursday: 8 a.m. ~ 4 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. ~ 12 p.m.
Weekends & Holidays: Closed
Telephone: +1 (403) 720-3966
Or Toll Free Canada & USA only: +1 (800) 661-8568

Real, but not perfect. Natural leather office chairs – with a story.

Every leather hide has a unique story to tell. And each scar, insect bite and subtle shading is a tale in itself. When you choose natural leather for your customized LIFEFORM® ergonomic office chair, you have an amazing opportunity to contribute to another chapter in this story.

Many customers like their chair upholstery to be an even and uniform colour. And many hides are initially rejected for their natural wrinkles and color variations. But we welcome these differences. Not only do we love the sustainability of using each hide but we believe nothing adds richness to a room like leather. And after five generations of family furniture-making, we appreciate the stories natural leather tells.

Strong and durable, we also love that it offers something no other material can match. Because no two hides are identical, your chair will be unique as well. In the hands of our skilled craftspeople, the unique markings of each hide become celebrated features that separate sameness.

Leather also appeals to the senses. It begs to be touched and over time and with wear, it becomes more supple. The deep caramel color adds beauty and warmth to any decor. And just the simple smell of leather conjures up thoughts of luxury and comfort.

We know, we know. It IS an office chair, but you work hard. Shouldn’t you have that kind of superior experience if you’re going to sit for long periods of time?

Because you know that each leather hide and the customized chair it creates are made with the same ergonomic support, craftsmanship and skill – and the attention to every detail – as every handcrafted LIFEFORM® chair we deliver.

Now’s the time to add to your story. Your chair. Your way. Let us know how it goes.

Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s a review we received from Alex.

Functional and luxurious

We all love to occupy the chair – myself, and every vertebra of mine. The lumbar support feature is just right. Memory foam is not mushy, yet gives in and envelops my thighs. The headrest is always close by if I decide to tilt my neck. And the premium leather is sumptuous. That bovine clearly knew how to take care of the hide.