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    Do you rest your palms in front of the keyboard when typing?

    • Started by simonh
    • 16 Replies:
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    • Registered: 27-Apr-2008
    • Posts: 166

    I have always typed using the wrong position (although my palms are further back).

    Right

    wrstrite.gif

    Wrong

    wrstwrng.gif

    I'm attempting to switch to the correct position and my upper arms are feeling a bit of strain. Hopefully this doesn't last too long.

    What about everyone else, right or wrong?

    images from here: http://www.hp.com/ergo/forearms.html

    Edit: Pretty much everyone that I see typing uses the 'wrong' position. Maybe the 'right' position requires too much effort?

    Last edited by simonh (21-Oct-2008 12:58:46)

    "It is an undoubted truth, that the less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in." - Earl of Chesterfield

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    • Registered: 17-Mar-2008
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    I do it right.

    Rest your hands in your lap when you're not typing. That will make it easier to type correctly as your shoulders won't be as tired.

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    • Registered: 27-Apr-2008
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    Do you find it tiring during long bouts of typing, tomlu?

    Have you always typed this way or did you change at some point?

    Cheers.

    "It is an undoubted truth, that the less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in." - Earl of Chesterfield

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    • From: Viken, Norway
    • Registered: 13-Dec-2006
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    I usually rest my underarms on the table for "casual" situations (such as now). My wrists don't end up with an angle like in the figure; that'd be horribly uncomfortable. I feel that I can rest my arms/wrists and keep the wrists straight at the same time. Whenever I pick up speed, my arms are lifted to that "right" position because I've seen figures like that one a lot of times and try to do it right.

    I've heard that inconsistency makes your speed slower. Not sure what to believe - I'm not very fast but that's probably for other reasons.  ;)

    *** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
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    DreymaR said:

    ...I've heard that inconsistency makes your speed slower. Not sure what to believe - I'm not very fast but that's probably for other reasons.  ;)

    I've just started picking up a bit of speed after months of 50-55 wpm. This has come about thanks to lots of 'blind typing' and trying to be as accurate as possible. I'll give it a week and see how it feels then. I can always go back to the lazy way.

    "It is an undoubted truth, that the less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in." - Earl of Chesterfield

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    I do not get tired from long bouts, although I do not often type for long stretches at a time as I am a programmer, not an author.

    It is believed that you can go faster if you maintain a neutral position [citation needed]. I don't know whether that's true; what I do think is veracious is that consistency is advantageous so it makes sense to do it right all the time. I am a medium pace typer (75 wpm max) so I don't know if it holds true for lesser or higher speeds.

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    • Registered: 20-Oct-2006
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    I have one of the new Apple Keyboards, and it's so thin and low to the desk that even resting my hands on the tabletop doesn't cause any real bend in my wrists.

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    • Registered: 06-Oct-2008
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    I do it right althought not exactly as depicted above. Long time ago I was trained ergonomy at work - not much helpful until I learned touch typing. But I know that it is better not to press your palm on the keyboard when typing. The wrist angle IMHO does not matter as long as you are not bending at some extreme angle, keeping no contact with keyboard matters. I also do not type in long runs because I am software developer and I found MS4000 very suitable because there from proper typing position to resting position is a very slim transition (the wrist pad is lifted up).

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    • Registered: 22-Aug-2008
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    If you can push the keyboard further toward the monitor, you can rest your forearms on the edge of the desk (if the edge is not sharp). In this case it would be very difficult to type the wrong way.

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    • Registered: 08-Mar-2008
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    I rest my hands, but I have a laptop so my hands stay level. I rest my hand with a mouse though, and that gets hurty.

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    I've gone back to resting my hands. I feel no pain, and it's comfortable. Like other 'resters', my angle is negligible really.

    "It is an undoubted truth, that the less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in." - Earl of Chesterfield

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    • Registered: 17-Dec-2008
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    I rest the butt of my palm on my desk when typing (it's somewhat similar to those keyboard rests, except it's thin and made of wood), and rest my hands in my lap when I won't be typing for a while.  A big part of the point of "floating" the hands, I think, is to prevent prolonged compression of some major nerve (which can cause carpal tunnel syndrome).  Back when I did data entry, where I had to type continuously for hours at a stretch, I would arrange my workstation so that I could rest both my forearms completely on the desk.  It was a bit of a compromise--I didn't have to have constant tension in my arms from "floating" my hands, but at the same time I was able to spread the compression across my entire forearms, rather than having it all focused on the butt of my palms.  I would sometimes start getting warning signs (tingling in the hands) if I just rested the butts of my palms on the desk, but never had any problems resting my entire forearms.

    ('Course, the paranoid dummies in charge sounded like they were going to start disallowing the full-forearm thing, which is about the time I quit that job.  Because, you know, someone's arbitrary guidelines are a more reliable indicator of safety than what I'm feeling in my own damn hands.  Yes, I told them.  No, they didn't care.  Blah.)

    Last edited by Phynnboi (18-Dec-2008 03:07:35)
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    • Registered: 20-Oct-2006
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    I specifically bought a very deep desk for just that reason, so that I could rest my entire forearms on the desk. It makes my elbows a bit sore from the hard surface, but I never have any problems with my wrists.

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    • Registered: 17-Dec-2008
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    I said I rested my forearms on the desk, but actually, they had a bunch of those palm rest things and I'd carry two around for my forearms (and elbows).  The only problem with that was, the palm rests tended to get kinda nasty from everyone's using them 24 hours a day, so could make the skin on my forearms itchy after a few hours of use.  (I know--yuck.)  Anyway, if you got a couple just for yourself, it might help with your elbows.

    Incidentally, I've been looking for a desk I could do that with.  I've never been able to find the desks they used where I worked, which had adjustable everything.  Any leads?

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    • Registered: 20-Oct-2006
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    Sometimes I set out a towel folded along its long side four times to rest my elbows on, but usually I take sore elbows to be a sign that maybe I should stop using the computer for a while!

    It's a corner desk. From the front edge to the back corner is a bit more than three feet deep, so even with a pair of subwoofers, an LCD screen and a keyboard, there's still room for my forearms (and I have long arms).

    http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/00079215
    desksmall.jpg

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    • Registered: 17-Dec-2008
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    Cool; I'll have to keep that in mind when desk shopping.  And I suppose that's a good point about sore elbows meaning one needs to get off the computer for a while.  My wife would definitely approve.

    Off the subject, but is your desk always that clean?  I'm jealous.  :)

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    • Registered: 20-Oct-2006
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    My desk, yes. I'm pretty good about that.

    My drawer unit and other desk, however, are piled high with books and papers and games and DVDs and old keyboards and assorted office supplies. Every inch of both is covered with neat but tall towers of stuff.

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