Fall Season
It’s that time of year again where the leaves are changing and the fall colors are all around us, even if you live in NYC
Raking leaves, regardless of your yard size, can be quite a chore. In order to avoid injuries, there are some necessary steps you should take so you don’t experience unnecessary pain or discomfort.
The first piece of preparation you should take is to wear proper protective clothing - consider wearing gloves to avoid getting stabbed by thorns or sticks, also try wearing long sleeves and pants to also avoid getting pricked!
Next, you want to warm up your body and get stretched out! Try simply walking around a bit to get your blood flowing and your muscles primed to start working. Do some air squats, touch your toes, do some body bends - get yourself loosened up to start moving!
Now that you are properly prepared to work, now you have to make sure you are doing it properly!
The first tip for raking is to slightly bend your knees and keep your core engaged - this will help to keep your back straight and avoid bending.
Next, you want to keep the rake close to your body - use your arms to reach for the leaves instead of bending and reaching with your back.
Lastly, avoid twisting motions as much as possible, you want to pull with your arms and not with your back.
After the raking, comes the disposal. Whether you are leaving it at the curb or bagging it up, the leaves need to go. For bagging leaves, the normal bending and lifting advice comes into effect:
Bend at the knees and keep your back straight
Avoid twisting to bag the leaves
When lifting the bags, slowly stand up using your legs and maintain a straight back
Bonus tip: use a tarp to gather up the leaves all at once!