When you are preparing for your move, it’s important that you take the time to review for proper lifting methods. You don’t ever want to do unnecessary strain on your body and the best way to avoid that is to know the proper technique. With Interwest, we are always making sure our movers and customers are as safe as possible during a move and to help that we’ve created this blog on lifting boxes safely.
Proper Box Lifting Technique
Feet Position – The main error that a lot of people do when working on lifting a box is the positioning of their feet. You want to have your feet squared up with your shoulder and if possible to the side of the boxes. If you cannot safely establish your gravity above the box, then you might want to ask another person for help. As long as the box doesn’t create a tipping arc with your back, then it is okay to move. A final note, no box should weigh above fifty pounds if possible.
How to Hold the Box – When you are holding the box you want to focus on two aspects: Hand Position, Strength to Body.
Hand Position: The hands should create a triangle between your body and the box. This will help cradle the box against you based solely on the position and not the strength necessary. Instead of lifting, you are simply pinning it to your body which helps your back.
Strength to the body. When you are lifting with your arms, you are only pinning it to the body. Doing this helps your legs do the extra work necessary for lifting. Working with the angle and lifting in that triangle keeps your back from overstretching.
About the Back – There will always be a little bit of back work involved with lifting. But the important thing to remember is to keep your back straight. A good reminder is to lay your back flat against the wall in between boxes, so you know what it naturally feels like to be straight instead of overstretching.
Moving the Box Correctly
Moving the Box CorrectlyStepping – When you are stepping you want to do it one step at a time. You want to be fully supplanted on the moving foot before moving the next foot. This will be a little awkward at first because it’s so deliberate, but speed comes with technique.
Placing – When you are placing, you will squat with your legs and gently let the box fall. Sometimes it works with sliding down your body, but you want to get as low to the ground as possible before enabling your back. The idea is to familiarize yourself with how to distribute weight properly.
InterWest Moving & Storage
InterWest Moving & Storage is one of the top moving services in the Intermountain West. We help countless people every year move throughout America. If you would like to know more about our services or proper technique, please give us a call today at (208) 523-8989.
