Fall Is In the Air
And Leaves are on the Ground!
   Raking leaves is a great way to burn calories. Harvard Health studied raking exercise for 30 minutes and found that a 150 pound person would lose 149 calories. Ten minutes of raking leaves is such a great activity that it counts toward the exercise recommendation of 2 1/2 hours of weekly exercise set by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
   Raking leaves can also be detrimental to the body if proper technique isn’t followed. Here are some guidelines to help keep the body healthy when raking leaves:
- Stretch before starting. Raking leaves is just like any other exercise and the muscles must warm up before strenuous activity.
- Do not travel too far while raking leaves. Instead of having one giant pile, try to have several smaller piles throughout the yard.
- When picking up leaves bend at the knees and keep your back straight. When carrying the bag of leaves, the arms should be held in close to the body to minimize stress on the back.
- Wear work gloves! Friction from holding a wooden rake can cause blisters and calluses.
- If you have a large yard do not do too much work at one time. Try dividing the yard and work on raking over a couple of days. (Rome wasn’t built in a day!)
The most important rule to remember is to ENJOY BEING OUTSIDE IN THE COOL CRISP AIR OF FALL.