The days are longer. The sun fuels our soul. And for some reason, we feel motivated to clean. There are a few theories as to why we clean this time of year:
The Practical:
Historically when we heated with coal and whale oil through the winter, it made things messy and homes needed a good cleaning.
The Religious:
Many religious traditions have a concept of cleaning out around springtime. Passover involves purging, cleaning, and renewal. There are indications spring cleaning is linked to Zoroastrianism and a Persian relationship to the spring equinox.
The Physical:
The longer days and added sunlight of spring may motivate us to move more and cleaning is a good, productive outlet.
Whatever our motivation is to spring clean, it is a great form of physical activity. A good spring clean can serve as your workout for the day. But it’s also easy to get injured. Injuries are usually caused by repetitive movement that strains a part of the body, falls, and lifting heavy objects.
Here are some tips to help prevent injury while you get your house (inside and out) in order:
Warm-Up:
I know this is a hard sell. But if you are about to clean for a couple hours it’s worth doing a dynamic warm-up to get your muscles ready to work. We skip warm-ups for our fitness workouts, so I get no one wants to do them to clean. But your body will thank you if you can convince yourself to do it. Start with a couple of marches in places, a few lunges, and some rotations. It doesn’t have to be excessive. Then get to work.
Watch Your Footing (Be Present):
You’ll likely find yourself going up and down stairs possibly with a vacuum, laundry basket, or a bucket of cleaning supplies. Floors might be wet. Take your time. Vacuum cords and mops might be lying across the floor. Think of cleaning like a workout. You want good form first. Be mindful of what you’re doing and try not to slip. Take smaller trips of items. We all want to rush through and get it over with, but it’s not worth slipping or getting hurt.
Lift from the Legs:
When you lift something, try not to bend forward. When you pick something up you need to do a deep squat with weight in your heels and keep the work in your legs. Can’t do a deep squat. Take smaller loads. And…
Engage Your Abs:
Activating the abs is not a miracle cure-all, but it can be really beneficial to the back. You may not move with perfect form through a whole spring clean (and the body should be able to withstand a lot). But to give it a better fighting chance, think of activating your abs. To do this, imagine zipping a pair of skinny jeans fresh out of the dryer after eating Thanksgiving dinner. Keep that activation and it should help.
Use Your Legs:
Vacuuming can really aggravate people’s backs. We tend to vacuum by twisting our hips and torso or hinging at our hips. Both options should be something the body can withstand for a bit, but if you are prone to back pain or tired from a day of cleaning that’s when you are likely to get hurt. Try legs staggered—one forward one back—and rock back and forth from your front leg to back leg. Using power from your base all the way up. You’ll feel more like you’re one with the vacuum.
And if you’re picking up lighter items like small twigs outside or dishes from the dishwasher and you want an alternative to the deep squat, hinge forward from the hips (don’t round), and let one leg lift up behind you as a counterweight. This requires some balance and flexible hamstrings but is generally a better choice than continuously bending forward at the back. Use the counter or a tree to help you balance.
And at the end of a long day of cleaning, take a moment to relish in all your accomplishments. It does feel good to settle back and look at a clean space and a job well done.
Keep Reading
Is the cold weather still keeping you inside? Check out this blog where Maggie lays out how to do indoor workouts!
Stretching before a workout is more important than we think. Check out Maggie’s recent blog to learn why!
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