• Anchor both feet firmly

• Squat, then let your legs and glutes do the work

• When squatting; keep the spine long and hinge from the hips as necessary to maintain the back’s ease

• When squatting protect the knees by keeping behind the balls of feet – taking the thighs and hips back will help – anchor the feet!

• Engage your core to provide support around the spine

• Keep the weight of lifted item close to the body, your center of gravity

• Avoid rounding and rotation of the spine whilst weight bearing

In essence, by using the strong muscles of our legs and glutes we take less strain in the shoulders. The spine is protected when our core engages just prior to lifting and the spine remains long under load. This is because the cushioning discs between our vertebrae like space and dislike compression, the very same reason we avoid rotation or excessive rounding (flexion) while lifting.

Practice and refine your technique to help prevent unnecessary strain.