Kinesiology THURSDAY – How to Lift a Box (And Why)

The Science Behind the Lift

There are two things you need to understand when it comes to lifting. Center of gravity and base of support. Your center of gravity is anterior to S2 (just below and behind your belly button). If you picture that spot and drop a line straight down to the ground, that is your line of gravity.

Two things make you more stable:

1. As long as your line of gravity falls inside your base of support, you are the most stable and require less muscular effort than if your line of gravity falls outside your base of support. Your base of support is the space between your feet. If you stand on one leg, your base of support is the size of your foot. If you reach forward, your center of gravity moves forward, falling outside your base of support.
2. Your center of gravity is closer to the ground.

This is the picture people typically see when they look at literature on how to lift a box. But is it the best (and easiest) way? Understanding the “why?” behind the “what?” may lead you to a different solution.

This lift works because as you reach forward, your center of gravity moves forward, but if you stick your butt back, it moves your center of gravity back closer to the space between your feet. Your center of gravity is also close to the ground when you squat. You get in trouble if you don’t stick your butt back and lift like this:

Here the center of gravity has moved way in front of his feet and is far from the ground, making this an unsafe lift as it requires a lot more muscular force (in your back) to perform this.

But what if we cheat the base of support so it’s bigger in a different direction? Longer, instead of wider.

By placing one foot in front of the other with the front foot to the side of the box, your base of support has been lengthened in the right direction. Now, when your center of gravity moves forward, your base of support is long enough to accommodate that movement, requiring less muscular force in your back. I’m a big fan of the diagonal lift.

Now you know the “why?” behind the “what?” when it comes to lifting. Share this with someone you love.

Because nobody has time to be in pain.

Until next time…

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