Raking Leaves Isn’t All Bad; It’s Good Exercise

Geezer would like to mention three reasons one should not rake his or her leaves too soon. 1. Time and again, the first lawn to be swept of leaves has been shown to function as a kind of leaf magnet, attracting leaves from surrounding yards, and necessitating second or even third rakings. 2. Conversely, the last lawn raked often appears to act like a great organic leaf blower, dispersing its autumn detritus to neighboring yards on all sides. 3. Patience is a virtue. Everyone knows that.
Geezer has learned, however, that at least in his neighborhood, too much patience in the face of a yard full of dead leaves is not universally admired, and about this time of year, he starts looking for reasons raking leaves is not the absolute worst form of yard work. This year, he found some:
Leaf raking is, according to AARP, a pretty good moderate exercise, one that can burn about 240 calories an hour, and one that, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, requires 4 METs. The AARP quotes Barbara Ainsworth, an
exercise epidemiologist at San Diego State University, who explains that raking builds upper-body strength, as well
strength in your back and stomach. Boyd Buser, associate dean of clinical
affairs at the University of New England College of Osteopathic
Medicine, tells readers to switch sides every ten minutes, to help balance out the stress and strain to
the lower back that happens from pulling off to the side
instead of directly in front of you. Geezer says go for it. If you don’t, your neighbors may not speak to you until everyone’s yard is covered with snow.