There's more to good manual handling than just using the right techniques while you're moving rolls of flooring or other objects around the jobsite. You also need to get your body limbered up and ready for the physical work you're about to do.

The learning activity in the lesson 'Looking after your body' asked you to think of a couple of stretching exercises that would be suitable for a floor layer.

Below are some common examples. You can do these exercises before you start work, or at any time during the day if you're starting to feel tired or your muscles are cramping. There are lots of variations on these exercises, so if you've already got other favourites that are doing the trick, you should stay with the ones you know. But it's still worth trying these ones out to see how they feel.

Click on the play button for each exercise below to see it in animation. When you've watched each one, do it yourself a couple of times.

Note that we discussed some leg stretches in the unit Safety at work designed specifically to help your avoid knee injuries. You can see them at: 'Safe work procedures - Just for fun.'