BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) — It’s pumpkin season, part of the Halloween holiday filled with kid-scary ghosts, witches monsters and — if you’re not careful — the frightening pulled back because you picked up that heavy pumpkin the wrong way.

It’s important to use your legs and not your back when picking up the perfect pumpkin. It’s all about body alignment. Keep your chest and eyes forward, and keep your weight on your heels. You squat like you’re about to sit in a chair, go down, grasp the pumpkin, keep your body and eyes straight, push up with your heels and lift with your legs.

Squat exercises help strengthen your core. Kara Colon is the Healthy Living Director with the Missouri Valley Family YMCA. She says squats are multi-joint exercises that help your hips, knees and ankles. These exercises will help you during pumpkin season — and serve you well in daily living.

Jeff and Amber show you how it’s done.