A Quick introduction to the feet: The human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments, 19 muscles and tendons. The 52 bones in your feet make up about 25 percent of all the bones in your body.
Bottom line, our feet are complex and should be able to stabilize, propel and absorb force during activity. Any breakdown in structure or function will cause other areas of the body (muscles, tendons, joints, etc) to compensate. This can cause altered movement patterns, muscle imbalances, pain, and eventually injury.
Simply think of our feet as the foundation of our entire body.
Roles of the feet include:
- Stabilize/support while standing and during movement
- Propel us in multiple directions,
- Absorb energy during movement (in multiple planes of movement)
- Provide proprioceptive feedback about the surface we are moving on.
As we move, our feet are the connection to the ground. Many people have powerful hips and legs, but neglect the lower leg and feet completely. If you have ‘400lb squat’ power but unstable, weak ankles and feet, what do you think happens when you try to apply force into the ground to move? Energy will not transfer into the ground efficiently, your performance will suffer and you will probably develop some type of pain or injury, especially if you are moving in multiple planes at speed.
Athletes that typically suffer from these types of injuries include volleyball, basketball, football, soccer and other athletes that use a lot of quick, lateral movement in their sport.
So, how do we train our feet and develop a stable, strong and powerful foundation?
Simply buying barefoot shoes and starting to run, is a recipe for disaster. Training our feet is very similar to training the rest of our body. It requires a proper progression of exercises that starts with stability exercises.
You wouldn’t try to clean and jerk 300lbs on your first day at the gym would you?
So our first goal when training our feet should be stability and mobility. Since the majority of us spend our days in the car, at a desk and on the couch, it is vital to mobilize the ankle joint and create some stability throughout the foot and ankle.
There are literally hundreds of ways to challenge the ankles and feet, but here are some simple exercises to get us started. Try to hold these positions for 30 seconds to 1 minute. If you are just starting or new to foot training, please start with two feet and graduate to one foot once you master the two foot exercises.
1. Heel raise with two feet
Try to raise your heels up as high as you can and grab the ground with your toes.
2. Heel raise – 1 foot
Try to raise your heels up as high as you can and grab the ground with your toes.
3. Roller balance w/ toes out
Try to grab the roller with your toes and contour your foot to the curve of the roller.
4. Roller balance w/ toes in
Try to grab the roller with your toes and contour your foot to the curve of the roller.
5. Roller balance w/ toes straight
** Please use a wall, post or steady partner when you try these exercises the first time. Again, the goal for these exercises is to maintain balance and to create more stability in the foot and ankles.
Once you master these exercises, the next step will be to challenge the foot and ankle during movement.
Stay tuned for the next barefoot training article…coming soon!
Rob McCullough says
real stuff right there..
Aravindbabu Janjanam says
xcelent
Madison Murphy says
a couple months ago i stopped wearing shoes to workout and it has made my feet so much stronger its crazy! i love it so much more and the only time i do wear shoes to workout is when im running, walking or working out outdoors
Catherine says
There are always articles bashing barefoot training or praising barefoot training, but it never explains why. What i’ve experienced for the past year is to wear more cushioned shoes during training hours, but during my personal work outs, i either work out bare feet deepening on what type of movements or barefoot/zero drop shoes! you have so much more control.