For a long time I’ve realized,

People Lack Foot Strength

and generally just have F-ed up feet,

Collapsed arches

Flat Feet

Bunions

Immobility

Plantar Fasciitis

Heel Spurs

Lack of motor control

And so much more!!!!

I cant tell you how many people I’ve recommended foot mobility and strengthening exercises to.

I can tell you how many people have taken the advice/ homework and consistently done them….

Keep in mind, things like foot exercises need to be done regularly, as in EVERY DAMN DAY.

Why So Often?

You’re loading your feet all day, every day.

They’re the product of how you’ve ~~lived~~ loaded them

To create change in these tissues you’re going to need to provide them with new loading patterns often.

Otherwise, its kinda like the guy who goes for a single 20 minute run once a week, but spends the other 167.5 hours on his ass.

Yea, it is better than nothing.

But it aint changing shit.

Foot Mobility?

We’re not addressing that here.

Except to say,

“The foot and ankle form a complex system which consists of 28 bones, 33 joints, 112 ligaments, controlled by 13 extrinsic and 21 intrinsic muscles.” –physiopedia

It’s probably important that 33 joints can move.

Today, we’re dealing with,

FOOT STRENGTH

There’s a good chance you have weak feet.

Like, REALLY, weak feet.

Like, you’re going to feel ashamed when you find out how weak.

I was…

Why Foot Strength?

The feet are the first and last thing that your body has in contact with the ground.

Your feet give you feedback about EVERYTHING related to your movement.

Like,

Ground Reaction Forces

Not only do you press on the ground…

The ground is always pushing back on you.

“Most of our movements ultimately rely upon our interaction with the ground. We are constantly pushing against the ground both vertically and horizontally as we initiate and modify movements of the total body and body segments. Consider just a few examples of movements, both simple and complex, that depend upon our ability to push against the solid base of the earth: walking, running, reaching up in a cupboard for a glass, a push up exercise, raising your hand to ask a question, and jumping (the focus of today’s exercise). Because of the importance of our interactions with the ground in the generation and modulation of our movements, the ground reaction force (GRF) could arguably be considered the most important external force acting on the body. What is important to keep in mind is that the ground reaction force is largely under our control via coordinated muscle actions. By producing a certain combination of muscle actions, we ultimately push against the ground which pushes back against the body with an equal and opposite force. This is explained by Newton’s 3rd law of motion which states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction” – KIN 335 – Biomechanics LAB: Ground Reaction Forces – Linear Kinetics

The Ground Pushes Back on You

Often seems to be a VERY difficult concept for people to grasp.

Think of it this way, if the ground didn’t push back on you with as much force as you push on it, you’d fall into it..

That’s Why Foot Strength Matters

When we do anything on our feet, walking, jumping, landing, sprinting, virtually any athletic movement, weak feet leads to deformation (or not, if its too stiff) of the foot, or the joints up stream (ankle, knee, hip).

That means joints above those 33 in the foot and ankle are absorbing or not absorbing, moving/ not moving, in ways that may not lead to optimal force absorption and creation.

“During high-intensity sports activities such as running, the foot not only needs to be compliant to assist in ground reaction force attenuation, it also be able to resist deformation and provide a stable base of support and lever arm to propel the body efficiently. A foot that is unable to adjust to these stresses may alter resultant moments and forces acting on the more proximal joints…..The foot core system must act as a strong and rigid lever in order to best transfer lower limbs forces during propulsion, and it must also cope with significant amounts of constraints at the absorption phase, in the sense of impact attenuation.”- Effects of a foot strengthening program on foot muscle morphology and running mechanics: A proof-of-concept, single blind randomized controlled trial

Does Foot Strengthening Do Anything?

The simple answer is,

YES.

Its been shown to consistently improve “horizontal and vertical propulsion”, ie jump height, active foot stiffness, and motor control,

“This study supported the hypothesis that metatarsophalangeal muscle flexor strength can be improved through a specific strengthening program. Such training also results in improved performance in functional activities such as horizontal and vertical jumping”- Effect of Foot Intrinsic Muscle Strength Training on Jump Performance

“reinforcement of the intrinsic foot flexor muscles should receive sufficient focus. Furthermore, we believe that intrinsic foot flexor strength training is useful for improving standing and walking performance, in addition to improving the performance of sports athletes engaged in activities involving greater exercise loads.-Strength Training for the Intrinsic Flexor Muscles of the Foot: Effects on Muscle Strength, the Foot Arch, and Dynamic Parameters Before and After the Training

“(1) Higher values of peak torque, power, and work suggest that the applied exercises may have beneficial effect on strength of knee joint flexor muscles.
(2) Exercises strengthening short foot muscles may improve energy transfer through body segments and increase values of generated power.
(3) Based on our results, we can suggest that the applied training programme is effective and should be included as a part of daily training programme of runners.” –The Influence of Plantar Short Foot Muscle Exercises on Foot Posture and Fundamental Movement Patterns in Long-Distance Runners, a Non-Randomized, Non-Blinded Clinical Trial

So, looks like this sh@t, while unsexy as all hell, works.

Spring Ankle #1

Checklist:

Begin on both feet elevated
Heels and arches OFF the edge, they MUST be unsupported
Have a wall, rack something you can hold onto or at least lean on just to maintain balance.
DRIVE the big toe down and create an arch in BOTH the mid foot AND between the big toe and ball of the foot.
Get “squatty” at the ankle, knee and hip.
Take one foot away and HOLD the position.
Make sure the feet are horizontal, on the same plane, as the floor.
NO KNEES DRIVING INWARD toward the midline of the body