Finding Your Footing

“Of course I use my feet, how else would I be walking?”

One thing my clients hear me say over and over and over is “Big toes! Big toes! Big toes!”  We often think that by lunging, squatting, exercising in general, that we’re inherently strengthening our feet.  Our feet have 26 bones, 33 joints, over a hundred muscles/tendons/ligaments, and THOUSANDS of nerve endings.  It’s as though the body is saying, “Hey, we’re important!”  So when I ask people if they’re using their feet and toes, they’re often like, “duh, how else did I get up?”  But there’s a difference in standing on your foot and standing with your foot.  Can you grip the floor with your big toe? Can you stand with your feet hip width apart and “spread the floor” with your feet?  The better able you are to really use your whole foot, and certainly the big toe in particular, the better able you will be to irriadiate tension—meaning, your calf will engage, your quads and hamstrings, and you will be better able to maximally contract your glutes.  The more force you’re able to generate through the muscles, the more muscle fibers you’re using – meaning, you get stronger, faster.  Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency—it’s what we’re all about, right?

I often hear, “My balance is horrible,” – and while more muscles than just the feet are involved in balance, foot/ankle/toe strength should not be neglected.  Even for the seasoned athlete, adding specific foot strengthening exercises can help you run faster and jump higher – really! Begin by just *feeling* your feet and toes as you walk – awareness is everything.  Then try some bridges just feeling for the foot-to-glute connection.  As you become more aware of your feet during squats, deadlifts, etc., you’ll root your feet into the floor creating a kinetic chain ready to handle load, ready to efficiently workout.