The Importance of training BAREFOOT and How to go about it.
How often do you stretch or strengthen your feet?
If the answer to that question is not at all (and for most people it is) It is time to think about the fact that you walk around on your feet ALL DAY LONG every single day of your life and whilst you may know the importance of strength training for the rest of your body you probably aren't doing ANYTHING to help keep your feet strong, mobile and dexterous.
If you have done any sort of dance, gymnastics or even swimming in your life you know just how important the strength of your feet is.
They are the base of all of your power and stability. However if you've always been more of a ball or couch kinda sports person chances are you have no idea how important the strength and mobility of your feet truly is.
Do you have knee, hip or back pain? Sometimes even neck pain or shoulder pain or tightness?
It is quite possible that these issues are coming from your feet. Sound crazy? Back pain... from my feet???
But think about it... if you have weak feet, and maybe one is weaker than the other, or the inside is weaker than the outside, so then you roll your feet in or out at weird angles, this affects your ankles, which pulls up into the knees, then the hips and once your hips are out (which is the centre for all the strength and stability in your body) pretty much anything can be out! Uneven hips or tight hips from trying to support the feet that aren't really working properly pulls on the low back.
So you might stretch or foam roll your hip flexors, ITB or glutes, you might strengthen your pelvic floor to support your low back but have you looked at your FEET?
Because all the stretching and strengthening in the world won't help unless you address the route cause of the problem.
A podiatrist might prescribe you with orthotics to make your feet sit correctly in your shoes, which will probably stop the pain in your knees or ankles, but it actually weakens your feet, because now they don't have to do any work, the orthotics do it all.
So it is really only an imperfect or short term fix.
What you really need to do is STRENGTHEN YOUR FEET!
Our hunter gatherer ancestors walked around barefoot all their lives, it didn't matter whether the ground was grassy, rocky, sandy, muddy, hot or cold. Their feet were wide and strong with a thick protective skin to stop them from getting hurt too badly if they stepped on a sharp rock or hot sand.
However unlike today they did not need to worry about stepping on glass, syringes or hot concrete. Not to mention the unknown damage that walking around barefoot on unforgiving concrete could do to your joints.
Okay, so I can hear you saying "so what is the alternative?
In our modern world of concrete footpaths and dangerous rubbish that doesn't break down for 100s of years it is pretty much essential that when you go for a walk or run you do it in a nice sturdy pair of runners.
What if I told you that your expensive Asics might be doing you more harm than good. Your runners have been designed to support your foot, to stop you from rolling your feet in or out and creating greater problems for your hips and knees, but the ONLY reason that you need this sort of support in the first place is because your feet are WEAK from a lifetime of wearing shoes that do all the work, making your feet lazy and flawed.
We are lucky enough to live in a time where the research around the importance and benefits of barefoot walking and strengthening your feet are becoming more wide spread. So there are actually quite a lot of companies these days that offer barefoot solutions. Vivobarefoot and FYF (free your feet) socks are some that i have heard great things about.
But Before you rush out and buy a pair you need to keep reading!
Unfortunately you can't go straight into working out or walking around barefoot if you never have before, chances are your feet will have some imbalances that will initially accentuate any hip or knee pains you already have. You need to build your feet up first. So here are some foot strengthening and mobility exercises for you to try.
Can you peel all of your toes off the ground whilst keeping your heel and the ball of your foot on the ground and your body tall and straight?
Can you press your big toe down but keep all the other toes up? What about reversing that?
Can you spread all of your toes out away from each other creating about 1cm between every single toe?
If the answer is no to any of these questions try sitting on your heels with your toes tucked under to stretch out your feet.
From here we want to progress into more challenging exercises like toe raises and toe raise squats.
You can also start by making sure you always wear bare feet around the house, if you do workout at home or at the gym start by trying to do one exercise barefoot, then progress to two, three, and eventually the whole workout. but take your time and build up to it.
You may find that your feet and ankles start to feel sore, this is normal as you build up the strength in the muscles in your feet, the soreness just comes from your muscles being tight same as when you exercise any other muscle in your body, use a physio ball or a broom to roll and massage your feet.
Strengthening, stretching and increasing the mobility in your feet will be one of the greatest things you ever do for your overall longevity and quality of life, especially if you already have any hip, knee or back pain. If you want to know more about how to strengthen your feet, more exercises or to check if you are doing the exercises correctly you can message me or book in a personal training session.
selina_d@live.com.au
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