Fix Your F**king Feet

Growing pains

I remember getting toe cramps growing up.

I’d always try to cross my toes as a kid, and at some point I started getting terrible foot cramps. I’d be lying on the floor in agony for a minute or two until the cramp subsided. At that age, I never really wondered why this was happening. Little did I know, shoes might be the culprit...

Aside from that, I’ve had countless toe stubs throughout the years. Toss in a few bad ankle sprains and I was setting myself up for some clunky feet. Because it’s really easy to avoid the pain, hide from it and numb out the areas affected. When we hide from pain we don't give our bodies a chance to heal the area. That’s what I was doing with my feet up (among other areas) until a few years ago, and they just got worse and worse. What a mistake...

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Because the thing is, feet are amazing.

Photo by Nino Liverani on Unsplash

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They are the main point of connection between environment and body, the point where the force generated by the musculature of the entire body. The base, the foundation of bipedal movement. With 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, ligaments, and tendons, the feet are a wonder of engineering and incredibly dynamic in their action. Powerful, mobile feet are a near prerequisite for athletic movement. Proper foot and ankle posture is also vital for safe and efficient movement.

Yet, emphasis for getting in great shape, feeling better or becoming a better mover is rarely placed on training the feet. It’s all squats, cardio, and stretching the major muscle groups. But training and healing your feet will help in all those areas.

Foot Practice

I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who have healthy, strong, and useful feet, but before I started doing footwork/exercises, my feet were inflamed and tense. My toes could barely separate, I couldn’t flex or extend my feet effectively, and my gait was sloppy and uncoordinated. Now footwork is one of my most consistent habits, every night I work my feet for at least a few minutes. This practice has improved my athleticism, helped me release other muscles in my legs, and greatly increased the joy I get from exercise, especially running.

Right now you may think of your feet as pretty subpar. After a long day in the office, standing or sitting around, my feet feel pretty lackluster too. But with a little work they can become things of beauty and strength, allowing you to gracefully engage the musculature of your legs, connect you to your surroundings, and bring you one step closer to using your body as it’s meant to be used. The exercises below are, in my opinion, some of the most useful ways to bring your feet back up to speed. Lets see what we can do:

Inflammation, improper movement, and inactive muscles can cause problems in any of these joints, just like they can cause problems further up the chain in your larger, more discussed joints such as the knee, hip, and shoulder. We all know the dexterity capable in the hands, but our lifestyles have led to accepting the feet as only useful for walking, like little bricks attached to our legs.

Practice

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Foot Smash

The first exercise is going to require a massage ball, we’re going to smash the musculature, and ligaments of the feet. We’re looking to clear out any inflammation and tension, and activate any dormant muscle tissue. For maximum effectiveness, buy a massage ball like this or similar. These are one of my most used tools and they are only cost a few bucks. Get one and then get a bunch for your friends and family, a must own IMO. There are a variety of massage tools out there, even a tennis or lacrosse ball will work, though they are far less effective.

Take the ball and smash your foot right below the “knuckles” of the toes. While you are pressing into the ball, alternate flexing and extending your toes with as much force as you can comfortably apply. Move down to your arch with slow, firm pressure. Try and grip the ball or grab something easier like a pencil. Smash the heel of the foot with steady pressure, and be careful here, I personally have some big knots that are tough to work through without focus. Use a support for balance and to lower the amount of pressure if necessary.

If you’re anything like me when you first start, this is going to hurt. Your feet are going to be tender from years of neglect. Go slow, and wear a sock if you need to.

One things I like to think about while massaging my feet:
Engage the foot musculature, alternating between flexing and extending. Do this slowly, avoid pain.

Stretching the Foot Musculature(Floorwork)

Some people will have a lot of experience with this from yoga and other stretching, but my feet need a little extra attention so I try to work in extra stretching. I still try to keep this dynamic, and just go slowly through the motions when spots are tight. When you get a good body/mind connection you can get a little flow going, stretching the top of one foot while you get the bottom of the other:
Stretch the bottom of foot by putting pressure on the ball and toes, you can increase this stretch by increasing the distance the knee is out in front of the foot. Move the pressure from side to side of the foot, paying extra attention to tight spots. My tightest spot is my big toe and this stretch does wonders for that area.
Stretch the top of the foot by pushing the tops of your toes into the ground, trying to get your toes to fold under the foot. You can get more pressure by pushing harder, or by getting the knee out front and “sitting into it”
A few tips:
Move and engage leg musculature (hips, hamstrings) while doing stretches, work into the discomfort and find areas that may be asleep.
Use a blanket or pad for the tops of the feet, it’s much easier to press into the stretch with some padding.

Toe Separation (This hurts)

Sometimes I’ll be lounging around with my girlfriend and she’ll just idly interlace her fingers with her toes, or have her big toes intertwined. Like it’s nothing. She does it without even thinking about it. She asked me “Doesn’t everybody do this?” No, everybody else has crap feet.

Either pick up some yoga toes or just use your fingers as separators, they’re free. For advanced practice, try to flex/extend your toes while separating. Get those toes activated.

Walking Barefoot

An easy way to develop the feet, pick up a pair of minimalist shoes or just take your current pair of shoes off. Most natural surfaces will challenge the feet in new ways, leading to stronger muscles and a more natural gait.

Transitioning from standard shoes to barefoot or minimalist footwear can be difficult. Start slow, walking on easy terrain. Build up some callus and strength before taking on more challenging terrain. Listen to your body.

I personally haven’t had the need to walk and hike barefoot too frequently, so my calluses are pretty weak. I have found barefoot style shoes to provide me with a lot of the same benefits, while keeping me protected and giving me more confidence while trail running. My absolute favorite shoe is the Merrell Vapor Glove. I will be actively trying to walk barefoot this year for the benefits to my feet, and the benefits of grounding, which I will discuss in a later article.

Work on one or more of these exercises every day for badass feet.

Closing

The feet are the bridge between our bodies and the world. Getting healthy feet is an easy way to link up to the musculature of the leg and back, everything is connected. Some of us have forgotten how to use our feet, we've lost functionality, sensitivity, and love for them. My feet still are pretty rough, so I'm gonna keep working on them. In later posts I will be going over additional activities to help free up the musculature of the legs, hips, back, and neck, allowing us to more fully engage the rest of the body, and also the feet. I will update this post as they are completed.

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