Written by John Baker, CSCS and Lily Hoog-Fry, RYT-E of Swell Movement & Longevity
Introduction
At Bearfoot Shoes, we champion the critical role of foot health and dedicated foot health exercises in enhancing overall well-being. We are so convinced that prioritizing your foot health will profoundly impact your life that we've dedicated an entire blog post to it, which you can check out here. Building on that foundation, this article offers practical, daily exercises designed to maximize your foot health, leading to healthier feet and a significantly improved quality of life.
A Note on Exercise Selection
This routine is crafted for daily, or at least highly regular, practice. Therefore, it is intentionally not designed to be overly fatiguing. Unlike heavy squats, which require significant recovery, restoring the natural mobility of your feet demands consistent, gentle exposure to new motor skills rather than intense, infrequent sessions. Think of it like learning any new skill: frequent, manageable practice yields better results than sporadic, intense efforts. Overly difficult exercises can lead to fatigue, increase injury risk, and hinder motor learning (Borotikar et al, 2008)(McLean & Samorezov, 2009)(Verschueren et al, 2020). By following these exercises as written, you can progressively improve your overall foot health and, if appropriate and desired, gradually increase the difficulty over time.
Foot Rolling
We enthusiastically endorse foot rolling as a foundational exercise for optimal foot health. While the Naboso Neuro Ball is ideal, readily available alternatives like a golf ball, frozen water bottle, or lacrosse ball also work effectively. Foot rolling not only alleviates tension in the feet and calves—some calf muscles extend around the ankle to the bottom of the foot—but also remarkably releases full-body tension. This is due to the interconnectedness of our fascia, the continuous tissue wrapping our muscles. Tightness in the feet can create a chain reaction, pulling tension all the way up to the head. Experience this for yourself: try to touch your toes, then perform a few minutes of foot rolling, and re-attempt the forward fold to observe the significant difference. This exercise is also highly effective in alleviating specific foot pain, including arch pain, plantar fasciitis pain, and heel pain resulting from tight muscles and trigger points. Expect increased foot and ankle range of motion, reduced Achilles tendon tension, less neck tension, and improved overall movement quality.
Once the foot muscles and tissues are supple, we progress to Toe Extensions, an exercise akin to yoga for your toes. This drill focuses on independent toe coordination and control. While it may appear simple, it’s one of the most challenging due to its role in neurologically re-establishing the connection to often-neglected toes. However, your brain's capacity for learning this new skill is impressive with consistent practice. Focus on independently extending your big toe, and then the other four toes. Developing muscular coordination and strength in these extensor muscles on the top of your foot empowers them to support the plantar fascia and maintain your arch, reducing the risk of plantar fasciitis. This also enhances foot awareness, preventing falls and boosting strength gains in gym workouts. (Note: This can be performed standing or seated, with seated being an easier starting point).
Foot Flexion Series
Now, let's target the strength of the other side of the foot. Just as a robust structure requires support from all angles, our feet benefit from strength both dorsally and plantarly. The foot flexion series is an exceptionally efficient exercise, offering multiple benefits simultaneously. It expertly combines elements of foot strength, foot mobility, and ankle mobility, engaging the muscles along the side and back of your calf. An important additional benefit of the foot flexion series is its ability to increase ankle range of motion, which significantly reduces the force placed on the knee joint (Schroder et al, 2023). This enhancement helps you achieve proper depth in your squats without resorting to spinal flexion (often called "butt wink") and ensures better knee tracking. Clearly, a stronger foot leads to a stronger, more stable body.
Standing Calf Raises with Ball
This final exercise integrates the benefits of the preceding drills. Remember, this routine is intentionally low-stress to facilitate daily practice. Therefore, Standing Calf Raises with a Ball should not be performed to muscular failure, but rather to technical failure. This means stopping when you can no longer maintain perfect form and control over the lateral stability of your foot without external support. Our goal is to cultivate excellent movement habits, not reinforce poor patterns. By placing a lacrosse or tennis ball between the heels, you prevent "cheating" by rolling onto the outside of your feet—a common compensation that offers short-term stability with less muscular effort but compromises long-term foot health. Additionally, minimize leaning forward, as this reduces the lever arm from the balls of your feet, decreasing the effort required from surrounding foot and ankle muscles. Execute the movement slowly and with control; anyone can quickly lift their heels, but true mastery comes from controlling the entire range of motion without external support. As our mentor, Dr. Mumma, often says, “slow is pro,” emphasizing the importance of deliberate, precise movement for optimal results.
Conclusion
These foot health exercises seamlessly integrate with various routines. They serve as excellent active rest between strength training sets, or as a dedicated morning or evening practice. Their discreet nature even allows for execution during conference calls! We encourage you to share your experiences with this foot care routine. Your feedback on how this simple yet profound practice has improved your life is invaluable. Remember, movement quality is paramount; prioritize precision and intention over speed to unlock the immense benefits of better foot health and an enhanced quality of life.
