put the FUN in functional feet 👣

Dec 22, 2023 10:19 pm

Hi friends!

We have made it. The Winter Solstice was yesterday and I am so excited about more light coming our way. 💛 I'm also very excited that I will be doing more group classes starting in February! If you're local to Alaska, make sure you check out the next offerings at the bottom of this email!

Today's email is going to be all about why our feet matter, and simple ways you can improve yours with minimal equipment! Take it from this client who has literally seen improvement in her arches in just 3 weeks of working with me:

Let's start at the beginning: the base of your body is your feet. They are your foundation, and if they are not strong or stable, the rest of the structure (aka, your body) will be affected.

Feet have 26 bones and 33 joints. That's a lot of mobility potential!! But we often shove them into stiff, supportive shoes that look like mini ramps, and they cannot live out their full potential. When our foot is in a rigid frame (even tennis shoes, mind you!) then the foot itself loses the ability to splay upon touching the ground and absorb and articulate in response to the ground reaction forces. All those 33 joints act as one flat piece, and the shock of the ground forces must go up through the leg to the next joint, our ankles. If the ankles are taking the brunt of all ground reaction forces when we walk around or even run, you can imagine they may get unstable or painful, or we might even roll them. If the ankle can't take the forces, or maybe we add a stiff ankle support like we see often in hiking boots, then the forces jolt up the leg to the knee.

Are we sensing a theme here? Many many times my clients have a history of knee pain and once they transition to minimal footwear, their knee pain disappears. It's not that surprising, it's just physics. 🤓 But if the knees are hurting and we brace them, then the forces must go higher to the hips and low back. Has anyone ever stood or walked for a long period of time and had back pain? Chances are, it's very likely due to the positive heel on your shoes and the lack of movement they provide. You can see just how much compensation your body has to perform when wearing any kind of heel.

Top three foot strengthening exercises:

Go barefoot as much as you can. Sounds silly, but it's true. Start with just 5 minutes around the house and slowly increase. Socks do not count because they interfere with your gait pattern and also often squish your toes, reducing splay. I will give a pass for toe socks.
Calf raises: do them whenever you think of it! Ensure that your ankles don't flop out to the side as you raise up, and that you're not just pushing your hips forward as you lift, but that your whole body is moving upwards.
Banded side stepping: place a resistance band around your legs either above your knees or around your ankles (harder because it's a longer lever) and step sideways while keeping tension on the band. Ensure that your toes don't point out to the sides but keep your feet parallel. Do that for 30 seconds and you'll feel your side hips working. Your side hips, specifically your gluteus medius, are what help to lift and strengthen your arches, believe it or not! So get those hips moving.

Try these and let me know how they go for you!! If you're looking for more information on transitioning to minimal footwear, or are wondering about things like bunions, hammer toes, and plantar fasciitis, please listen to the two podcasts I've done on just these things!! One with Anya more about footwear, and one with Andy (podiatrist) about all things feet.

Local classes!!

We're having so much fun with our women's group class at CrossFit Salty North, we're going to do 2 more! The next series will run February 20-April 18th, 2024. You can choose your cohort, either a 4:30pm class or a 7pm class!

Payment plans are available! The cost is $360 through December 31st, and then it goes up to $450 on January 1st. Need a last minute Christmas present idea? This would be such a great gift to a mama in your life. Register here!