Go barefoot with basic squats and get even more out of this super functional exercise. Take off your shoes, focus on your feet, and ask the muscles of the feet and ankles to fully engage. In doing so you’re establishing a foundation, a strong base that will support the joints above in better alignment as you move through your day.
Why Basic Squats are Important
When you think about how often you perform this movement, it becomes even more important to do it well when you’re working out. Basic squats are an essential part of our day. You do them every time you sit down and stand back up.
You’re not going to think much about foot position and alignment when you’re moving through your day. However, focus on it during your workouts and you’ll become more efficient, strong, and purposeful in the rest of your day.
This is a perfect beginning exercise for barefoot training. The feet stay in one position, making it easier to focus on alignment.
Heels under Hip Bones
The first step when you go barefoot with basic squats is to make sure you have your heels directly under what we commonly call the hip bones – the bones you can feel on the front of your pelvis, called the anterior superior iliac spine or ASIS. Once you’ve located your hip bones, look down and get your heels directly in line with where your fingertips rest on your hips. Most of us think our hips are wider than they are and end up with our feet too wide. This usually causes our feet to collapse inward.
Tripod
Now that you have your feet under your hips, point your toes forward and start to consider where your feet are in contact with the floor.
Think about your foot as a tripod. There should be three main points of weight-bearing through your foot – your heel and the first and fifth metatarsal heads. Those metatarsal heads? You can think of them as the ball of the foot near the big toe and little toe. Of course, you’ll have contact under the second, third, and fourth metatarsal heads, but if you focus on the medial and lateral points, you’ll get even pressure throughout.
If you’re having a hard time getting your ‘tripod’ to feel equal, just be aware of the concept and keep working towards a more balanced foot position. Gentle stretching and strengthening can help you with this goal.
Start Your Squats
As you start your squats, be slow and deliberate. Be mindful of the weight-bearing through your feet. Move your hips back as you lower and this will keep you from overloading the front of your feet (and knees). A great method to achieve this is by raising your toes off the floor. This forces you to sink back through your heels as you squat.
I’ve focused mostly on the feet but don’t forget to keep a flat back as you squat. My standard cues to my fitness clients are, “Drop the hips back, keep the back flat, and lift through the chest”.
Progression
Once you get the basics of barefoot with basic squats down, you can progress to adding weights or other variations. Just recheck frequently to make sure your heel are under your hips and your feet are doing their jobs.
Stay fit!
