If you tend to over-pronate or collapse down through the arch of the foot, here are four foot exercises to do before you work out. This simple sequence wakes up the muscles in your feet and activates them to support proper foot position. Two minutes. That’s all it takes.
These exercises engage the muscles that maintain correct form through the tripod of the foot. This tripod is formed by the base of the heel and two points under the ball of the foot – at the base of the big and the base of the little toe.
If you tend to over-pronate, your tripod becomes lop-sided with excessive weight- bearing through your big toe and the inside portion of your heel bone. This negatively affects your overall alignment, balance, and performance.
Before You Start
- Sit or stand. Sitting may be easier when you begin. In a sitting position, you can more easily reach down and use your hands to gently assist with the motions as needed.
- Barefoot is best. Being barefoot allows you to move the foot fully and see what you’re doing. But you can certainly do these in shoes if you need to.
- Heels should be directly under your hips if standing (or directly below the knees if seated), toes pointing forward.
The Four Exercises
- Pronation/Supination to establish neutral position of the heel for the tripod of the foot. Roll your feet out and in. Gradually find neutral. Over-pronators usually need to move weight slightly outward under the heel of the foot to achieve this. If viewed from behind, your achilles tendon should run straight up from the heel.
- Toe Control to establish and maintain neutral position in the forefoot with muscle activation. This is done by working to flatten the toes against the floor without curling them under. There should be equal weight under all five toes. You can also lift your toes up and spread them wide, wave your big toe up and down, or wave the other four toes up and down. Gently assist with your hands as needed while learning to coordinate these moves.
- Foot Doming (also called Short Foot Maneuver) to activate the instrinsic/deep muscles of the arch while maintaining equal weight bearing through the tripod of the foot. This is a hard one. It takes some concentration and practice. You are working to tighten the muscles of the arch and pull the ball of the foot towards the heel – all while keeping the toes relaxed and maintaining weight through the tripod of the foot. Be patient and continue to work on it. You’ll improve.
- Calf Raises to maintain equal weightbearing across the bottom of the ball of the foot with forward motion. Keep your toes flat and weight bear equally under all five toes and the ball of the foot as you do a very controlled calf raise.
Follow this video of the four foot exercises to do before you work out:
You could certainly spend more time on foot strengthening and add in a variety of other exercises. But, since most of us don’t do any foot exercises, these four exercises are a great start if you tend to over-pronate. You’ll activate the muscles in your feet and develop an increased awareness of foot position as you exercise. Keep at it and you’ll improve your alignment, balance, and performance.
Stay fit!
Want to know more about how your feet function? Read What Feet Do All Day.
The information presented on this website is not intended to replace the advice of a physician or an assessment by other wellness professionals. To reduce and avoid injury, you will want to check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.