It’s no secret that better form gives you better results. When your joints and muscles are aligned, they deliver more power and perform the way they’re supposed to. If you look at just one key component of form – the foot – you’ll be able to achieve perfect squats and lunges… well, maybe not absolutely perfect. But, they’ll definitely improve.
Start by activating the muscles in your feet to maintain neutral foot position with stationary squats and lunges. Stationary squats and lunges refer to your feet staying in one place as your body moves up and down. Achieving a neutral foot position with these exercises will positively affect the alignment of your knees and hips.
By strengthening in this neutral position, your feet will also get stronger. You’ll establish a ‘home base’ – a stable place that your foot moves in and out of as you walk, run, jump, and move through your workouts and your day.
What to Do with Your Feet
Here are three techniques to use as you perform stationary squats and lunges. We’ll focus on one with each type of squat or lunge.
- Foot Doming for Basic Squat
- Even Weight Bearing in the Forefoot for Split Lunges
- Hip External Rotation for Sumo Squat
I’ve included a 10-minute workout below to guide you in using these techniques. Although it’s best if you do them barefoot, you can incorporate these principles when you’re wearing shoes too.
Foot Doming
This is also called ‘short foot’. Stand with your heels under your hips, toes pointing forward. Pull the ball of the foot toward the heel, raising the arch. This can take some practice to coordinate. Work on keeping your toes flat as you pull up through the arch.
Even Weight Bearing through the Forefoot
Focus on how you bear weight through the ball of the foot. Most of us put more load at the base of the big toe. Try to even out the pressure across the width of the forefoot, all the way out to the base of the little toe. You’ll notice that this helps center your weight bearing through the heel as well.
Hip External Rotation
In sumo squat, I tell clients to press their knees and thighs out and back. What I’m actually asking for is more external rotation at the hip. As you externally rotate at the hip, feet that tend to collapse inward at the arch will move into a more neutral position. If you can’t achieve neutral position of the foot due to tightness at the hip, change your sumo squat so that your feet are more forward and less externally rotated.
Try It Out
Now, try using these three techniques with a basic squat, split lunge, and sumo squat.
Keep at it and you’ll achieve (almost) perfect squats and lunges, plus you’ll have stronger feet for everything you do.
Stay fit!
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The information on this post and linked accounts is provided for education only and is not intended to replace the advice of a physician or an assessment by other wellness professionals.