Create An Athletic Foot

“My foot looks like a blob. It doesn’t look like an athletic foot.” Those are the words from a client recently when addressing her chronic foot issues. 

Does the foot need to appear defined and toned like the rest of the body ends up becoming with proper training and nutrition? No. But it does need to feel and be strong, functional, and yes, even athletic, like the rest of your body is. And in all reality, it does begin to appear more defined and athletic as you create more strength and control in your foot. 

Why do you want an athletic foot? 

An athletic foot means your foot has good strength, control, coordination, and proprioception. It means you know how to use your foot. It means your foot is doing its job! 

Why does that really matter? Because the body can only be as strong and stable as the foot is. 

If your foot is collapsing, you are putting more stress and strain in your foot and ankle complex, your knee will turn inward, your hip will rotate inward, your pelvis drops, and your back shifts.  

If you do not have good strength and control in your foot, you are unable to generate as much strength and power with your lifts, carries, pushes, and pulls. 

If you do not have good stability and control in your foot and ankle, you won’t have good single leg stability and control when running, which contributes to increased risk of injury, loss of speed, and increased fatigue. 

Having a stable, athletic foot not only reduces your injuries, but it also improves your performance. Want to improve your performance? Get a stronger foot! 

How do you get an athletic foot? 

It is simple, but not so simple. It is simple in the sense that you need to strengthen and train it just like you do any other part of the body. It is not so simple in the sense that most people don’t really know what to do to strengthen the foot. 

Most times when I ask people what they are doing for their foot, it involves something sitting and using bands to move their ankle, standing on some uneven/unstable surface, and doing some single leg balancing. It rarely involves things to actually improve how the foot is working. Or better stated, it rarely involves doing anything that is teaching someone to have full control over their foot in order to allow the foot to do the job it was meant to do. 

The other issue is people often do their foot exercises just like they do many other exercises – mindlessly going through them to get them done, not actually thinking about what is working or what should be working. 

If you want an athletic foot, one that does the job it is meant to do and give you the strength and power you are looking for in your performance, you need to start paying attention to what you are doing and feeling with your exercises. Along with that, it is necessary you start doing different exercises to train the foot, not the random, non-functional things you have been doing. 

Not sure where to start? Let’s chat! I absolutely LOVE this stuff if you cannot tell. Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with Brianne to figure out your best next steps to an athletic foot.