If you are reading this blog, you are probably one of those who have made the decision to transition to barefoot shoes, or atleast, are considering. In either case, welcome.
I can assure you, you have picked a path of better foot health and a more natural way of moving.
Now when you first transition to being barefoot, or wearing barefoot shoes regularly, it will be uncomfortable if you just go from a 0-100 in a day.
Imagine being in a cast for months and then straight away start doing what you would regularly do, without physical therapy. You would probably end up injuring yourself all over again. The same is the case with your feet.
Your feet have been in shoes for your entire life. They are too accustomed to let the shoe do the job and just laze around. To make your transition to a barefoot lifestyle, it is important that you take it slow and regain strength in your foot muscles before you load it like you are used to doing.
In this blog, we will cover some exercises that you can do to prepare yourself. To mobilize and strengthen your feet, so they are prepared to be less reliant on shoes. These exercises are for everyone, whether you are just transitioning, or have been a barefoot enthusiast all along.
PS. If you have limited time and would want to watch a short video instead - Here is a video we made -
https://www.instagram.com/p/C7EgcB0PZbZ/
1. Foot Crunches
This is an active crunch exercise done to regain strength in the arch of your foot. All you have to do is keep your toes and heel on the ground and try to squeeze your arch muscle and create the dome under your foot. There is a chance that you may feel cramping, but that is totally normal. Hold the crunch for 3-5 seconds and repeat for both feet until you’re tired.
2. Hand Toe Glove
This exercise is to splay your toes wide for better stability and mobility in your forefoot. Interlock your fingers in between your toes and rotate your foot in circles. This will create the gap that you would’ve grown with if not for your tight shoes. Aim to do this for around 30 seconds on each side.
If you really want to get into splaying your toes passively through the day as well, you can consider getting toe spacers.
3. Toe Yoga
Toe yoga is simply exercises for the foot that help you create the muscle mind connection with your toes. Your shoes limit blood flow to your toes and over years, our connection with our own muscles gets weak due to this. Toe yoga enables you to mobilize each toe individually and regain control.
- Spread your toes as wide as possible
- Raise only your big toe, keeping all others fixed on the ground
- Lift all your toes and create a wave, going from the pinky to the toe, placing them on the ground one by one
4. Roll a ball under your foot
Rolling a ball under your foot works on the fascia under your foot. It helps wake up your nerves and break up dense tissue buildups.
Try to put more and more pressure to go deep with this one. Make sure there isn’t a lot of pain when you do this. If you feel a particular area to be overly sensitive or tight, hold the ball there, and breathe to go deeper in, with small movements to open up the muscles.
5. Balance on one foot
Nothing beats balancing on one foot to wake up every part of your foot. This exercise will force you to use your foot in full action and will also act as a test for you to understand where you lack the most.
Once balancing gets easier, here are progressions that you can use to make it more challenging for yourself.
- Tilt your head and look around while balancing
- Close your eyes
- Close your eyes and move your head around trying to balance
- Use a kettlebell or weights and move them around
Conclusion:
I hope these exercises will enable you to make your transition to a barefoot lifestyle much easier.
Make sure to ease into it and not force your body beyond a point of considerable pain.
If you want a complete program to work on your feet and ankles to take the next step.
We have created a Foot Mobility Program along with a Full Body Mobility Program that you may want to explore.
Here is the link where you can sign up to get access -