Foot Training Is The Greatest Area of Athletic Potential

For many people - 

Since I started professionally assessing people’s movement patterns in 2004, I noticed foot dynamics and capability had a large role to play. This doesn’t mean that people without feet or without good movement in the foot can’t have success. Indeed, the human body can adapt to almost anything.

However, if you have a foot, it’s good to remember that the number of structures in it rivals the dynamism of the hand/wrist. Unfortunately, most of us did or still do treat it like a hoof. We take the 126 structures in it as if there are only 1 or 2 pieces.

My peers in the strength coaching world already know that knee, hip, and back issues always have at least some foot-ankle problem tied in. I’ll be sharing some foot training videos soon. For now, and for those who don’t know about orthopedic troubleshooting, let’s simplify to a few basic skills:

- get the foot completely vertical (or beyond) while toes are flat on ground
- learn to squat/lunge in each iteration: heel up, toes up, all outstep, all instep, toes gripping, etc.
- work on moving big toe independent from others and vice versa

Summary: it’s probably going to be uncomfortable as you let the 30 joints of one foot be more dynamic than the frozen hoof they’ve been. That's ok. That's growing pains. And intentional growing pains beat unintended shin splints, calf tightness, knee irritation, plantar fasciitis, hip pain, back pain, and more. 

Foot training is one of the most underutilized areas of potential, perhaps the greatest area of athletic potential for many people.