Working From The Ground Up (Exercises)

We’re going to work ‘ground up’ as we go through some quality strengthening and mobility routines for the different areas that we involve during running. Intuitively, a strong foundation and connection with the ground should allow systems and joints further up the kinematic chain to align more naturally and may alleviate some ‘issues’ without having to focus specifically on them! 

Additionally, the routines I am ‘giving’ are knock-offs of various routines that I have found online or in books. These are the ones that I have tested, liked, and am choosing to share with all of you, but by no means are they original! 

Foot strengthening and mobility: 

We have all heard it before, but the feet are incredibly complex biomechanical systems. A quick google search gives the numbers around...26 bones, 30 joints, and over 100 muscles! That’s a lot and there’s a lot that can go wrong in there. The most common running injuries in the foot are plantar fasciitis and other metatarsal stress fractures. PF manifests as heel pain caused by chronic tightness in the fascia underneath the foot (it can also manifest after extreme lower calf and achilles tightness). Stress fractures of the feet commonly manifest as sharp pains on the top of the foot that only get worse with exercise. I do want to reiterate that I’m not a MD and have no business diagnosing any injury, the information I’m sharing is just a byproduct of what I have observed as a coach!   

There are certainly other injuries and micro-traumas that occur in feet as there’s a lot of impact that travels through such a small area when running. Interestingly, hemolysis (exploding red blood cells) occurs during running foot impact and is one of the causes of anemia or reduced RBC count that runners can experience...just to solidify the point that there is a lot of stuff going on in there! 

In addition to the complexity of the foot, they are usually immobilized by running shoes and aren’t ‘fully utilized’ as a result. I’m not suggesting that we start running barefoot or in minimalist shoes (Kipchoge ran a 2 hour marathon with shoes on...people don’t win Western States without them...etc…), but most muscles in the feet are dormant while running. If you run enough steep descents, you’ll develop strong quads, but your feet will remain largely unchanged. This makes it harder for your feet to adapt to the demands of running, and changing a surface or having a very slight deviation in form that adds an element of stress to the foot can cause issues quickly for this reason.  

Lastly, I’d like to mention that a lot of foot issues are also caused by lower leg issues. Tendons from muscles in the lower leg insert in various areas of the foot, so there will be a little overlap between today’s topic and next week’s (lower leg mobility and strengthening)! 

The following routine is something that you can add after runs a few times/week!

Strength: 

Barefoot running: 

This is a simple exercise that can work those seldom-used muscles in the foot. This exercise becomes more difficult in the winter, but I would suggest adding 1 minute after an easy run 1-3 times/week. You can increase duration and frequency as things strengthen, but start very very conservative and hold off with any lower leg ‘tweaks’ or increasing discomfort in those feet! 

Towel Toe Curls: 

This exercise really brings attention to how weak our feet truly are! Place a dish towel on the floor and pick it up with your toes 1-10 times on one foot and switch to the other. When I attempt this, I practically fail bending my toes :)! Just getting used to the movement will strengthen the feet over time without successfully picking up the towel. Include after barefoot running! 

Big Toe Extension! 

Time to feel especially embarrassed… keep your foot planted with all toes on the ground. Lift just your big toe while leaving everything else anchored to the ground 3-10 times on one leg and switch to the other. 

I haven’t been able to do a full ‘rep’ of one of these yet, and just getting your big toe extensor activated takes a lot of mental focus! 

Other Toe Extension!

Now, keep your big toe planted and try to raise your other 4 toes! This all takes some time to get used to, and baby steps are key! Don’t push to the point of discomfort and things should naturally get the hang of it over time (weeks-months)! 

Mobility: (note - photos below)

You’ll want a lacrosse ball/mobility ball/baseball/etc… Something small and ‘firm’ to roll out those hidden areas! 

Plantar Rolling:

This is the easiest way to keep that arch happy and is something you can do every day. With a small ball, roll out the bottom of your foot with the ground providing the ‘counter force’. This can be done sitting at a desk, and there’s really no excuse not to! 

Toe Dorsiflexion:

Kneel on the ground with both feet underneath you. Place the ball of one foot on the ground so that the toes are stretched up towards the ceiling opposite the force of your body over them. You can increase sensation and stretch with more body weight applied! 

Toe Plantarflexion: 

Sit on the ground with your legs extended. Bend one leg and bring your foot towards your butt (by stretching your quad). Make sure that the top of your foot is on the ground and ‘rock backwards’ so that your knee moves up in the air and your toes stretch on the ground. 

‘Spread and Pull’ :

Clean your feet (not necessary, but you should if you just ran :) )! Interlace your fingers in your toes and twist your foot in multiple directions! If you’re like me, just getting the fingers interlaced with the toes is plenty difficult.

Roller Balance and Arch Rolling:

This one is mostly just fun. Balance on a standard foam roller standing on it with both feet. Take one foot to the edge of the roller and use the edge to really dig into the arch. 

Gear Advice: 

The book (The Supple Leopard) has a lot of really great mobility techniques for every area of the body. The author also has an app, The Mobility WOD, that is popular in crossfit circles. Don’t worry, you don’t have to lift heavy weights to use the platform :)!