Step up: How to keep our feet & ankles strong. (And why.)

These simple tools and exercises can build good health from the ground up.

Warmup

I’ve never heard someone say — ‘wow, I just crushed my foot workout.’ After reading this newsletter, maybe one of you will.

Today’s post is part of Not Too Late’s (N2L) mission to make movement, health, wellbeing, just life in general a few percentage points better — at any age.

As always, we’re not going to boil the ocean. My suggestions won’t be the only things that work. You’ll have others to offer. And I hope you will in the comments or an email to me.

A quick reminder that Spartan Race, the world’s largest obstacle course racing company, is offering a FREE RACE of any length in 2024 or 2025 to people who purchase a copy of my new book, NOT TOO LATE.

This offer is good even if you’ve already purchased the book. And if obstacle course racing isn’t your jam, give the code to someone who might like to give it a go!

(Click the button below to get your code; available while supplies last.)

Summary

I wish I’d known about foot training BEFORE I became an athlete.

Traveling, working in an office, wearing tight dress shoes, racing between city blocks to appointments, putting in long hours of yard work — all of these things put real stress on the two body parts that hold up the rest of me.

• The foot is an incredibly complex body part made up of 26 bones and 33 joints.

• This detailed structure allows the foot to support weight, provide balance, and facilitate movement.

• You simply cannot move, much less move well, for anything in work or play, without feet that are properly strengthened and attended to.

• If our feet don’t function properly, that can lead to pain in our ankles, knees, hips or lower back. These can then trigger overuse injuries such as plantar fasciitis, shin splints, anterior knee pain and Achilles tendinitis. (Source: The Wall Street Journal. Link in the Cooldown.)

• Foot training can reduce the risk of injury — particularly as we age and our toe strength and ability to “feel the ground” declines.

Bottom line: We can do something about this. So, let’s get it done.

Post

Running down a mountain in Utah two weeks ago, I heard a loud crack behind me … a brief pause … and then a man’s even louder scream.

Like, a scream I’d never heard a guy make before. Anywhere.

We were navigating extremely rocky terrain in a 13-mile Spartan Race obstacle course competition. It put enormous strain on all of the foot’s associated bones, tendons and joints.

This racer had landed the wrong way and either his ankle broke or he twisted or tore something badly. I stopped and looked up the mountain to make sure he was getting help by racers closer to him. He was, but this was clearly the end of his journey.

Through the tens of thousands of steps and 4,000 feet of elevation gain and loss I traversed myself that day, I was constantly worried about twisting my 52-year-old ankles.

Yet these 8 1/2, narrow, high-arched feet miraculously held up.

I chalk it up to consistent training and recovery.

Certainly many things play into good foot health, including the shoes you wear. I’ve kept this post to a few basics useful to most of us. To explore more exercises and science, see the links in Cooldown.

Here’s what I do and use multiple times a week, as recommended by my coaches and physicians. Sources: Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), Fuel Sport & Spine, Grit Coaching

#1: Simple exercises — no equipment needed

• Short foot exercise - This exercise from HSS improves balance and strength. Stand on one leg with the other lifted off the ground and bent slightly behind you.

Press your toes on the standing leg into the ground without bending your toes. It will feel weird at first — like you aren’t really doing anything.

Hold for 60 seconds. Then relax.

Repeat on the other foot.

Less effort is better than forcing things and having your toes curl.

I do this 3x a week.

• 30-second foot stretch - This is one my coaches prescribed to keep my toes flexible as well as help stretch down the arch of my feet. It feels great after running, but I do it daily.

Kneel with the bottoms of your toes pressing against the ground. You’ll feel a slight stretch through your feet.

Sit back carefully on your heels to deepen the stretch.

Hold the stretch for 30 seconds.

• Big Toe Extension - I’m terrible at this. Which means I need to do it more.

Sit or stand with feet flat on the floor.

Lift only your big toe off the ground while pushing your other toes into the ground. (I feel like this is harder than pull-ups. You can hold the other toes down with your hand if necessary.)

Then put your big toe back on the floor.

Repeat several times on both feet. 

• Calf Raise - This exercise from HSS improves the strength of your calf and Achilles tendon, which can help protect your feet. The Achilles tendon is a strong cord that connects the calf muscles to the heel bone. I do this 3x a week.

Stand behind a chair and place your hands on the chair back.

Push up on your toes.

Then, bend one leg slightly behind you off the floor.

Now, on the other leg, lower your heel to the floor with control.

Perform 15 reps on each side.

NOTE: If you have injuries or anything hurts when you try these movements, don’t proceed with the exercise without talking to your doctor.

#2: Equipment to augment exercises

Note: I receive no financial compensation from any product or retailer mentioned in this newsletter.

• Balance board - This was suggested to me by Dr. Peter Duggan at Fuel Sport & Spine. It helps build all-around mobility, balance and range of motion through the ankles.

There are many versions on the market. I use the Classic Balance Board by Fitter.First. It’s got two height settings and is lightweight so easy to pack. Exercise instructions come with it and there are videos on the manufacturer’s site.

I generally move my weight side-to-side on the outer portions of my feet 20x. Then front to back (heel to toe) 20x. Then I rotate the board in circles. These are the three beginner moves outlined in these instructions.

• Balance pad - Standing on a soft, foam pad that destabilizes your movement can help strengthen small muscles and improve balance and joint stability. (See link to The Wall Street Journal story in Cooldown for more exercises and visuals.)

I have a particular go-to exercise on the pad I own, which is the Airex Balance-pad. It’s called the Single Leg Balance. (Here’s a decent video demo.)

Stand on the pad with both legs.

Lift one leg forward at 90-degree angle and have it hover in the air.

Maintain your balance for 30 seconds.

Repeat on the other side.

This is harder than it looks. At least for me!

I try to use these two tools at least twice a week.

#3: Recovery tools

• Foot massage ball — I wrote an ode to this one my July THREE LITTLE THINGS post that you can read.

TL;DR: I carry one everywhere I go to keep my feet tissue loose and limber. Mine is the 2-inch Triggerpoint MobiPoint Massage Ball. I use it daily.

• Toe spacers — The science is mixed on how much these actually help, but I find that wearing them for 15 to 30 minutes (I started at 5 minutes) a few times a week helps stretch my toes in a way that nothing else does — and relieves toe cramping on a day I’ve been wearing tight dress shoes.

I own the Awesome Toes silicone version, but you can buy inexpensive toe spacers in lots of places.

(More from the Cleveland Clinic on the benefits and limitations of this tool.)

• Ice blocks - Soaking my feet in cold water after a long, hot run — or even just a day at the office where I’m standing a lot has become a habit to reduce inflammation.

I sometimes throw some ice in there to really cool things down. To make it simpler, I bought these large ice block molds for about $13 on Amazon.

You can always improvise. After the Utah race, I didn’t have any ice blocks, so I found a cold creek and soaked my feet and ankles there.

• Pumice stone - I keep one in the shower and use it twice a week to gently thin any occasional callouses that appear.

Friction from running or shoes that don’t fit properly can be a common source of callouses. I’ve used this $10 lava pumice stone from Pumice Valley since 2020 and it’s held up well.

(The Mayo Clinic offers some basic advice here about treatment of callouses, corns and other causes of thickening skin.)

Cooldown

Short Reads: Some additional feet exercises from Jen Murphy, one of my favorite columnists at The Wall Street Journal. And details on how to perform “Toe Yoga.” It’s actually a thing.

Medium Read: If the shoe fits …. Turns out a lot of us actually don’t wear shoes that fit properly, particularly as we get older. That’s a big problem. This study deconstructs some of the issues to be on the lookout for.

Longer Listen: A really interesting conversation with a renowned foot and gait specialist. It’s full of science and tips — like the low-down on zero drop shoes and the notion you should be able to produce 10% of your body weight through your big toe. There are also some cool videos of exercises at the end.

Thanks for reading. Let me know what’s in your foot toolkit. And as always, find something you love. Dig in. Stick with it when things get hard.

Wendy