Our Foundation

The humble foot. Unless you have suffered an injury or niggle in this area you don’t truly realise how critical it is to performance, even every day life. In terms of function, the foot can be considered our foundation. Its direct interaction with the ground involves not only absorption and generation of force but also stability and mobility on uneven terrain. The foot is extremely complex with the combination of 26 bones, 33 joints, and 19 muscles. However, what if I told you your foot is functioning far below its capabilities, presenting an exciting opportunity for growth?

Recently, some of you may have noticed the conversation around footwear design and the argument on toe box space. Through the 20th century shoe design favoured a narrowing of the shoe towards the toes, creating the illusion of a narrower foot. If you have any young children, you may have noticed that their feet look a lot more like triangles than rectangles. This is because your foot’s natural position is having your toes as the widest part of your foot. Eighteen of the 19 tendons in the foot are attached to the toes with optimal movement, stability and mobility occurring when all toes are in contact with the ground. However, if we think of the common running and cycling shoes, our toes are squeezed together at a pointed end. Wearing shoes like this over the course of our lifetime has resulted in creating what I would argue is a normal foot position (pictured below). Shoe design and the incorporation of a wider toe box is coming with some small brands or certain models incorporating this more natural foot design. However, a lot of the mainstream running and cycling shoes are still a work in progress. But this doesn’t mean we can’t get started on improving our foundation of function, the foot.

Now, I’m not going to tell you to completely overhaul your wardrobe and begin a whole new shoe collection. However, this article is designed to help assist in transforming a normal foot to a natural foot overtime as your shoe design changes with it. Let’s start with my personal favourite and cost-effective form of foot training – walking in bare feet. Some may see it as socially unacceptable to walk into the supermarket without shoes and socks on however, for some simply walking the dog presents a great opportunity to be free of shoes. Don’t get me wrong, if its below five degrees or your local track is gravel bare feet may not work (speaking from my own experiences). However, walking the grass edge presents a great opportunity for the foot/toes to interact with the ground, spreading out to find connection, absorption and propulsion. You can extend it further by making your home a compulsory no shoe location. Completing our household errands barefoot is a simple way to help increase foot training duration.

The second important foot training exercise is balance. Something we all consider ourselves competent at until I ask you to stand up, balance on one foot without a shoe on and close your eyes. Now, how good at balancing do you think you are? I regularly incorporate this 30 second exercise into warm-up routines for athletes as it’s a friendly reminder that without training, we deteriorate. A cue to help is to imagine your foot as a triangle formed by the big toe, little toe, and heel. Pressure may shift between these points but if all three are in contact, you shouldn’t have an issue maintaining balance. You may find you quickly improve at maintaining balance for the full 30 seconds so the next step is to decrease the contact points. Try balancing on just your forefoot; this will require you to develop a strong connection between your toes and the ground (pictured below). Something I enjoy is incorporating foot function into training other areas of the body. Why do we need to be wearing shoes while performing calf raises, or pistol squats? (pictured above)

If we are looking at increasing lower body strength around the ankle and knee, why not cash in and train the foot at the same time. Not many gyms will accept you walking around a weights room without shoes on, illustrating commercial gym restriction on natural movement in favour of commercial gain, but that’s a story for another article. Therefore, the benefits to our recently familiar at home/lockdown training present themselves. No one is going to tell you to put shoes on as you perform body weight strength training at home in patterns enhanced by improved foot function. So I encourage you to find a way to incorporate foot functioning training into your strength training or warm-up routines.

I’m sure we are all experienced in the feeling of walking bare feet along the beach in the sun. Why not have every day contain an element of this feeling? Your progression from a normal foot to a natural foot starts here, and it’s as simple as taking your shoes off. Having direct interaction with the ground will not only help your training but will also help with every day life.

They’re pillars of the Tauranga tri scene, well-known around the country and now the Millers are all off to Ibiza to represent New Zealand at the World Triathlon Multisport Championship

By Kent Gray