Better Feet for a Better Body

My wife Kristi and I were watching “Naked and Afraid” over the weekend. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a show where survivalists are sent to remote corners of the world to survive without…well without everything…including clothes. (hence “Naked”) and if you have ever seen it, you know the first thing that happens (even before the hundreds of bug bites) is the destruction of their feet.

And after that happens, not much else matters, no matter how good a shape they’re in. 

You know what they say: The feet are the window to the soul.

Well, not exactly, but we tend to forget about our feet until something happens to make us realize that our feet are our connection to the earth. They tell us almost everything about where we are, how we should stand, how we should move, and a lot more.

So, in light of all this, here are four things you can do to get better feet.

1. Golf ball rollouts. Stand up in bare feet, put a golf ball on the ground, and, one foot at a time, roll the bottom of your foot around on it. Since we tend to use our feet an awful lot, the muscles in them get knotted and because of the importance of our feet, that tightness radiates through our entire body. This helps. Do this for 1-2 minutes per foot.

2. Foot circles and point flexes. Make smooth circles in each direction with your foot and then move your foot forward and backward. Be sure to only move your foot, not your leg. That can be hard at first. Do 30-40 reps in each direction on each foot.

3. Grab the floor. Stand with bare feet and think of your foot like a tripod. Heel-Big Toe-Little Toe. Now grab the floor with that tripod and hold for 5-10 seconds. Do 2-3 sets of 10 reps.

4. More barefoot. Everyone acknowledges that a weak muscle needs to be strengthened, right? Then why don’t people don’t apply this to their feet? THERE’S MUSCLES IN THOSE THINGS.. GETTING THEM STRONGER WILL HELP.. I’m not saying to start doing barefoot laps around the track, but start to go barefoot a little more often, building up slowly, and I think your feet and the rest of your body will thank you as your balance and sense of body improves.

Taking better care of your feet will pay huge dividends in how your whole body feels. You’ll feel looser, stronger, and have better balance. Let me know if you have any questions.