These days, there are dozens of events to motivate your fitness. It can be challenging to keep exercising and pushing toward a healthier lifestyle without specific goals—which is where obstacle courses and races, like the Great Amazing Race this October in Charlotte, can help you. It’s much easier to reach goals when you have a definitive end in sight. One aspect of fitness most people forget about when they’re training, however, is their foot strength. You need strong feet to stay fit and participate in athletic activities.
Your feet are your base. If they aren’t strong enough to handle the strain, repetitive pounding, jumping and landing, running, or any other stressor from your activities, you’re not going to be able to keep up. You may even develop painful overuse problems. You can prevent this by getting your feet fit. Conditioning them to handle the pressure builds up the muscles they need to support you through your activities. Here are a few common exercises for fit feet:
- Toe grips – Drop a sock or towel on the ground. Grip it with your toes and lift it off the ground. Hold it for 10 seconds, then drop it and repeat.
- Toe spreads – Loop a rubber band around all five of your toes. Then try to spread them as wide apart as possible.
- Calf raises – Stand with your feet apart. Raise your heels as high off the ground as high as you can, then slowly lower to flat. Repeat multiple times.
- Ankle circles – Hold one foot out in front of you and rotate it in both clockwise and counterclockwise circles at the ankle.
- Walking on heels and toes – Walk across the room balancing on your heels, keeping your toes off the ground. Walk back the other direction on your toes.
Our team at Carolina Podiatry Group in Lancaster and Indian Land, SC, can help you learn how to do all of these conditioning exercises safely. We can also tailor your foot fitness exercises to better help you with specific activities. Don’t neglect your feet. Take care of them and do what’s right for your whole body. Contact us online, or by calling us directly: (803) 285-1411 for Lancaster, or (803) 548-FEET for Indian Land.