BEST FOOT FORWARD

Run faster and lift heavier by reconnecting with your body’s forgotten sources of power. Use these top tips to sculpt incredible feet of strength

01/ SHOULD I BE DOING FOOT WORKOUTS, THEN?

In a way, yes. Your foot has 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Working those muscles brings benefits. ‘Your feet need training,’ says biomechanics researcher Jay Dicharry. And trouble awaits if you neglect them.

‘If you can’t feel the position you’re in, your foot can collapse in or shift out, and then the knee and hip follow, and then you tweak your lower back,’ adds Dicharry.

02/ DOES THAT MEAN I NEED TO LIFT BAREFOOT?

Lifting without shoes makes you more aware of your foot position, says physical therapist and S&C coach Aaron Horschig. With most exercises, you apply pressure into the floor with your big toe, little toe and heel – not easy in a maximalist shoe. Or just scale down: lifters swear by Converse Chuck Taylors because they lack the thick heels of some training shoes.

03/ SHOULD I RUN BAREFOOT?

Not exactly. But it’s time to reconsider your footwear. Many traditional running shoes have extra-thick soles that cushion your foot strike, dulling some of the ‘oomph’ but tapping your true speed. They might even cause damage: shoes with more cushioned midsoles led to greater ankle-joint stiffness, found a 2015 University of Calgary study. But there’s no need to slog 10 miles shoeless. Instead, awaken foot muscles by doing your warm-ups barefoot, says running coach Jes

Woods. Then lace up your shoes and run.

04/ DO I NEED TO ‘FREE’ MY TOES?

Hang out on fitness Instagram enough and you’ll come across ‘toe spacers’. If you spend most of your day wearing shoes, there’s a chance your toes are squashed. ‘When the toes are smashed together, it decreases your ability to maintain balance and increases instability,’ says Horschig. That’s another reason to walk barefoot, at least around the house. Or buy a pair of toe spacers: start by wearing them for 30 minutes a day. That can strengthen your big toe – the last part of the foot to leave the ground – to make you faster and more explosive.

05/ HOW DOES ALL THIS AFFECT MY TRAINING?

Don’t worry; there’ll still be time for arm day. Just work in one of the following two exercises every day; do three sets of each. First, press your little toes into the floor and lift your big toe; then press your big toe into the floor and lift your other toes. Do 10 reps to hone coordination. The next exercise challenges your balance: stand on one leg, barefoot, holding a weight of any kind (try a backpack) in one hand. Swiftly pass the weight from hand to hand; doing this quickly will improve your ankle stability.