If your clients are like mine….more and more of them are signing up for running events. This trend is not only wonderful for your clients’ and their health….it can also be an easy way for you to earn extra revenue with a running program! Check out how we operate our running program, set up your own and then use the info in this series to send to your clients to inspire them to join your running program!
Today we will focus on what your clients can do to strengthen their feet and why foot strength is important for runners!
Now send your clients this info and then ask them to join you for YOUR running program!
Today (week 5), I wanted to talk about your feet and how important they are to running. As you run, the muscles of your feet and lower limb absorb the forces of up to three times your body weight. So let’s say you weigh 150 pounds, that’s 450 pounds of force with each stride! So it’s clear that the foot is important but very few people actually work on strengthening their feet and even though it’s one of the most important areas for runners, it’s the most neglected!
Here’s some tips to strengthening your feet and many you can do anywhere so shouldn’t take extra time:
Towel Crunches:
Lay a towel flat on the floor in front of you. Place your bare feet on the towel edge closest to you and then curl your toes pulling the towel closer and closer to you. Continue this exercise for a couple minutes. It’s an easy one to do while you’re watching TV or reading. Some runners will do this in the shower with a wet towel making it heavier and more challenging.
Ball Curls:
Take a small soft ball like a Hacky Sac and squeeze your toes around the ball. Continue for 1-2 minutes.
Toe Taps:
Tap your toes as fast as you can pulling your toes close to your shin. Continue for 1-2 minutes.
Bare foot Heel Raises:
Lift your heels quickly pressing up onto your toes. Continue for 1-2 minutes.
Perform the above exercises 2-3x/week. Here’s some other tips to strengthen your feet.
Barefoot Conditioning:
One way to condition your feet is to be barefoot as often as you can. So walk around the house barefoot and in the summer look for opportunities to take off your shoes. Participate in activities like are conducive to bare feet like Yoga or Nia dance. I even like to strength train bare foot when appropriate. Progress into minimalist, flexible shoes if appropriate for your foot anatomy. And if you are going to try high impact, barefoot activities, progress very slowly into these activities to make sure your muscles, bones and connective tissue are strong enough for the forces.
Correct Toes:
Consider investing in products that will better align your feet and enable them to function more effectively. This product, Correct Toes TM, is designed to stretch your toes and space them more effectively which would be very beneficial for runners. And the beauty of the product is you exercise your feet while you’re going about your day doing other stuff and I often will even wear them to bed. https://nwfootankle.com/correct-toes
Athletic shoes that are flexible and have a wide toe box:
You should be able to bend your athletic shoes which would allow your feet to function as they were designed. Your toe box should be wide allowing your toes to spread versus get crunched. Many professionals suggest going a half size to full size bigger than you think you wear. I actually have started taking my insole out of my shoes giving my feet more room to spread out.
Avoid High-heel, rigid shoes:
Try to avoid wearing any shoe that has a very high heel to toe ratio and is very rigid which can negatively affect the anatomy of the foot. Ladies, I know we like to be cute with our high heels and stilettos but it really does negatively affect our feet so try to wear these types of shoes for only special occasions (definitely not daily) and avoid walking in long distances while wearing them.
If you are looking for a group to train with, we host a weekly training run (ADD THE LINK TO YOUR TRAINING GROUP HERE!)
Yours in health, fitness & business,
Sherri McMillan
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