Foot Exercises To Improve Barefoot Competency

Our articles, How To Transition Safely To Peluvas, and Progressing To Advanced Barefoot/Peluva Competency provide step-by-step protocols to safely and effectively transition to spending more time and doing more things in Peluvas, and generally progressing to a more barefoot-inspired lifestyle. 

This article will help you up your game to the next level of barefoot functionality by sharing some simple foot strengthening and stretching exercises you can do while relaxing at home or even at your work desk. While simply wearing Peluvas delivers a scientifically validated strengthening effect, spending some time building more foot strength can help accelerate your progress and make your transition to Peluvas smoother. 

These exercises can be conducted any time, following a brief warmup period of gentle movement to get blood flowing in your lower extremities. This list is intended as a simplified, all-purpose program to lengthen certain muscles and joints affected by a barefoot transition, and to increase general flexibility and strength in your lower extremities. If you have specific injuries or medical conditions, please seek professional support to obtain a customized strengthening and stretching program. Just five to 10 minutes of devoted effort to these exercises each day can deliver excellent results

Start with a reasonable plan to do something every day to improve your feet—even if only for a few minutes. Obviously, if you are experiencing weakness, discomfort, or pain related to your transition out of big shoes and into Peluvas and barefoot time, you may want to devote more effort to these exercises. Remember to never introduce additional pain to sensitive areas. This means taking time off until soreness subsides, then resuming your foot exercises and use of Peluvas for ambitious activities.

You can also have fun throwing in some challenges like walking on your toes across your home or out to the mailbox. If you have a staircase or even a single step, take a deliberate step where you push up onto your toes and hold the position for five seconds. Or, plant your midfoot on the edge of the stair and lower your heel below the stairline and hold that position for five seconds. It’s also a great idea to do a few foot exercises after a significant activity outing in bare feet or Peluvas. Here are a set of strengthening exercises, following by a set of stretches, to try: 

Strengthening

Foot pointers: While sitting or lying down, flex your foot towards your shin and hold that position for 10-15 seconds. This is the dorsiflexed position. Next, do the opposite move by pointing your toes as far forward as you can and holding for 10-15 seconds. This is the plantar flexed position. Holding the dorsiflex position (foot pointing skyward) is a fantastic strengthening exercise for the tibialis anterior muscle that runs along the front of your leg. This muscle is extremely important for impact absorption, but is a common area of weakness. It doesn’t get as much direct activation as do the calf muscles, so it’s easy to develop a functional strength imbalance between the back and the front of the leg.

Foot circles: While sitting or lying down, flex your foot towards your shin and hold that position for 10-15 seconds. Next, do the opposite move by pointing your toes as far forward as you can and holding for 10-15 seconds. After holding each position, roll your foot in a clockwise circle very slowly 10 times, followed by 10 deliberate counter-clockwise circles. The original dorsiflex and pointing positions should represent the outer edges of the circles you complete. This exercise helps to improve strength and mobility for the Achilles tendon, ankle, and the tibialis anterior muscle along the front of your leg.

Toe walking: Rise up on your toes and walk around for 2-5 minutes without letting your heels touch the ground. If you have access to a treadmill, try walking or running up a slight incline on your toes for five minutes, wearing stocking feet for safety and hygiene. You can also do simple toe raises standing in place; two sets of 20 raises is a good starting point.

Towel curls: Spread a towel out flat at your feet. Grip the edge of the towel with your toes and curl the towel toward you. Repeat until you have bunched the entire towel up and behind your feet. Shove the towel straight behind you, and also to either side of your foot as it starts to bunch up. Make an effort to spread your toes as wide as possible in the air before lowering them onto the towel and curling them. For variation, you can place a group of small objects, such as marbles, on the floor, pick them up with your feet, and put them into a different pile.

Arch engagers: Roll two hand towels to make small tubes and place them on the ground. Standing in your bare feet, land your heel on one towel pad and land your midfoot on the other towel pad. Then, bend forward at the knee, with the knee tracking on the same line as the foot or perhaps slightly inside the foot line. With your heel and midfoot elevated, you will notice more intensely how your arch stretches and flattens as you bend your knee forward. This is a good way to strengthen the arch, and simulates what happens during the walking and running stride to generate rotational kinetic energy. Do a set of 10 with each foot.

Calf raises: The two major calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) must be both strong and flexible to promote optimal foot health. If your calves are weak and/or tight, you will overburden the feet with impact load and increase micro-trauma and inflammation in the feet, calves, and even higher into the thigh and lower back. As you may have already figured out, the calves are a very sensitive muscle group that are easily strained by everyday activity and fitness endeavors. Tight calves are a common condition, as it’s driven strongly by wearing elevated, cushioned shoes your entire life. 

Calf raises can be done on flat ground or on a stair or slant board for greater range of motion. Stand with some support available and raise up onto your toes as high as you can, then lower slowly back to start. As you improve competency, you can do one leg at a time, and even add resistance such as holding onto a barbell or kettlebell. Isometric holds at the top position, and at the middle position with the knee bent, are great for Achilles tendon issues. Perform two sets of 12 on each foot.

Stretching 

Calf stretches: Stretching the two calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) in the back of your lower leg is key to improved ankle and arch flexibility, and is lauded as an effective strategy to help heal plantar fasciitis. 

Stand in front of a wall or other support structure and touch the wall with outstretched arms, keeping one leg in front of the other. Keep your rear knee straight and your heel completely on the floor. As you maintain your rear heel’s connection to the floor, thrust your hips forward and push into the wall. This will activate a gastrocnemius stretch. These are the visibly rounded muscles just below your knee. Use your hip thrust to govern the intensity of the stretch. Hold for 30 seconds. 

Next, allow your rear knee to bend and your heel to rise up off the ground. This will transfer the stretch to the soleus, which are the long, skinny muscles extending from the Achilles tendon up either side of the leg and into the gastrocnemius muscles. Hold for 30 seconds. Then, repeat the stretches with the opposite leg extended behind you.

Grok squat: This is a safe, comprehensive total body stretch that is particularly valuable for your barefoot transition. Holding the deep squat position provides a steady, gentle stretch for arches, ankles, and calf muscles.

Place your feet at shoulder width, bend your knees, extend your arms out, and lower your torso down (going in-between your bent knees) until your butt is almost touching the ground. Strive to keep a nearly straight back as you lower into position. You can obtain a deeper stretch by extending your arms out farther in front of you. Gently rocking onto your forefoot will focus more stretch on your rear lower legs. Hold the position for 30 seconds. Ease up and out of the stretch with the load on your quads, trying care to preserve a straight back angle.

Hamstring stretch: There are endless variations of hamstring stretches conducted while standing, sitting, or lying down. The following hip-hinging exercise is not only an excellent and very safe hamstring stretch, but it also promotes correct posture and movement mechanics for bending over.

Stand up straight with your palms resting on your thighs. Bend forward at the waist, taking great care to keep your back straight. Try to extend your butt out away from your body and your head forward; don’t allow your back to curve at all. When you start to feel a gentle stretch in your hamstrings, press your palms into your thighs to regulate the stretch and preserve a straight back. Hold for 30 seconds.

Toe stretch: Seated on a chair or the ground with knees bent, reach down and grab your toes with your palm, letting your fingers drape over the back side of your foot. With your other hand, grab your heel and hold your foot steady. Pull back on your toes to feel a comprehensive stretch along your arch, Achilles tendon, and up into your calf. Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes on each foot.

For further guidance, download our free 88-page eBook at Peluva.com: The Definitive Guide To A Barefoot and Minimalist Shoe Lifestyle (you’ll get a free print copy with your shoe order).