Get out of your shoes! If you love your feet, go barefoot more often. Fitness expert Béatrice Drach explains why - and what the best exercises are for your foot health.
The fact is: evolution did not intend for shoes. After all, they filter a lot of the information we get via the receptors on the undersides of our feet. "If, on the other hand, you take a walk on the beach barefoot or stick them in the cold snow, you experience a firework of sensory stimuli."
Expert Drach advises everyone to go barefoot as often as possible in everyday life. Because: "This way we teach the foot to use all its muscles again. This minimises the risk of injury, prevents pain and is also good for the soul."
Together with the Austrian expert for foot health, we have summarised the best tips for fit feet that are suitable for everyday use.
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Good on your feet? And how: On average, we walk around the earth about three times in our lifetime. That would be 130,000 km or 200 million steps, because we spend about 25 to 50 per cent of our lives on our feet. And they are highly complex masterpieces - thanks to 20 muscles, 114 ligaments, 33 joints and 26 bones. Feet carry, support and balance the human body and absorb the body weight. When running downhill, even up to 300 percent of it. They provide suspension, help us walk upright and are masters of fine motor skills.
Unfortunately, these multi-talented muscles often lead a dull existence. Only when they burn, ache, itch, become flat, deform, the toes become stiff or spread inappropriately, do many people realise how important their foundation is. Even knee pain can have its origin in a foot malposition. Do you like to go running and notice a twinge in the calf, shin, Achilles tendon, heel, sole or front of the foot? Then it's high time to visit your private foot gym. Fortunately, we can do something for our foot health.
Walking barefoot: Wellness for feet and brain
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The first step: get out of your shoes! The human foot can only exercise all its muscles and ligaments sufficiently when walking barefoot. And now let's be honest: What has your foot already felt today? Have you already walked barefoot through your flat, across a meadow or a gravel path? Or are you dreaming of letting warm sand glide through your toes? Foot and fitness expert Béatrice Drach knows the answers: "You probably feel the same way as many of us do in everyday life. Your foot walks all day on flat ground and is packed into socks, stockings and shoes. That's why it becomes stiff and immobile. By walking barefoot, you work on improving and sensitising your perception with every step, but also on regaining the flexibility of your foot. You can see barefoot walking as a wellness cure for your feet, but also for your brain: There are around 70,000 nerve endings in the foot, which are stimulated when walking on natural, uneven ground. Let's treat ourselves to a little more vitamin barefoot."
You don't need a gym to train or relax your foot muscles. However, it is worth buying training accessories to train more effectively and in a more targeted way: A wobble board, balance board, fascia roller, golf ball and the like are really useful for your foot health.
Get out: Nature as a training partner
Free fitness equipment is also available on your doorstep. Turn the park, playground or forest into your gym. Balance on fallen tree trunks, tiptoe on small forest paths, take off your shoes at the playground and balance on various obstacles together with children. Yes, even in the cold season - no one freezes to death that quickly. Not only do you train your muscles, but also your coordination. The challenge here is not to curl your toes and to keep your heels as straight as possible.
Barefoot jumping: Especially for runners
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To maintain the mobility of your feet, but also to improve your bounce, the foot expert recommends jumping rope barefoot. Jump loosely so that the heels do not touch the ground and the heel bone remains straight when viewed from behind. When jumping, put weight on the forefoot with short contact to the ground - and on the outside and inside of the foot at the same time if possible. In this way you not only train the longitudinal arch of the foot but also the stability of your joints. (Attention: Please do not do this exercise if you are overweight, have splay feet or hallux valgus). And on the track: always take off your running shoes once in a while. It doesn't matter if you interrupt an easy run or put your "topless" unit at the end. This way you can work on your running style more consciously.
Have you tried it? Ideally, each toe of our foot should be able to move individually. A simple thing for children, we adults have to learn it again. But (this) exercise makes perfect: start from a standing position. The ball of your big toe and the ball of your little toe are touching the floor. Now lift your big toe from your left foot without moving the other toes or changing the alignment of the heel. If it doesn't work at all, you can help yourself by bending down and holding the other toes with your hands on the floor. Repeat the procedure on the other side. Very few people can do this straight away. So practise every day and don't get discouraged.
Since the forefoot acts like a shock absorber, it is important to strengthen its muscles. The best way to do this is with a simple exercise: stand hip-width apart, one foot in front of the other. Place a coin on the floor in front of you and collect it while walking with the help of your forefoot muscles (deep ball muscles). Consciously suck in the coin with the strength of the muscles as you roll. Make sure that your toes remain loose. You should be able to see all your toenails. Feel the side of your big toe and the side of your little toe. Now you can "suck up" the coin and take it with you. Again, stick with it, foot fitness doesn't always work right away. But it pays off in the long run.
