Roll Your Feet for Improved Mobility and Performance
/Too many people overlook the all important foot when warming up for cardio or lifting. Dysfunction in the feet leads to pain, injury, poor performance up the chain and a bevy of other nasty stuff. Simply rolling your feet for ~90s/day stimulates proprioceptors that send important information to the brain, fixes many common form issues and keeps the fascia, intrinsic muscles and joints of the feet mobile and healthy.
But don’t take my word for it.
“With over 200,000 sensory nerve receptors in our feet, they are one of the most abundant areas of our body that can provide sensory feedback to our brains. By stimulating the receptors in the fascia by rolling the foot, we are driving sensory information to our brains that positively affect our motor output. ”
“Your feet are the base at which your whole body stands on. Feet need to be pliable and strong to accommodate for the various surfaces/terrains we walk on, regardless if we are in shoes or barefoot. Rolling your foot helps to break up any adhesions that may tighten up the plantar fascia, mobilize the joints in your feet, and prep your intrinsic foot muscles to work properly.”
What to Do
Simply grab a lacrosse ball or any mobility ball and roll those tootsies out for ~90s on each foot. I recommend starting gently and then increasing the pressure to break up the gunk. Then focus on pressing down and trying to move the 33 joints of the foot as much as possible. And don’t forget the toes, arch and heel. Check out the video below for an example.