If I only had 10 minutes to work on my foot health, this is exactly what I’d do

(**Can be done at home)

1. Banded Arch Facilitations

(2 sets of 10-15 reps each foot) 2. Toe & Mid-Foot Self Mobilization

(2 minutes each foot)

5 Easy Steps to help Correct Bunions

1. Perform Corrective Exercises

-Improves Range of Motion
-Increases Strength From the Ground Up
-Helps Re-Claim Mind to Muscle connections throughout kinetic chain 2. Avoid what caused your Bunion

Narrow toe box shoes & socks are the #1 cause of Bunions

Over time, narrow toe'd shoes mold & weaken the muscles within the feet

This leads to
-A weak arch
-Increased joint pain
-Altered movement patterns

Runners dealing with nagging Foot &/or Ankle Pain

You should be doing these 5 exercises

1. Toe Flexion & Extension

-Expect a few pops/cracks in the toes
-Great for opening up the foot & ankle
-Toe Flexion is not commonly performed, but is key for foot health 2. Forefoot Squats

-Great for Quad & Soleus Strength
-Translates to mid/forefoot strike durability
-Increases stability through the ankle complex
-Helps increase Achilles Tendon load tolerance

Tibial Rotation- The Golden Movement for Preventing Catastrophic Knee & Ankle Injuries

Injuries including:
-ACL, MCL, LCL, & PCL Injuries
-Meniscus Tears
-Achilles Tendon Tears
-Achilles Tendinitis
-Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

Here’s your full Tibial Rotation Guide 🧵 First, let’s go over WHY Tibial Rotation is so often overlooked

22 Harsh Truths about Foot Health you won’t hear from the “experts.”

1. Children’s feet are most susceptible to the damaging effects of modern footwear 2. Shoes should be used as a tool, not a crutch

If you suffer from Over-Pronation,
you should know-

You shouldn’t rely on supportive insoles or shoes to manage the issue.
Artificial support can actually make it worse

Instead you NEED to LEARN TO CONTROL this movement

Here are 4 EXERCISES TO HELP SOLVE OVER-PRONATION A quick anatomy lesson-

Pronation is a necessary movement the body uses to ABSORB SHOCK

In this video you can see how
-the arch of my foot flattens
-my ankle slightly rolls inward after making impact & through mid stance

12 MUST KNOWS when buying your first pair of Barefoot Shoes

1. They’ll completely change your view on what makes a “Healthy Shoe”

Once you switch to BF shoes, you begin to despise all “normal” narrow toe’d, ultra cushioned shoes 2. There is a very necessary transition process

A lot of people make the mistake of going all-in too quickly

You’ve likely been wearing conventional shoes for 3, 4, 5+ decades

It will (should) take months to transition

If I woke up with Plantar Fasciitis, these are the exact exercises I’d add to my weekly routine

You won’t find this on Google

(Bookmark This 🧵)

1. Calf Raise with a Ball 2. Toe Flexion & Extension Isolations

Children’s feet are most susceptible to the damaging effects of modern footwear

Feet do not fully develop until the age of 12-18

Until then, their feet are extremely moldable

Here’s exactly what you need to know to keep your child’s feet healthy 🧵
(shoe list included) When a child is born they have 22 bones within each foot.

By the age of Three, the number of bones doubles.

During this period of time, the bones are not fully hardened, & the child’s feet are incredibly malleable.

Woke up with stabbing heel pain again this morning?

Doc Google diagnose you with plantar fasciitis?

Over the last two years, I’ve helped 68 people completely reverse plantar fasciitis

Here are the exact steps I take them through 🧵 Step 1: Educate

-Most cases of Heel Pain are not due to inflammation, but a lack of blood flow

-Super cushioned, overly supportive, & narrow toe’d shoes are one of the leading cause of plantar fasciitis

-The Big Toe is responsible for a strong Arch

Morton’s Neuroma is a consequence of wearing overly narrow toe’d shoes

Narrow shoes squeeze the bones of the foot together

This narrows the tunnels nerves are supposed to travel through

Narrow shoes also concentrate pressure onto the neuroma site vs having a wide-toe, flat shoe that allows pressure to be widely dispersed

In reaction to the narrowing tunnel & pressure, the body’s reaction is to develop a growth within the tunnel

The growth entraps & tangles the nerve causing pain

The pain often feels like standing on a pebble, but more sharp & fiery

(How to fix it in post below) First obvious step:

Remove what caused the Neuroma (Restrictive Footwear)

Transition into wide toe box, zero drop shoes

These shoes will allow proper expansion of the bones in the feet

As well as help evenly distribute pressure over the entire foot

Albert Einstein, one of the greatest minds in history, was onto a concept the world somehow overlooked…& humanity has paid the price

In 1952 Einstein experienced a tremendous amount of foot pain when wearing shoes

He drew this sketch 🧵

Einstein’s sketch depicted the pattern of foot pressure within two shoes

“Good” on the left (his concept)
“Bad” on the right (his problem at the time)

21 Harsh Truths about Foot Health you won’t hear from the “experts.”

1. Children’s feet are most susceptible to the damaging effects of modern footwear

2. Rolling your foot over a frozen water bottle will never solve the root cause of foot pain

3. Plantar Fasciitis is not inflammation, it’s a degeneration of the tissue due to lack of blood flow

11 MUST KNOWS when buying your first pair of Barefoot Shoes

1. They’ll completely change your view on what makes a “Healthy Shoe”

Once you switch to barefoot shoes, you begin to despise all “normal” narrow toe’d, ultra cushioned shoes 2. There is a very necessary transition process

A lot of people make the mistake of going all-in too quickly

It’s likely you’ve been wearing conventional shoes for 2, 3, 4+ decades. Your body has adapted to conventional shoes

It will (should) take months to transition

The most undervalued section of the body during your training: The Feet.

Everyone trains Calves, Legs, Core, & Arms, but neglect their foundation.

Neglecting to prioritize foundational health will bite you in the ass.(& reduce your ability to engage the muscles in your ass) 🧵 Relying on “high-tech” shoes to keep your foundation healthy is a mistake.

You wouldn't rely on gloves to keep your hands strong.

You wouldn't rely on a back brace to keep your spine healthy.

Strong Feet 2024

The most common question I receive:
“What shoes do you recommend?”

So here ya go

Barefoot Will’s Shoe Recommendations 🧵
(discount codes & affiliate links included) For some people, switching to a true "barefoot shoe" is a big leap.

Because of this, there are two categories of shoes I recommend.
1. Transition Shoes
2. Barefoot/Minimalist Shoes

If I woke up with Plantar Fasciitis, these are the exact exercises I’d add to my weekly routine

You won’t find this on Google

(Bookmark This 🧵)

1. Calf Raise with a Ball Toe Flexion & Extension Isolations

Brutal pain in your feet when getting out of bed?

Morning foot & heel pain is a distinctive symptom of plantar fasciitis.

Here's why this morning pain occurs. 🧵 While you're sleeping, your feet & ankles naturally shift into a relaxed state.

This relaxed position is called "plantar flexion." (toes pointed downward)

While in this position, the Calf, Achilles Tendon, & Plantar Fascia are in a shortened position.

10 beginner activities you can start NOW to eliminate your foot pain

1. Wear toe spacers around your house. Start with 10-20 min daily & build gradually 2. Plantar release

Roll out the tissues on the sole of your foot by adding continuous motion & pressure

Use a tennis ball, baseball, golf ball, etc

The foot is a multi-planar moving structure.

In this twisted plate visual, you can see how how forces are absorbed & transferred through the foot.

The arch untwists to absorb shock & then twists up to become rigid once weight is offloaded.

(slow- mo video below) Here’s a slow-mo video of the Twisted Plate mechanism in action, while running

I guarantee the shoes you’re wearing are damaging your health

Modern shoes weaken your arches, bind your toes together, & wreak havoc on your posture

Here’s an in-depth explanation 🧵

(Healthy Shoe list included) Modern shoes go against the laws of human design

I’m not just talking about high heels..

Even Nikes, Addidas, New Balance, Hokas..etc are progressively damaging your feet