Foundational Feet

In the gym, in the office and everywhere in between I see faults with our foundation (the feet). Whether it is squatting, deadlifting, rowing, walking, running or any other movement - I see common faults or issues that can be corrected. What I most commonly hear is "I was born with flat feet" or "I need orthotics." In reality, flat feet are developed - they are an effect of feet that don't function properly, feet with stiff or non-working tissues, hips with a poor connection to the feet or all of the above.

These issues can be fixed - the problem is that most people don't want to fix them, don't know that they can be fixed or don't know how to go about fixing them. Most doctors will cover the issues with a "band-aid" such as orthotics, rest, or medication. These things may mask the pain or symptoms but won't fix the problem(s). Faults in the feet will cause poor squatting/deadlifting/movement patterns and mechanics, foot pain, knee pain, hip pain and other possible symptoms.

We were designed to have strong feet, however, shoes, sitting and lack of motion have destroyed our connection with the ground, causing weak feet and masked proprioception - which means we don't feel the ground. Our shoes and orthotics mask our movement faults and restrict normal motion in our feet. Our feet are meant to be a primary shock absorber - a reason why we have so many bones and joints in our feet and ankles.

Go barefoot as much as possible - provided there is no pain. If pain is present, start mobilizing your feet 5-10 minutes per day to create feet that actually move and that you can control (without using your hands) - meaning you can spread and close your toes using your mind!

Mobilizations for your feet (videos below):

• Walk barefoot on different types of surfaces (start with soft ones first like grass, carpet or sand)
• Lax ball under the ball of your foot and pump to open the forefoot.
• Heel walks - to deal with tight calves/posterior tibialis/ankles
• Foot scrunches
• Foot torque
• Assisted Foot Twist

Some points to look at:

• Calluses on the inside of the big toes - indicates feet turning out when walking
• A curved achilles (have someone take a picture of your ankles from behind - your achilles should be straight)
• No arch 
• Inability to spread your toes (without using your hands)

Listen on my Forgotten Foundations podcast

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-7-the-feet/id1258788832?i=1000391380496&mt=2

Don't take squatting for granted.

"You become a the sum of your actions, and as you do, what flows from that - your impulses - reflect the actions you've taken."

Squatting is a movement we shouldn't take for granted. Think about how many times you sit down and stand up. If you squat with poor or lazy mechanics everyday for years, it shouldn't be much of a surprise that your knees and back light up with pain. Poor squat mechanics and poor or restricted range of motion can lead to back, hip, knee and ankle pain.

Faults in the squat typically come from poor range of motion in the hips and ankle. I often see the toes losing contact with the ground, the ankles and knees caving in, the knees jutting forward, and a rounding or hyperextension in the lower back.

Successful lifts start with the relationship you create between you, the bar and the floor. The air squat is no different. We want to create a solid foundation with our feet by keeping our feet screwed into the ground, keeping the toes in contact with the ground. Just as we don't want to loosen or lose our grip on a bar/dumbbell/kettlebell when bench pressing or shoulder pressing, we don't want to loosen or lose our grip on the ground with our feet.

Screwing our feet into the ground should be one of the first things we do when setting up for a squat. This creates torque and tension in the hips and legs and creates stability. We need this stability - starting with the foundation - to dial in our mechanics.

Our muscles can act as a shock absorber, as in running, or they can act as a powerful stiff spring, as in squatting. A spring works best when there is no slack in it.  Imagine trying to fire a sling shot with slack in the band. You won't get and power out of the sling shot. If you create tension all the way back when firing it, you will get a ton of power from it. This is what needs to happen in the squat - keeping tension all the way to the bottom then back up.

Squat Sequence:

• Feet shoulder width apart, pointing straight forward - can be pointed out slightly - no more than  10-15 degrees.
• Screw your feet into the ground as if you were going to spread the floor apart with your toes - this will instantly create torque and tension in your hips to create stability. You will feel your toes dig into the ground and your arches rise. We also want our mass centered over the middle of our feet.
• Squeeze your glutes and brace your trunk.
• Reach your hamstrings back and tilt your torso forward (Hip Hinge: see below) to load your hamstrings and glutes.
• Keep your shins as vertical as possible and actively drive your knees out laterally.
• As you lower yourself into the bottom position, there should be no slack - you should feel tension in your legs and hips the whole time.
• Your spine should not change positions throughout the movement - it should remain stiff and stable without rounding or hyperextending.
• Dropping into the squat, we would like to get our hips to knee level, but this may or may not be possible yet.
• Coming out of the bottom position, we just reverse the movement.
• Keep your trunk tight, spine neutral, knees out and feet screwed into the ground.

Learn more.... 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-6-the-squat-pt-1/id1258788832?i=1000391116987&mt=2

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-6-the-squat-pt-2/id1258788832?i=1000391116988&mt=2

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-6-the-squat-pt-3/id1258788832?i=1000391116989&mt=2

*Hip Hinge: maximal hip bend, minimal knee bend. The hip hinge is, in general, any flexion or extension starting at the hips that involves a posterior weight shift. With the hip hinge, you maintain a neutral spine and bend at the hips, not the low back - this creates tension in the hamstrings. This pattern relieves stress off of the lumbar spine and can prevent a whole host of injuries.

Picking something up from the ground aka the deadlift.

The deadlift is one of the most common and crucial movements in life. It is (should be) performed each time we pick something up from the ground. However, very few people understand how to do it correctly. 

I test this movement, a long with a few others, in the office to get a sense of how a client moves and to asses any movement faults. So many people round their backs when they pick something up from the ground which will eventually lead to lower back pain. I think of bending a paper clip over and over until it breaks. This example is what happens to our lower back if we continually round our lower back when we pick something up from the ground (deadlift). Our back does not break in half like the paper clip, but it does break down and can eventually lead to lower back pain.

In the deadlift, we need to know how to brace our trunk, create torque and never sacrifice form for range of motion. Sacrificing form for range of motion is the fault I see the most. 

The deadlift shares the same load order sequence and universal laws as the squat --> brace the trunk, create torque, load the hips and hamstrings, keep the shins vertical and distribute weight over the center of the feet.

The set up: my feet are shoulder width apart. My trunk is braces and my hamstrings are loaded - meaning my butt is back like I'm going to sit in a chair which creates tension in my hamstrings.  My hands hang straight below my shoulders and my shins are vertical.

As I begin the lift, my spinal position does not change. We want to keep the weight as close to us as we can. 

As we stand up, squeeze your flutes as you extend your hips.  Don't lean back or shrug your shoulders at the top.

To lower the weight, simply reverse the order of the movement. Keep your trunk braced, back flat, head neutral, load your hips and hamstrings by sending your butt back and maintain as much tension in the system as possible.

You can listen to this and similar topics on my Podcast called Forgotten Foundations. I cover foundational movements that we often take for granted such as breathing, deadlifting, squatting and much more. Links below.

https://player.fm/series/forgotten-foundations 

https://anchor.fm/jfc

The Squat Is Essential

Squatting is a foundational movement that most adults have lost the ability to perform. A big reason people end up needing to be cared for later in life is the loss of strength, power and mobility in the hips. Most of us will bend forward in the spine to pick something up off the ground instead of hip hinging and squatting. Over time this can be detrimental to our spines and can create long term issues. We should be squatting and deadlifting throughout the day to create healthy patterns. Most people will say "my squat is terrible" but will not spend time on fixing it until there is a big enough problem present - back pain, degenerative disc disease, bulging discs, etc. Test your squat today and get to work now!

To test your squat, stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and your toes pointed straight ahead or slightly turned out. Sit back and down like there is a chair behind you, make sure your knees stay in line or slightly outside of your feet. Try to get your upper leg parallel with the floor, keeping your shins fairly vertical and your heels on the floor. 

The main things you want to accomplish are 1)maintaining control of your spine the entire movement 2)break at the hips first 3)keep your shins fairly vertical 4)keep your knees in line or outside your feet as you descend 5)can you get close to or beyond parallel (hip below knee). Number 5 is the least important if you are just trying this or starting out. You can put a chair/box/ottoman behind you (as pictured) to use as a target to get your hips back and down and help focus on the first 4 steps. Get the pattern down! Don't go lower until you can master them. Be patient! 

feet about shoulder width apart, toes pointing straight forward or slightly outward (no more than 15 degrees)

breaking at the hips first - push the hips back

shins vertical, knees tracking over the toes, tension in the hamstrings

New Summer Hours

Summer is almost here. It actually may be here already. Starting on Friday, June 16th the office will have new hours on Fridays. On Fridays, the office will be open 8am - 1pm. 

Hours will be as follows....

Monday 8am-6pm

Tuesday 8am-1pm

Wednesday 8am-6pm

Thursday 2pm-6pm

Friday 8am-1pm