As a hockey coach and hockey player I often hear of or have experienced myself feet related health problems. Yet when it comes to improving hockey fitness levels both for performance improvement and injury prevention most people overlook two of the most important parts of their body – their feet. They train upper body, lower body, and core without even thinking to strengthen their feet.
But think about it. You use your feet to stand, walk, run, and balance. They serve as your foundation and are responsible for transferring all the force from your body to the ground. When your feet are weak, the rest of your body must compensate for the job your feet can’t do. They are the source for proprioception. The proprioceptors in your feet send the necessary information to your brain which then processes it and as a result the body moves accordingly.
Therefore the healthier and stronger your feet are, the stronger your foundation is for doing the necessary physical skills in a hockey game. Not to mention, strengthening your feet will help alleviate and prevent pain throughout the rest of your body. If your training goal is to be able to move with better strength, balance, power, and control, then you must train the two things that tie it all together.
5 Things You Can Do to Strengthen Your Feet
You may not be able to do these all the time, but you can certainly do some of them right away. Your feet didn’t become weak overnight, and it will take a consistent effort to build them up.
- Find opportunities to remove your shoes
Constantly walking on flat hard surfaces in shoes does not do your body any favours so this will help. One of the best things you can do to strengthen your feet is to simply get them out of shoes more often. Begin slowly at first so you don’t make your feet too sore. This can be as simple as taking your shoes off when you’re inside your home.
With your shoes off, raise up onto your toes and try standing and walking propped up on the balls of your feet. You’ll likely feel this creates a significant balance challenge. If this is the case, perform heel raises as repetitions – raising up and descending down – touching a wall or holding a door frame for balance, if necessary.
As you get stronger barefoot, you can up the duration and become more active (like running and jumping barefoot – but take it easy and don’t go too fast), which will continue to build strong stable feet.
- Run in Sand
This may not be possible for those who don’t have access to a beach, but gently running in sand is a great way to increase the strength and flexibility in your feet. If you don’t have a sandy beach nearby, you can try walking and running barefoot on grass or any soft surface in the warmer weather. A surface like grass that is soft and yields to your weight will help improve the joint articulation within your feet, while increasing range of motion and strength in the process.
- Walk on Rocks
This might sound kind of crazy, but walking or even just standing and shifting your weight on smooth rocks – the type of small smooth stones people use to landscape portions of their properties – will do wonders for your feet and your entire body.
The changing and shifting surface of these rocks will help activate all of the proprioceptive nerves that exist under your feet. There are lots of them and these nerves connect directly with the lower back. Unfortunately, these nerves endings are mostly dormant in many people. It is not just coincidence that more than 80% of people suffer significant back pain in their lives.When your feet are weak, you are practically guaranteeing you will experience significant back pain at some point.
- Roll out your feet with a tennis ball
Most people think of only one arch in each foot, but there are actually three. The lateral (outside), transverse (centre), and medial (inside) arches all work together to spring load your feet, which increases strength, balance, and power when functioning properly. It is important you roll your arches out properly – in the correct order – or you risk making your problems worse.
To do this activity place a tennis ball under your bare foot while standing then begin to roll the ball to do the following;
- Boards, Bands, and Balance Trainers
Another great way to stretch, strengthen and coordinate your feet is to use bands, boards, and/or balance trainers.
Bands: Take a resistance band (flat bands work best), fasten it to a secure point, and place the other end of the band around the top of your foot right below your toes. From a seated position, with legs extended straight on the floor, create tension on the band and pull your foot to your shin. You can perform reps by flexing and extending your foot, or for more of a challenge, move your body back while maintaining a dorsiflexed position to create more tension.
Boards: Take a slant board, or if you don’t have one use a flat board placed on something to create an angle (a rolled towel or a yoga block can work well). Position the slant board near a wall or doorframe so you can lean slightly forward and place your feet on the board with your toes facing up. With a slight lean forward perform calf raises, holding the top position to create maximum extension of your toes and mindfully engage the bottoms of your feet.
Balance Trainer: From this position (dorsiflexion with inversion) perform squats, weight shifts, running in place, and jumps.
Feet strengthening footwear
There are different types of footwear in the marketplace today that make claims to help strengthen overall body performance. A more recent medically approved footwear that is research proven to provide a positive body response is equilibras™ e-flips™ They improve your body biomechanically, physiologically, and neurologically. Walking in these unique flat soled flip flops neurologically mimics walking barefoot on natural surfaces which indicated in this article is important for feet strengthening. To find out more about this revolutionary footwear
In conclusion look after your feet and your feet will look after you as you make an effort to incorporate these training tips in your hockey fitness regime.
Source; various
