Barefoot Drills for runners and track and field athletes

Barefoot Walking Drills

This post is going to be entirely about drills you can do to develop the muscles in your feet and lower legs to prevent injury. There is no magic bullet, and I won't say that all of these will cure anyone who is a heel striker or that they will cause anyone to eradicate shin splints or knee pain. What I will say is this, when you drive your car and your tires start to go bald, your brakes wear down quicker and your gas mileage suffers. What do you think happens when your feet aren't doing their job as you run? 

Developing your running tires

Here is a description of the drills I suggest. These are not all inclusive, but they are the ones I think are the best. Why do I think they're the best? They're easy to remember and they hit all of the foot.

I like to do these through grass, but your living room is fine. I suggest 20 meters for this and all of the exercises, and I suggest you take off your shoes and socks, but if you're uncomfortable, just your shoes is fine. You'll see below why feeling where and what you're stepping on is important. 

Toe Walk 

Just as it sounds, walk on your toes. You'll lift up, and do your best to keep yourself up on the toes. As you walk, be upright, looking forward and NOT down. Do your best to make sure your feet are facing directly forward.

Heel Walk

Why would anyone want to walk on their heel if we try to avoid heel-toe striking? Because we will heel-toe strike when we get tired or by habit. Walking on your heels requires you to lift your toes, this will cause the muscles on the front side of your shin to activate, which can aid in preventing shin splints. Walking on your heels, you'll want to be upright as best you can, just like the toe walk, looking forward and not down.

Outside foot walk 

Rolling from heel-toe is again not something I suggest for runners, but while you're in your bare feet, try this. Roll from the heel to the toe on the outside portion of your foot. It will either be really easy or really hard, but do it, maintaining the same posture and let your foot muscles develop.

Inside foot walk

This is just walking and rolling on the inside of your foot. If the outside was easy, this won't be! Develop these muscles though, and notice if you feel the insides of your knees aggravate at all, or if you notice any similar feeling to to when you have a running pain? If you do, that may be a sign of what you're actually doing while you run.

Grass Grabbers

This is my new favorite! Start with a walk, but this will become a run. You're going to step over the opposite ankle and as your foot strikes the ground, your toes are going to grab the grass under you and try to "pull it out." This requires your foot to contract, and it requires you to land on the balls of your feet. Start slowly, and get a little quicker.

Conclusion

In the end, you'll probably find some of these difficult and some really easy, but I am certain that while they may not alter your running form or gait, they will help you develop into a less injury prone person. Repeat these everyday or every other day and see what happens. 

If you would like me to post video for a demonstration, please write in the comments section below. I would be happy to do that if it's something people would want to see.