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Keep Your Feet Fit

Posted By: Blair on 04/15/2011

Fun facts:  When you walk your feet are supporting 3 times your body weight; when you run, they are supporting 7 times your body weight! Guess it's understandable why it'd be important to emphasize foot health in conjunction with the rest of your body when you're working out.  Below are a few tips to help you keep your feet in shape and free from pain or injury:

• Keep your feet firmly planted.  This goes for standing exercises AND seated ones as well.  Never try to lift too heavy of weight that causes you to shift into the balls of your feet or up onto your toes.  Keep those heels down!
• Make balancing part of your routine.  Balancing on one leg at a time can strengthen the soft tissues around the ankle, making it less likely that you'll sprain your ankle in the future.  This requires some skill, however--especially if you are adding weight to the exercise you're doing.  Make sure you have a trainer help you.
• Strengthen your core.  Believe it or not, a lot of injuries occur due to poor core strength and stability.  Poor core strength causes compensation and can lead to overuse and acute injury during exercise.  Just remember:  Core training isn't simply abdominal crunches on the mat--get with your trainer to add functional core movements to your routine!