A couple of weeks ago, our friend Damien at Toe Salad launched a conversation about barefoot walking.  We were glad to see it for a few reasons. One, not everyone is meant to be – or has any desire to be – a barefoot or minimalist footwear runner. Two, it is yet another indication that a general categorical understanding benefits of minimalist footwear is making its way into the conversations of more and more people – a trend that started with the early adopters (the superhuman barefooting ultra runners) is now finding relevance among us plebeians.

There have been those, like the wonderful Danny Dreyer, who have talked about natural gait for years. His ChiWalking and ChiRunning organization has taught thousands of people how to reduce the use of force of impact and energy for moving forward, thereby reducing the risk of injury and maximizing the benefits of healthy movement and healthy living.  And certainly, Danny is not the only expert voicing and training on the benefits of natural motion.

But for those who have kept their feet shod in thick, protective shoes since they were old enough to walk, ‘natural’ may be anything but.

A dear friend of yours truly recently has begun to embrace minimalist and barefoot running, and we’ve been talking about some simple exercises that can help with the process of getting comfortably transitioned into thin, lightweight and flexible minimalist shoes. We thought it might be useful to extend some of those tips to you as well.  Bear in mind, we’re not trainers, and these exercises are not 1) at all complicated, 2) at all solely for use by runners, and 3) going to change you in any dramatic way. What they may do is help you to strengthen your arches and ankles, stretch the tendons in your feet and lower legs, and ease you into comfortably wearing minimalist shoes – for whatever purpose you so choose.

We’re simply going to list these for you, in hopes they might be a quick-shot resource (hopefully, the simpler, the more doable, yes?)

Reduce the tightness in your feet:  This one feels really good. It targets the plantar fascia, which supports the foot arch.  Place a lacrosse ball or a golf ball on the floor. Simply roll it around with your bare foot. You can start by sitting, but eventually, try to stand on the ball when you roll it around. Do both feet, spending about five minutes total. Remember to flex your foot and move your toes around as you roll over tight spots. You’re trying to acclimate your bare foot to a full range of motion.

Get to the point: Remember that exercise we all did in gym class? It has relevance. Take off your shoes. Find something in the room and point your toes at it. Now flex your foot. Hold it for five seconds, then release. Now point and flex. Point and flex. And…well, you get the point. (and flex.) Do this about 10x times per foot each day. For added fun, try tracing the alphabet with your toes. It’s a great way to warm up before a run, and to strengthen your arches, ankles and calves.

Exercise the small muscles of the foot: We’re simply going to list these as they are provided on the excellent Sports Injury Clinic site. There is video content there as well, if the explanations leave you confounded.

Static toe flexion: With the feet flat on the floor, press the toes downwards into the floor. Do not allow them to curl, or the ankle to move whilst performing the exercise. Hold for the count of 3, repeat 10 times. Perform this exercise 3 times a day if possible.

Forefoot press: Place the back half of a foot on a suitable book, and the forefoot on a set of weighing scales, ensuring the foot is horizontal as far as possible. Press down with the forefoot onto the scales to see who much force you generate. Repeat 10 times for each foot. Perform this exercises daily. It is an excellent way of seeing exactly how the strength of the foot is improving.

Toe lifting: Place feet flat on the floor and try to lift each toe up in turn. Aim to keep the others flat on the floor – not easy, is it? Perform three sets of each toe. Try to perform this exercise twice a day – at leat once.

Pencil lifting: Pick up a pencil in the toes. Hold for count of 6, repeat 10 times. Aim to perform this exercise 3 times a day. An alternative version of this is to repeatedly scrunch up a towel in the toes.

And finally, from Dr. Mark’s Daily Apple, a few final simple strengthening exercises: These tips come from an article that discusses ways to fix flat feet. Rather than spending a bunch of money on orthotics to ‘fix’ your flat or fallen arches, you might try this first…for one, it’s free, and if you spend a little time researching, you’ll find that tips like these have worked well for many a flat foot.

Toe Fans: Take off your socks and shoes, and fan your toes out as widely as possible. Hold for 10 seconds, and repeat.Try for 10x times daily per foot. Like the golf/lacrosse ball exercise, you can do this under your desk at work or on the couch at the end of the day. It feels kind of funny, but in a good way.

Side walking:  Take off your shoes and stand up in a shoulder-wide stance. Bend your knees slightly and roll onto the outer edges of your feet. Keep the weight on your outer feet and slowly raise up on your toes. You should feel your longitudinal arch stretching; once you do, hold that position for five seconds. Repeat five times each day.

And finally, just take off your shoes. Barefooted, walk on your toes. Walk on your heels. Walk in sand (it offers great resistance and will keep you buffed). If you don’t want to be bare, go minimal. We’ve said it before. The key is to take is slow. Hopefully, armed (footed?) with these simple techniques, the process will feel good and provide you with some added benefits.