What are the foot muscles and how to strengthen them?
Knowing the foot muscles and how to strengthen them is the most important task if we want to enjoy good healthy plantar.
Foot muscles
the foot muscles are small in size and very numerous. This musculature has as its main objective to flex and extend the foot to be able, among many other things, to help us walk.
They can be classified and divided into dorsal and plantar muscles.
Dorsal muscles
- Short extensor of the fingers and of the big toe
- Dorsal inossees.
Plantar muscles
- Short flexor of the fingers.
- Abductor of the big toe.
- Abductor of the fifth finger.
- Plantar square.
- Short flexor of the big toe.
- Lumbricales.
- Short flexor of the fifth finger.
- Adductor of the big toe.
- Plantar interossees.
Exercises to strengthen the muscles of the foot
The muscles of the foot can be trained at home or in the gym, since the exercises that stimulate it are as simple as it can be performed without any material.
Bending and extension of the fingers
another simple exercise that activates all the muscles of the soles of the feet. It is an exercise that can be included at the beginning of training sessions as a warm-up or at the end of workouts as part of returning to calm.
- You should put yourself barefoot and without socks.
- Flex and stretch your fingers. Squeeze when they are flexed and try to stretch them as much as possible when you extend them.
- Complete the movement for about 15 repetitions.
Push down
This kind of movement will help stimulate the muscles of the heel and arch of the feet. It is an eccentric movement that in addition to strengthening the muscles will help blood circulation.
To run it correctly:
- Sit in a chair.
- You must be barefoot so that the muscles can be activated.
- Raise your heel and rest your toes on the ground.
- Press against the ground for a few seconds.
Grab a pencil
A priori it may seem like a simple exercise, but i assure you that it is an exercise that requires strength in the muscles of the foot.
- Sit in a chair.
- Put a pencil on the floor and try to grab it with your toes.
Heel lifts
Heel lifts, although not a very specific exercise for the foot muscles, will make it work. When you tiptoe on the floor, your twin's musculature contract, so that's where the greatest stimulus is felt.
Stand up
- Keep your back straight and your core contracted.
- Raise the heels of the ground.
Fold a towel with your toes
this is the star exercise to strengthen the muscles of the feet. It is an exercise that involves coordination and strength in the same movement.
- Put a towel or cloth on the floor.
- With bare feet and without socks you should place yourself on top of it.
- Try to bend the towel by performing the movement only with your toes.
- You should try to collect and then stretch the pot only using your fingers
Separate the toes
The toes should have almost the same mobility as those of our hands. However, the excessive use of shoes causes that muscles to atrophy and we lose the possibility of mobilizing our fingers to our liking.
This exercise will help your fingers gain mobility.
- Sit without slippers and socks.
- Try to separate as much as possible the fingers each one from the one on your side.
- Hold the open position of your fingers for a few seconds to return to the source position and repeat.
Rolling a tennis ball
It is an exercise that relaxes the muscles of the plantar area while helping it to gain strength.
- Place a tennis ball on the floor.
- Brush it barefoot and place it right in the center of the foot.
- Roll the ball all over the sole of your foot while you press on it.
- You should be careful with exercise, as it can be painful at first, so we recommend that you start small.
Foot stretch
Stretching the muscles of your feet will help you gain range of motion and decongest it,so indirectly your feet will be strengthened.
- Stand in front of a wall or biga.
- Put the tip of one of your feet on the wall and leave the heel on the floor.
- Lean forward until your twin is left in tension.
- There, in the area of greatest tension, hold the position for a few seconds and then relax and repeat again.