Your foot plays a pivotal role in walking, running, jumping, and every other activity that involves being on your feet.
Whether you are recovering from an injury, or are simply looking to maximize performance, I am going to show you exercises that will improve your range of motion, control, and strength of the muscles around your feet and ankles.
Looking for rehab or performance programs? Check out our store here!
Foot & Ankle Anatomy & Function
Before diving into the exercises, I want to review some basic foot and ankle anatomy.
The muscles of the feet can be divided into 3 groups:
The first is the triceps surae, which includes your calf muscles, and the second is the extrinsic foot muscles, both of which originate outside the foot and insert in the foot. An example of an extrinsic muscle is the extensor hallucis longus which extends, or lifts up, the big toe.
The third group is the intrinsic foot muscles and these originate and insert within the foot. An example is the abductor hallucis, a muscle primarily responsible for abducting or moving the big toe outward.
As a whole, the intrinsic muscles are used for “assisting with standing and walking, balance and, most notably, providing structural stability to the foot and the medial longitudinal arch during the push-off phase of walking.” Neumann 2009
The medial longitudinal arch runs along the inside of your foot across three regions: the rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot. Along with the lateral arch, located on the outside, and the transverse arch, which runs across your foot from one side to the other, these 3 arches work together to distribute weight, absorb shock, and allow for dynamic movements of your foot during various activities.
Foot Exercise Overview
When it comes to foot exercises, there are 3 things worth mentioning:
First, you will often see some movements called “foot intrinsic exercises.” However, based on the anatomy and function of the foot, most exercises will also work your extrinsic muscles to some degree.
Second, there are no “best” foot exercises. Which exercises you perform will depend on factors like your injury and goals.
This leads me to the third thing – the exercises I am going to present will generally follow along a continuum. On the left side, you have movements that are lower intensity and place less load through your foot, such as the popular toe yoga exercise, while more toward the right side, exercises are higher intensity and place more load through your foot, like single-leg hopping.
This is not a perfect framework, but it can be helpful when programming exercises based on your goals, tolerance, symptoms, etc. For example, if you are recovering from a foot injury and simply want to return to daily activities, you might stay toward the left side. In contrast, if you want to return to a sport that requires sprinting or jumping, you would eventually need to progress toward the right and include higher-intensity exercises.
Foot-Specific Strength Exercises
Here are 6 options that focus on foot-specific strength and control:
Option 1 – Active Toe Flexion & Extension. Without shoes or socks, sit with your heels supported on the ground, and start by actively curling your toes into flexion, or scrunching them underneath you. Then, do the opposite and extend all your toes or lift them up as high as you can.
You can also do this movement with your foot on a towel on the ground. Curl your toes to pull the towel toward you and then spread them fully to relax. Repeat this sequence of flexing and extending your toes.
Another variation for flexion involves grabbing a ball. Keeping the heel fixed on the floor, grab a small ball with all your toes, lift and hold it off the ground for a few seconds, then place it back in its original position, and repeat.
Finally, there is an exercise called toe yoga which flexes and extends the toes but only at one joint. Without shoes or socks, place your feet flat on the ground. Lift your big toe off the floor while maintaining ground contact with the other four toes. Now, try to do the opposite by lifting the four smaller toes off the floor while keeping the big toe down. Repeat this sequence, alternating between lifting the big toe and the four smaller toes.
Option 2 – Active Toe Adduction & Abduction. Adduction, or bringing your toes together, is quite challenging, so starting with a towel between your toes might be best for feedback. Squeeze the towel for a couple of seconds, relax, and repeat.
You can also use the tip of a pen and perform adduction between different toes.
You will do the opposite for abduction and try to spread all your toes apart.
The toe spread out exercise is another option. Start by lifting all your toes off the floor and abducting, or spreading them apart. Then, move each toe down to the ground one at a time, starting with the little toe and ending with the big toe. Your goal is to keep your toes spread as far as you can throughout the entire movement.
Some of these movements require a decent amount of coordination and control, so don’t get too discouraged if they are challenging at first. You should get better with practice and repetition.
Option 3 – Short Foot. From a sitting position, try and bring the base of your big toe toward your heel, creating a shortened arch. Keep your forefoot and heel flat on the ground and avoid flexing your big toe.
Once you master this in sitting, progress to standing on two legs, then on a single leg. Eventually, you can even try incorporating this “short foot” during exercises like a squat or single-leg deadlift.
You can perform one, two, or all of these exercises for 2-4 sets of 30-60 seconds, multiple times a week.
Option 4 – Resisted Big Toe Flexion. Without shoes or socks, wrap a resistance band around the big toe. Then, bend or flex the big toe while trying not to move the four smaller toes. Slowly control the movement back to the start and repeat.
You can do this movement in a non-weightbearing position like long sitting, or you can perform with your foot on the ground while standing.
The floor will limit your big toe flexion, so place your foot on an elevated surface to move through more range of motion.
For either variation, aim for 2-4 sets of 10-20 repetitions, multiple times a week.
One of the main arguments against the previous foot exercises is that they insufficiently load the foot muscles to meet the demands of higher-level activities like running or jumping. Therefore, here are 2 additional options adapted from the work of Romain Tourillon:
Option 5 – Big Toe Flexion Isometric Against an Inclined Surface. This position places the big toe at about a 30-45° angle which has been shown to be a more optimal position for producing force.
Push your big toe against the inclined surface for 3-5 seconds at about 60-100% of your maximal effort. Your goal is to accumulate 60 seconds of total work. For example, you could perform 4 sets of 5 reps with a 3-second hold or 3 sets of 4 reps with a 5-second hold.
You can perform this isometric while standing on two legs or a single leg. If you want to progress to higher intensities, you can add external load in the form of a barbell, dumbbells, etc.
Option 6 – Foot Bridge. This can be used as a progression to the short foot exercise. Place your heel and big toe on plates or another elevated surface, slightly lean forward, and hold while trying to maintain the position of your arch.
Hold each repetition for 3-12 seconds, trying to accumulate about 60-120 seconds of total work. For example, you could perform 3 sets of 4 reps with a 5-second hold (60 seconds) or 4 sets of 3 reps with a 10-second hold (120 seconds).
You can do this while standing on two legs or a single leg and can progress to higher intensities by loading the exercise with a barbell, dumbbells, etc.
Additional Foot & Ankle Exercises
In addition to foot-specific exercises, if you are looking to include a more comprehensive program targeting the feet and ankles, I am going to quickly review 3 additional exercise categories before ending with plyometrics. Just know that each category has infinite exercise options, so I will only present a few for each.
Category 1. Foot & Ankle Strength Exercises
Heel raises are the most well-known exercise in this category, and since they require you to move and support your entire body weight, they will strengthen your intrinsic foot muscles.
A simple standing progression starts with two legs on flat ground and progresses to a single leg on a step with weight.
You can also perform seated heel raises using a machine or with weights on your knees either with your feet on the floor or on a step.
Some other ankle and foot movements in this category include ankle dorsiflexion, inversion, eversion, and forefoot adduction. These are commonly used during rehab for various lower body conditions and because they are usually performed in a non-weightbearing position, they primarily work the extrinsic foot muscles.
Category 2. Balance & Proprioception Exercises
Start with static balance where you stand on one leg while keeping the base of your toes on the floor. If it helps, you can place an object under that area for feedback, such as a coin under the base of your big toe.
Perform on flat ground with your eyes open, and then you can progress by closing your eyes, standing on an unstable surface, or adding perturbations like passing a weight from hand to hand.
Some dynamic balance options include reaching for objects in different directions with your lower body (Y Balance) or upper body (3 Way RDL).
If you want to place more emphasis on the intrinsic muscles, add a wedge or object under your heel as this can “increase forefoot proprioceptive reliance during this task.”
Category 3. Other Lower Body Exercises
Similar to the heel raises, other lower body exercises that require you to move and support your entire body weight, will work your intrinsic foot muscles to some degree. There are a lot of options, but some examples include single leg deadlifts, step downs, and lunges.
If you want to place additional emphasis on your feet, you can try performing these while maintaining that “short foot” position I mentioned earlier
Just know that your foot is meant to pronate, supinate, and move in various directions during exercises, walking, and other activities, so you don’t always have to train in this position.
Plyometric Exercises
Since your foot’s extrinsic and intrinsic muscles play a role in sprinting, jumping, and other athletic abilities, eventually including plyometrics is not only a great stimulus for the calf and foot complex, but it can better prepare you for running and sport and reduce your risk of injury. Smith 2023, Smith 2021, Yamauchi 2020, Yuasa 2018, Otsuka 2015, Hashimoto 2014, Goldmann 2013, Zhang 2000, Unger 2000, Bobbert 1987
There are infinite exercises out there, but I think it’s important to include a variation with a horizontal or forward component for 3 main reasons:
One option is rebound jumps. Starting on two legs, aim to jump “as high as possible and as quickly as possible” while keeping your legs fully extended and pushing against the ground with only your ankles and toes.
Progress by moving side to side and eventually forward and backward. You then can follow a similar progression on a single leg.
The goal of rebound jumps is to have the work come predominantly from the ankle and foot.
If you have a hard time with this coordination, try starting with penguin marches. Place your hands on your hips and stand up on your toes. Alternate balancing on one foot and lifting up the toes on the other as high as you can.
If you struggle with balance you can hold onto an object for assistance. If you want to make this harder, increase the speed of the movement.
Other options are vertical and horizontal jumps. Again, there are endless possibilities, but a simple progression starts with a submaximal effort on two legs and progresses toward a maximal effort on a single leg.
To program these plyometrics in the simplest way possible, you can aim for 2-4 sets of 10-30 seconds for the penguin marches or rebound jumps, and 2-4 sets of 4-10 repetitions for the vertical or horizontal jumps, 2-4 days per week.
Foot & Ankle Mobility Exercises
Everything up to this point has placed more emphasis on the strength and control of your feet and ankles. Some of these exercises will also work on your range of motion, however, if you want to include more specific mobility drills, here are some examples:
For toe flexion, you can manually curl your toes with your hands or, while standing, place your foot behind you with toenails facing down. Hold this position or gently rock your foot side to side to bias different toes.
For toe extension, you can either (1) use your hands to pull your toes back, (2) stand in a split stance and rock forward, or (3) perform a more advanced movement like a split squat with an emphasis on loading the back foot.
To target your ankle, there are generally two movements to consider: dorsiflexion and plantar flexion.
For ankle dorsiflexion, you can stand in a split stance or half-kneeling position and drive your knee over your toes as far as possible while keeping your heel on the ground. More advanced options include performing a squat or split squat which you purposely move into as much dorsiflexion as you can tolerate.
Finally, for ankle plantar flexion, you can stretch the top of your foot in a standing or sitting position, with your foot on a bench or elevated surface, or with a more advanced variation such as in a low kneeling position.
Should You Perform Exercises Barefoot or With Shoes?
For any of the additional exercise categories, plyometrics, and some of the mobility drills, you can perform them either barefoot or with shoes depending on your comfort and preferences. Training barefoot will generally make single leg exercises that have a balance component more challenging. However, you might find the direct pressure of being barefoot painful. Plus, some exercises lend themselves better to shoes. For example, you might find the heel raises on the edge of a step uncomfortable without shoes. You might also be training in a commercial gym where you’d prefer not to be barefoot. Decide what works best for you for each exercise.
Why Should You Train The Foot?
I think there are generally 3 scenarios where including exercises for foot-specific strength can be valuable.
The first scenario relates to rehab. For example, if you had a foot injury or surgery that required a period of immobilization in a boot, this will likely result in muscle atrophy and joint stiffness.
During the early stage of rehab, you may start with lower-intensity exercises like the short foot and towel curls every other day since they are lower load and generally more tolerable early on.
The second scenario is for performance. If you are a higher-level athlete looking to compete in a sport that requires sprinting, jumping, cutting, etc., training the foot with higher-intensity exercises can be a valuable addition. Here, you might perform the big toe flexion isometric and foot bridge exercise on a single leg with external load, as well as progress toward single leg multiplanar rebound jumps, 2-4 times a week.
Just know that in either of the first two scenarios, you should also be performing some or all of the additional exercise categories to maximize your rehab and training.
The third and final scenario is for anyone who has specific goals related to their feet. Just like you would create a structured plan and devote time to accomplishing other goals, like your first pull-up, the same principles can be applied to the foot. For example, you could add 1-2 foot-specific drills, heel raises on a slant board, and rebound jumps into your current training program, 2-3 days a week for a few months or until you feel you’ve met your goals.
Minimalist Shoes or Barefoot Running
The last topic I want to discuss is minimalist shoes as there is some evidence showing they can strengthen the foot muscles when worn during walking and running. For instance, a 2019 systematic review found that minimalist shoes can increase the muscle size of various foot muscles when implemented into running programs.
Of course, I understand shoe choices are based on personal preferences, comfort, etc., however, since they have been shown to strengthen the foot muscles in some studies, it is another option worth considering.
Want to learn more? Check out some of our other similar blogs:
How To Improve Ankle Dorsiflexion Range of Motion, Flat Feet, How To Grow Your Glutes
Thanks for reading. Check out the video and please leave any questions or comments below.
