5 Ways Flat Feet “F” Up Your Workouts!! (EXERCISES TO FIX THEM!)

Fix your feet and start training like an athlete here…

Flat feet are common, occurring in almost 20 percent of the population. If you have them, you likely already know that they can really hurt your ability to workout, or at least workout as effectively as you could be. In this video, I cover 5 ways that flat feet can destroy your workouts and provide you with two exercises for flat feet that you can start doing right away.

A flat foot comes from having a fallen arch or lack of a normal arch in your foot. The cause is not exactly known but can come from overall ligament laxity, a weak posterior tibialis muscle, or even congenital or hereditary contributions. There are certainly a host of problems that you’ll experience when working out at your feet, but the bigger issues are those that occur further up the kinetic chain that really cause problems.

When your arch collapses, your heel kicks out or everts which causes the tibia to internally rotate or fall inward. This causes a torque at the knee as well as the hip and creates muscle adaptations and shortness that can lead to many other issues in the back and other areas of the kinetic chain.

As you can imagine, having flat feet can cause normal exercises to become much more challenging. Squats for instance can be really challenging to perform properly if you have fallen arches. With a much harder time keeping your knees tracking outward because of the internal rotation at the hip, you will struggle to keep proper alignment and form during the squat exercise.

When you become more explosive and try to run or jump, the problems with flat feet become even more pronounced. With the impaired ability of the foot to absorb shock, every landing from a jump can send shockwaves up through the kinetic chain into the knees, hip and back. Likewise, with a poor ability to transform the foot into a rigid lever, the body loses it’s ability to run explosively and fast. Sprinters attempting to run with flat feet are almost always going to find it much more of a struggle to compete against runners with normal feet.

Two exercises are shown to help build up the strength of the posterior tibialis muscle (which acts as a supporting sling for the arch when adequately strong) and the intrinsic muscles of the arch. You can perform each of these exercises two to three times per week to try and slowly build up the strength and endurance of the muscles of your feet.

[FirstLast-ptbm]

Hey look, a deformity i didn't know i had

[DrDayG]

I see people saying that flat feet dont affect them. Well coodles for you. (letting ya know i didn't watch video yet) I have flat fleet and I was "technically" rejected from airforce because I had flat feet. When I was younger, I used to skateboard alot, and I do not know if it is because of my feet, but i would have an insane burning sensation on the soles of my feet (even with skateboard shoes) after an hour or so of boarding. I would not be able to stand on my board, so usually I just wait out the pain and continue. I then noticed the same pain when I do plyometrics. I would not stop because I'm tired, I stopped because of the burning pain on my feet. So for those who have it and are not at a disadvantage, congratz, but for people like me, we know the pain

[blueiceani]

god dammit why was i born with flat feet

[brendamller]

my husband said I could ski without skis all I need is the Poles 😁

[tysonodum]

I dont usually comment to videos, but you solved what has been bothering me my whole high school career that orthopedics and physical therapy sessions were boggled with. Thnx

[tickled]

WOW. I just randomly started watching your videos and you've already given me a name for my back tilt issues (APT) and may even have given me a way to self habilitate my foot that I tore a ligament in a year ago (and resulted in a fallen arch).

Thank you so much, will definitely try these moves!

[Gampeh]

Thanks for the Advice Jeff! I'm the fastest player on my soccer team but I always seem to get self inflicted injuries. This video basically covered ever reason for my injuries. The skeleton diagram was very effective, and your explanations are easy to understand. I'm excited to start adding your exercises into my daily routines.

[swansong]

I've probably got the flattest feet you've ever seen. They are strangly muscular but I have great balance. I'm a great runner but damn the shin splints!

[jaimeogrady]

I literally searched for "flat feet athlean" hoping to get a video from you. Thanks Jeff, you really make me feel confindent about the information you share. Actually, you are the only guy on internet i trust to learn about physical health.

[tibsyy]

You are my doctor, the cure for my sufferings! Thank you!

[MisanthropikOne]

Jeff, you're so speaking to me. I just went to the podiatrist and was told I had plantar fasciitis. Thank God you released this video. It could help me get back to doing legs again! Thanks!

[mdalpertunga]

As a doctor, i really enjoy the technical parts :) Train your brain first and gains will follow...

[BTrillJ]

You’ve done it yet again Jeff, hit me right in the soul with another borderline too-accurate video. Keep up the good work because, frankly, you are my physical therapist.

[Leviticus]

The amount of info this man gives us for free is amazing. Thank you Jeff. P.s my feet are hella flat and I can't wait to get into these exercises. After years of knee and back pain I hope this helps

[margin.walker]

I started doing the excercises shown here two weeks ago and I already have less pain in my feet and hips after walking and standing. Thank you for these useful tips, Jeff!

[justlera]

It’s fascinating how actually flat feet could affect a whole body. I inherited my flat feet and it’s always been my down fall because all workouts with a trainer gave me a lot of back and knee pain . Only after a good stretch (30-40) min I felt better, but knee pain always there. After cooperating exercises for flat feet I finally start seeing results on my legs and gluts

[aboutthat]

I'm on your AX-1 program and found this video very helpful thank you Jeff! If there are more exercises/stretches that can be done to help combat flat feet please put up another video! It is about time there was something put out there that helps to stop flat feet instead of resorting to shoe inserts as the thing is for me and probably most out there don't wear shoes when at home!

[jessierocket]

Hey! Great video! I am flat footed, I was diagnosed with the condition when I was 8 years old (My father was also born with it). I was always complaining of pain in the back of my knees so my mum took me to the doctor and he in turn referd me to a podiatrist. He measured my feet and took casts of them so I could be fitted for medical insoles with the instep built in. I would very strongly recommend anyone who thinks they have this condition to speak to there doctor and ask to be sent to the podiatry department so you can be thoroughly checked out. I now have to go get re fitted for insoles once a year, but as long as I wear them when I work out (I'm female and just starting to move away from pure cardio to more strength training) I have zero problems performing any of the exercises!. Don't leave it unchecked because the complains you can get, if not caught quick enough can effect your mobility permanently. Hope that helps anyone in the same situation as myself. Have a great day everyone!

[JoshBlandon]

The fact that you also got flat feet makes me so happy and confident 😂 LOL thanks for the info! I've seen how the second exercise actually works when I'm doing the quad stretch standing up. The balancing has made that stronger! This all helps alot! I also liked the running safer video, thanks Jeff

[Thrashhard.]

My feet are so flat that my knees are inward too