Sh*t rolls uphill

Listen up anyone with foot pain, knee pain, hip pain, lower back pain!

I dislike cliches.

What do you say we take one down.  I mean cut through it like a hot knife through butter (that was on purpose).

‘Shit rolls downhill’.

1st of all it doesn’t roll anywhere.

And for athletes shit can roll uphill.

Metaphorically that is.

I’m talking about your feet.  Did you know your feet withstand literally hundreds of thousands of pounds of force during the average day?

Did you know that while running the force generated from the impact of your foot into the ground is somewhere between 3 and seven times your body weight?

I’m willing to bet that the collision between your feet and the floor is the most violent force you experience on a daily basis.

The only love we give our feet is the occasional massage or pedicure (if you belong to the fairer sex).  Most of us just shove our feet into crummy shoes and sandals and then ignore them until they hurt.  Then we go to the shoe store and hopefully find the right pair of shoes to fix what ails us.  And if the shoes don’t work then we go to the Podiatrist and get hooked up with some $200 orthotics.

Now is a god time to remember Injury Rule #5: Pain refers out.

Sometimes our feet hurt.  There is a direct cause-effect relationship between force of impact and injury there.  But more often foot tightness/disfunction is the first compromised link leading further up the kinetic chain into our knees, hips and back.  So sh#% (pain) is rolling uphill.  

I used to think that if my back hurt I should stretch my back or if my hip hurts I should mobilize my hip.  Sometimes this works beautifully.  Sometimes not.   Experience has taught me to look a joint above and a joint below the sight of an injury.  If the foot isn’t functioning properly then the ankle will not function properly, nor will the knee.  The poor function will climb up the kinetic chain until some body part says ‘Enough’!

The foot has the ability to affect so many joints and muscles above it because it is at the base.  It affects everything that follows.

Orthotics and new shoes may help you sort out your various hip and back issues but let’s get to the source of it all.  Let’s create strong, flexible feet.  Feet that can withstand pounding long runs, heavy lifts and balance poses in yoga.  Feet that can wear Vibram 5 finger shoes and not get made fun of.  No need for expensive shoes and orthotics.

Let’s make our feet Bulletproof.

Step 1: Go back in time and walk around bare foot until you are old enough to drive.  This works for the Kenyans and the Tarahumara and will work for you.

No time machine.  You’ll have to settle for what I got.

Below I’ve created my first Boston Running Man instructional video (which will double as my most crudely produced) that will show you how to warm up your feet and get them bulletproof in Minutes.

Stretching your feet is boring… but effective.

Note: the bouncy balls aren’t specially made.  You can get them for a quarter at the Grocery store or here on Amazon.

This routine isn’t just for runners!

This is for lifters who have plateaued in their power lifts (squat and deadlift).  Strong feet will make a difference.  Strength rolls uphill.

This will help you if you have trouble with your balance.  Balance starts with a strong foundation.  The rest comes from your eyes and ears but that’s a subject for another blog.

This will help with knee, hip, ankle, and lower back pain.

This is cheaper than new shoes and orthotics.  2 bouncy balls= $.50.

It’s short and sweet.  Do this every day for a month and watch how much you improve.

Pay special attention to how much easier the first few steps out of bed in the morning are.

Sh#% can roll uphill.

But so can relief!