Foot to hip: Connections up the chain.
Feet vs glutes.
Which do you spend more time working on in your Pilates mat classes? Which end of your leg do you prefer working on?
It’s funny, we spend so much time on our feet, yet pay so little attention to them in our everyday lives. What if I were to tell you that strengthening your feet would help you strengthen your glutes and your hips, thereby supporting your lower back and helping you move with ease?! That sounds too good to be true, but it is!
Our whole body is connected in a system, and that makes sense when we look at our skeleton. But our muscles and fascia connect everything too. There are several connections from the foot to the hip, but the one we’re going to concentrate on how to connect those arches to your glutes with a little exercise.
Foot - Glute Connections
In standing, line your feet up directly under your hips, with your knees unlocked.
Do a couple of mini squats and notice the pressure into your feet and the work into your hips.
Hold this mini squat.
Then, keeping your big toe grounded, lift your arch/spiral your knee out slightly and feel how your hip moves and your glutes contract.
See if you can hold this position of your foot as you squat up and down: can you feel your glutes and hips working harder?
What did you learn? What did you feel in your body? Were your feet working harder too?
Next Steps
Now that you can feel those connections, see if you can integrate that connection into your next Pilates class. Maybe it’s during bridges, maybe it’s during standing work, maybe it’s during curl ups, or maybe it’s during your side lying glute series. Find what works for you, and remember that it’s all connected!
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