What the Foot?
I generally try to connect these letters to some lesson a little more elevated than the one that follows, but I was compelled to reflect on the following after a recent experience. For the record, I did come up with a better title, but you have to scroll to the bottom to read it!
I recently met several people who are all running the Chicago Marathon. I gifted some of the newer runners some Smartwool socks (which I love as much as lululemon socks, depending on the day). Take it from me - there is often little solace to be found in the last 40% of a long run. Sometimes all you have is a fun pair of shorts and a pair of socks that helped to keep your feet relatively dry and blister free. It’s a blessing!
While a good pair of socks can definitely keep help keep your feet fresh during weightlifting sessions, that’s not what we’re here to talk about this week. We’re here to talk about taking care of your feet whether they’re in or out of socks.
To be honest, Id never really thought about foot care until recently. It could be because I’d never had a reason to? I’d never really had any foot problems, maybe because I had a habit of idly rolling out my feet and calves on a daily basis. Also, aside from barefoot training or wearing minimalist shoes, it’s hard to train your feet in the weight room, so it kinda never came up.
Until now.
Coming back to real weightlifting training has been hard, particularly on my shoulders, which got minimal work during my 2 year foray into endurance sports. The deficiencies show up different ways on different days, but the most noticeable impact has been the the jolting in my shoulders when I rush my pulls or my jerk. So my warmups have been alllll shoulder related. No lunges, no hips openers, no pigeon stretch. Just enough squats to move smoothly and shoulder openers for days. That’s it.
One day after a particularly sketchy clean that I caught on my toes, I had felt a nice stabbing pain through the arch of my left foot. I was able to walk it off, and finish the workout, but there was definitely something there.
Now, I don’t know enough to say exactly what caused the foot pain. Things happen so quickly in weightlifting it’s often hard to tell. But I can tell you what, I’d bet a steak dinner that neglecting the entire lower half of my body for three weeks probably had something to do with it! Tight hips, stiff quads, sore knees, and cold ankles definitely don’t set you up to use your feet like you need to. The more stress you put on the support of your lifts (your foots aka feets aka footsies), the more likely it is that something gets injured.
So, my reflections are quite to the point this week. May my experience serve as a reminder to PLEASE:
Warm up! Do something…anything…please? Even 4 sets of 20 lunges is better than rushing into your workout.
Mind your hips and calves. Everything in the body is connected, and I’ve found that many of my recent issues have stemmed either from tight and immobile hips OR tight calves. Figures. Don’t ask about the other issues.
Roll out your feet. Using a frozen lacrosse ball or water bottle can work wonders.
Toe-spacers! Aside from TYR, most weightlifting shoes have pretty tight toe boxes. Toe spacers can help provide some relieve from that.
Wear some good socks. Love smartwool. Love lulu. They keep my feet nice and dry and smelling fine. Personal opinion.
Learn the runners loop. Keep those heels in your shoes!
For what it’s worth, I do NOT receive any compensation from any sites linked in this newsletter. Tell them about me, though, and Don’t Neglect the Little Things!