The 2 Best Exercises You’re Not Doing

The two most impactful and underutilized exercises that I teach athletes on a regular basis are for the diaphragm and feet.

Many athletes are told to ‘just breathe’ and/or wear orthotics for their flat feet – this advice leaves athletes helpless when it comes to strengthening the feet and improving core stability (via the diaphragm).

In fact, exercises that train diaphragmatic breathing and intrinsic foot strength are foundational exercises for learning to lift heavy weights and execute bodyweight exercises like single-leg squats and running. 

As coaches, it is important to empower athletes with direction, confidence, and capability.  Orthotics have their place and can spare the knees and low back from repetitive stress during running.  But are orthotics the best long-term strategy for a weak or collapsed arch?

Athletes with weak feet and dysfunctional breathing (this is a large percentage of the general and athletic population) can benefit by replacing their pre-workout hamstring stretching with the following drills…

Banded Breathing
The diaphragmatic functions like a weight belt stabilizing the lower lumbar spine.  If the diaphragm does not fully descend then L4/5 are not fully stabilized.  Banded breathing retrains the diaphragm by encouraging a lateral expansion of the breath into the sides of the abdomen.

Intrinsic Foot Strengthening
We are not born with arches – they are pulled into existence through walking and weight-bearing tasks.  The muscles of the lower leg (as well as the intrinsic muscles of the foot) can be trained to restore the arch over time.  While this often also requires extensive soft-tissue work, athletes can benefit from simple foot exercises.

– Kevin Kula, “The Flexibility Coach” – Creator of FlexibilityRx™ – www.FlexibilityRx.com

Related Resources
FlexibilityRx: Intrinsic Foot Strength and The Short Foot Position (link)
Seth Oberst: The Short Foot Position and Neuromuscular Readiness (link)
Dr. Andreo Spina: Developing Instrinsic Foot Strength (link)

Tags: banded breathing, DNS, functional range conditioning, inside out stability, intrinsic foot strength, mike reinold