Strong feet make a strong body!

Imagine being the project developer of your own (dream) home. You're given carte blanche to build it from the ground up. Anything goes. Anything is possible. A sleek design, clever features, sustainable materials—the whole package.

You make a plan, work out the steps, and get started. But you don't have much experience developing and building houses, so you think the foundation isn't important. You just start building the walls.

You start off with enthusiasm. You can already picture it: a beautiful roof, large windows, underfloor heating, maybe even a swimming pool. But because you don't have much experience yet, you think: "Oh well, the foundation? We'll deal with that later. First, the eye-catchers."
So you start with the walls. Then the roof. And then suddenly… your dream house slowly starts to lean.

Why? Because you overlooked the most important thing: the foundation.

This example is precisely what many people do with their bodies. We train our core, glutes, shoulders, and six-pack abs. You focus on the visible. But if your body is that dream house, then your feet are the foundation. A house with a weak foundation? That will crack. A body with a weak foundation? That will cause imbalances. The cracks in the walls cause problems with your ankles, knees, hips, and/or back.

Want a strong, pain-free body? Then start with your feet.

Why you want strong feet

Your feet, as I've made clear by now, are your foundation. You literally have to be able to lean on them all day long. So it's crucial that you can trust them.

Each foot contains no fewer than 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments . This makes your foot one of the most complex structures in your entire body. And for good reason.

Your feet are:

– Your ground contact – all the power you generate in a movement starts with the push off.
– Your shock absorbers – with every step you take, you absorb 2 to 5 times your body weight.
– Your sensory system – your feet are full of proprioceptors: sensors that provide information to your brain about balance, direction, pressure and position.
– The starting point of your fascia chains – such as the Superficial Back Line which runs from your big toe to the top of your skull.
– Your energy conductors – via fascia and nerve endings, forces, signals and information are transmitted very quickly to the rest of your body.

In other words: if your feet aren't participating, energy leaks away. Then the chain becomes blocked. No matter how strong or flexible you are above your ankles, you're still building on an unstable foundation.

Why are your feet weak?

Most people think good running shoes prevent problems. "The more cushioning, the better." "I need a corrective insole." "I really can't run without a thick heel."

But let's go back to the origins. Running shoes were originally developed as a performance tool. A little extra cushioning. A lighter push-off. A carbon fiber plate that might save you 20 seconds in a 10k race. Fantastic. If you're Eliud Kipchoge. Or if you run a marathon once a year. But what happens if you wear such shoes every day? Your foot becomes less actively engaged.

Your foot is a complex body part. It's constructed with a robust bridge that would make many engineers jealous. The foot bridge is a powerful shock absorber, built in such a way that when pressure is applied from above (gravity), it strengthens. Conversely, when you apply (chronic) pressure from below (hello, thick sports sole), it disintegrates.

Compare it to putting an arm in a cast. After six weeks, your muscle strength is halved, your coordination gone. That's what we do to our feet when we put them in stiff, thick, cushioned shoes for years.

The fascia in your foot stiffens. And you literally lose your connection to the ground beneath you.

High-tech shoes create low-tech feet.

Insoles take over the work of your intrinsic foot muscles. Proprioception decreases. Proprioception is your body's ability to sense where your limbs are in space , without having to look at them.

In other words: your body always knows where it is, what it is doing and how to respond, based on information continuously picked up by sensors in your muscles, tendons, joints and fascia.

The foot = fascial highway

There's a lot of fascia (connective tissue) under your feet, which you probably already know all about thanks to this blog. The fascia under your feet is called the plantar fascia. It's incredibly sensitive and requires a lot of attention, simply because you put a lot of strain on your feet. The plantar fascia is the beginning of a very well-known and important fascial chain: the Superficial Back Line. This line starts at the bottom of your foot, winds upward through your calves, hamstrings, and back, and only ends at the top of your skull.

If there is tension, adhesion or dysfunctional tissue anywhere in that chain (for example, under your foot), then it automatically affects everything above it.

And then you might also understand better why people with:

Recurring hamstring problems, lower back pain, or even neck tension often have a problem that literally starts at the bottom .

Many people then foam roll on their back or stretch their hamstrings, when the real problem – the source of tension – is simply under their big toe.

Fascia stores tension in chains, not in isolated patches. Therefore, a "frozen" plantar fascia (stiff, dehydrated, and full of trigger points) can cause a chain reaction that extends to your neck or shoulders. That's why it's essential to consider your feet during recovery, mobility, or strength training.
Not: “Where is the pain?”
But: “Where did the tension begin?”

And very often… that is at the foot.

So if you have complaints in your body, don't just look up.

Look down, too. To your connection with the earth.

And above all: how healthy, resilient and responsive your fascial foot layer still is.

How to build strong feet?

Okay, so you now understand that your feet are the foundation. But how do you make them strong, smart, and resilient? Here are some simple, yet powerful basics:

1. Walk barefoot more often

You don't have to walk barefoot on a gravel path all day, but taking off your shoes at home is a game-changer. Let your feet feel, register, and respond to the surface.
The more input your nervous system receives, the better your motor control becomes.

2. Train barefoot (or minimal shoes)

For strength training, mobility, or warm-ups: ditch those thick soles. You'll automatically notice more ground contact, improved balance, and more active feet.
Start slowly. Your feet need to learn to function again. Don't go cold turkey on a concrete floor. Use these toe spacers to "repair" your feet and recreate the original anatomy of your toes.

3. Break the dependency on insoles

Insoles can provide temporary support for complaints, but if you're always receiving support... you won't learn to cope with anything yourself anymore. There are certain medical conditions where insoles are necessary, but in most cases, it's a bizarre undertaking. After all, you have to replace them every other year, and they're often unnecessary. Can insoles compensate for the difference in leg length? What if the leg length discrepancy is in your hips and can be resolved? You've probably heard it already: it's often complex, but it's definitely worth the effort. Think back to that arch of the foot. It had to be strong, without chronic pressure from below.

Exercise: Plantar Fascia Release with a Lacrosse Ball

A simple way to loosen and re-sensitize the fascia under your foot is with a lacrosse ball (or a hard massage ball) . Here's how:

– Stand or sit and place your bare foot on the ball.
– Roll slowly from your heel to your toes, along the entire length of the sole of your foot.
– Find a sensitive spot and press gently on it for at least 90 seconds .
– Breathe calmly and let your foot 'melt' over the ball.
– Repeat this for 2–3 minutes per foot, especially after intense exercise or long periods of standing.

Strong feet make a strong body!