WEIGHTLIFTING
FEET
By Grant Duong
HOW
STRONG
IS YOUR
FOOT
CORE?
W
hen I’m at the
gym I’m always
baffled by all
of the trainers/gym goers
‘pumping iron’ and doing
cardio. I can safely say
that most or all gym goers
have forgotten their crucial
core muscles; the ones
that help stabilise the
body to conduct certain
movements from deadlifts,
to squats, to running.
The word ‘core’ is loosely used nowadays
when referring to the midsection or torso
of the body. Many will believe that the
core is the ‘abs’, ‘the boxer’s muscles’ or
the ‘lats’, but in actual fact the true core
is a tri-planar and three-dimensional
moving unit, involving deeper muscles
20
such as the transverse abdominals,
multifidus, the obliques and the pelvic
floor group.
The torso core is NOT a global mover
(e.g. squats, chest press, pull ups),
it groups a set of muscles used as
stabilisers to ensure that any movement
is proportionate, controlled and efficient
in the upper and lower body. From my
experience as a podiatrist, if you suffer
from back pain, sciatica, shoulder and/
or neck spasms, then I am sure that a
weak torso core is present.
together to maintain your foot core!
The three arches include:
•
medial longitudinal arch – the
‘inside arch’ (the one we all know)
•
lateral longitudinal arch – the
‘outside arch’
•
transverse arch – the ‘across’ the
ball of the feet arch.
The truth is, most people do not train
their foot core.
These three arches must work together to
stabilise the foot core, just as you would
your torso core. The foot core works hard
because it has to stabilise and carry you
and your activities all day, hence why
they are also called ‘weight-lifting feet’.
WHAT IS THE FOOT CORE
THEORY?
WHY IS FOOT CORE SO
IMPORTANT?
As explained by McKeon, Hertel,
Brambie and Davis (2014), the foot core
refers to a set of muscles and a neural
system (which we won’t discuss here
due to the complexity of the system)
that supports the foot arches; yes, that’s
plural! There isn’t just ONE arch, but
rather there are three arches that work
Suffering foot pain, cramps, weakness
and soreness is due to weak foot core
(the deeper muscle stabilisers NOT the
big global movers such as the calves).
Examples of deep muscle stabilisers
include, quadratus plantae, abductor
hallucis, lumbricals, flexor digitorium
brevis and the interossei group.
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