Daily Maestroism

DM #157

Thursday, October 27th, 2016

DM #157: We've got toes for a reason, folks. Keep them down when you squat and improve your balance and contact with the ground.
In an effort to prevent people from
squatting with all of their weight on the front of their feet, the coaching cue of “keep your toes up” was born…along with some poor movement patterns.
Often times you will see a person's toes go up when squatting as they attempt to use their toe extensors to bring their shins down over their feet (closed-chain ankle dorsiflexion) and literally pull themselves down into a better position. A lack of dorsiflexion prevents forward lean of the tibia which leads to an inability to counterbalance the weight of your butt. As you start to fall backwards don't be surprised if those toes start to extend upwards to try and balance you.
Poor midline stability can lead to poor hip mobility that forces your body to have to try and pull down into the squat as opposed to simply lowering into the position. The ankle dorsiflexors, which include the toe extensors, can be used to compensate for hip flexion dysfunction. Hips don't move so easily? Lift those toes and compensate your way to better hip flexion ?. Lastly, some folks stick their toes up simply because they were told to do so, or because they were told to never let their knees come forward and so their mechanics get so screwed up that they're forced to compensate at their toes.
My point? Your toes are there for a reason. If the activity you're performing requires you to stand then it's likely a good idea that your toes get in on the action.
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