Fitness Party Tricks - Regain Your Ability to Touch Your Toes
Being able to touch your toes has been a standard component of good physical health for as far back as I can remember. It is still maintained as a core component of most school-based fitness testing protocols. For those of us over 40, the ability to touch one’s toes from a standing position without bending the knees seems to have become a lost art.
Why is something so simple becoming such a challenging feat?
It's likely one more negative consequence of our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. As adults, you now either have a physical block (i.e. spare tire) that prevents you from accomplishing this feat, your body has adapted tension in the legs and back in response to frequent sitting, or you've simply unlearned the skill for bending over to reach to the ground (without falling over). As a child, it's most likely due to growth spurts that cause temporary relative flexibility (i.e. uneven tension), and having to relearn the skill as they go through the awkward phases of development.
Why is it even important?
The main reason you should be concerned about your ability to touch your toes is it can be an indicator of poor movement potential or poor spinal stability. People who can't touch their toes may be at increased risk of back injury when performing basic chores like lifting a laundry basket or putting away dishes.
You see, a good toe touch is essential to optimizing your "hip hinge" (you've heard this before, right ;)), and maintaining balanced tension throughout the posterior chain of muscles that hold your back-side together. In our world, the ability to hinge from the hips is essential to being able to squat, deadlift, swing a kettlebell or even lunge properly. It’s essential because it makes movement safer and allows people to train at effective intensities.
How do you fix it?
Over the years I’ve developed a fascination with quick fixes for joint motion issues. Consequently, I've uncovered a collection of practices that can help someone unlock a variety of movements without much effort. The toe touch is one of them.
Before you go through the steps below do the following:
1. Perform a Standing Toe Touch as a baseline. Have someone measure the distance of your fingertips to the floor.
2. On a scale of 1-10, rate how tight the muscles feel on the back side of your body. 1-not tight; 10-super tight.
Now you’re ready to see if you can unlock your toe touch. Don't forget to let us know how it works for you!
Intervention 1: Foot Massage
Your feet are one end of what is known as your Superficial Back Line of Your Posterior Kinetic Chain. The Superficial Back Line describes the fascia (connective tissue) that can be traced from your great toe up the back side of your body and over your cranium to your brow line. Consequently, tension along ANY part of this Chain of Muscles and Fascia can theoretically restrict movement or flexibility in another area along this line. Since the feet tend to take a regular beating, being stuffed in tight shoes, forced to stand for hours on end, walk miles or even from vigorous exercise training, it makes sense to always begin with the FEET.
Instructions: Using a small ball (I prefer a racquet ball, but others may find a tennis ball, lacrosse ball or golf ball more useful), massage the bottom of both feet for 1 minute each. Work the ball forward and backward from the ball of the foot to the heel, and side to side along the length of the foot. Apply firm pressure, but not so firm that you bruise the bottom of your foot. This one should feel GOOD!
Recheck your Standing Toe Touch
If that worked...great! You found a quick fix. Start rolling your feet out regularly, and most importantly before your training sessions.
Intervention 2: Hip Flexor Release
The deep hip flexors (psoas and iliacus) originate on the front of your lumbar (lower) vertebrae and insert on your femurs (thigh bone). Tightness in the deep hip flexors can pull the spine into hyperextension and cause a reactive tightening of the lower back extensors. Therefore, releasing the deep hip flexors should help relax and lengthen the low back muscles creating less restriction in forward bending.
The Crocodile Breathing Drill with a Small Ball under your belly can help with this. See below for Video Instruction.
Intervention 3: Neural Re-programming - Standing Toe Touch w/ Inner Thigh Isometric
Around 15 years ago, Physical Therapist Gray Cook suggested a person’s inability to touch their toes reflects on how the nervous system may be inhibiting the movement.
Basically, in some people you have to relearn how to 1) shift your weight forward and backwards as you reach to the floor, and 2) activate the anterior (front) core muscles whose role it is to pull you into a flexed position as you reach to the floor.
STEP 1: Roll up a towel and place it between your knees with your feet together.
STEP 2: Elevate your toes on a board so that your ankles are plantar-flexed. Perform up to 10 toe touches in this position, while squeezing the towel firmly between your knees. It's important not to rush this. Perform each repetition slowly and briefly hold the end range of motion.
STEP 3: Repeat Step 2 with your heels elevated on a board so that your ankles are dorsi-flexed. Perform up to 10 repetitions slowly.
After you've completed the 3 steps above, re-test your Toe Touch. If this works for you, you're going to want to do this regularly until you find that you're retaining the ability to perform the toe touch naturally. It might take a few weeks.
Whenever we run clients through these activities at Marino’s Fitness, there is always a sense of amazement in how fast you can unlock a movement was previously thought of as impossible. Try this out for yourself. I hope it helps you move better!