To stand on one’s own two feet and to keep one’s feet on the ground are sayings that instil a sense of capability and steadfastness in those about whom they are spoken.
In both cases we emphasise the feet, or more specifically, the act of rooting them firmly to the ground – a simple idea, but one with profound implications throughout physical activity and sport.
From the casual gym user or recreational sports enthusiast through to the competitive athlete, there is a secret to performance enhancement all good coaches and trainers keep up their sleeves. All we need to do to find out what it is, is quite literally to keep our feet on the ground.
Walking, running, jumping and changing direction all quite naturally involve using the feet. Indeed, you’d be hard-pressed to find a functional movement in any land-based sport or everyday life activity that does not involve some sort of interaction between the feet and the ground. Sounds obvious enough, so where are these footsteps leading us?
A crucial characteristic of the natural environment to which we have adapted and evolved here on earth is gravity.
We are constantly pulled down towards the ground and our feet are our last line of defence, the frontline. The largest and most powerful joints and muscles acting across them are therefore found lower down in the body, in the legs. They must support the remainder of our body weight, facilitating and supporting all movement for as long as we are in a standing position.
If our centre of gravity, at any point, moves out of the natural base of support our feet provide, then we fall over or, in other words, gravity wins.
If gravity was indeed an opponent, then there is one sport in which athletes take it on head to head: it’s called weightlifting. It was precisely during a weightlifting coaching course some time ago that the proverbial penny also succumbed to the forces of gravity.
“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction,” they say. For this law of physics to hold true, you need at least two bodies to interact with each other. Of course, when kicking a ball, throwing an implement or lifting a weight, it is easy to recognise the relationship between at least two bodies of mass. However, they’re not the only ones in this equation. The most important body of mass of all is earth and we interact with it constantly.
If we jump into the air, we are producing an apparently upward force, but this only happens because the force we drive down into the ground with our feet is matched by the equal and opposite force of the ground pushing up against us.
If this were not true, the ground would collapse beneath us, or the entire planet would move down slightly. Imagine if you will, the ground as a massive force field able to feed our every action with an equal and opposite reaction.
So whether you’re jumping, lifting or throwing something or even punching or kicking, consider that the power must ultimately be generated by pushing down against the immovable surface of the ground.
In weightlifting for instance, athletes are taught to push the feet down through the floor throughout the entire lift.
What fascinates me the most about this biomechanical consideration is that it seems to be shared across a range of different sports by many coaches. They might express it in subtly different ways. However, they are all dancing to the same tune: “The power comes from the legs” or “Push off the back foot”.
We are constantly pulled down towards the ground, and our feet are our last line of defence, the frontline
One of the more memorable coaching cues I recently heard came from a boxing coach who proclaimed seemingly strangely: “Punch with your feet!”
So what does all this ultimately mean for our practical training choices? For one, don’t neglect your leg muscles.
Even if your sport involves movements performed predo-minantly with the upper body, try focusing on your legs for a while and see how your performance improves.
Think of those big artillery guns you see mounted on battleships. Now take that massive gun and place it on a little fishing boat. What would happen if you fire it?
Whatever the upper body does will automatically be stronger and more accurate with a stronger base of support. With a weak set of legs and core, the benefits of upper-body strength are quickly compromised. We love to harp on about the core, but as long as you are in a standing position, the core is only as good as the pair of legs it is mounted on.
Also, whenever performing an exercise or technique, think about how your feet should be interacting with the ground and where your weight should be distributed. Free-weights exercises, for example, should be performed with the weight predominantly acting over the heel. During many sporting techniques involving mobility and agility, on the other hand, the weight should act predominantly over the balls of the feet. Wherever your weight should be, actively press that part of the foot into the ground.
Correcting weight distribution means you are automatically brought on balance. Balance means more stability and an enhanced ability to rapidly change direction. When you are off balance, movements become less efficient and more energy is therefore expended, causing you to tire sooner. Strengthen your legs, actively engage your feet and unleash your full force potential!
matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt