Why footballers need to get out of the gym
this is where things don’t add up…
most sports are played on the ball of your foot…
and rarely in football do you want to be on your heelS.
from an athletic and injury prevention point of view, heel striking is terrible
so, why would we train this way in the gym?
too many exercises require you to lift “through your heels” while firmly planted in the ground
where we are reinforcing poor movment strategies under a heavier load, which has even greater neurological impact.
additionally, Elite Athletes do not dorsiflex the same as a person who is not an elite athlete. enforcing certain “angles” on players who aren’t built the same is absurd.
functionally making their movements completely diffeRENT from those with elite fascial conenctions, RISKING MORE INJURY AND HEEL STRIKING DURING COMPETITION.
WORLD-CLASS FOOTBALLERS HAVE neurological connection to the glutes and abs built up over many years that allows them incredible glute activation from very little knee bend…
GIVING THEM THE ABILITY to distrubute weight through the balls of their feet EFFORTLESSLY.
the heel was never designed to be the point of contact nor a point of significant weight distribution. Try running barefoot and you'll see how it feels. Very painful.
EFFORTLESS MOVEMENT AND GLUTE ACTIVATION COMES FROM MOVING ON THE BALL OF THE FOOT.
EVERYTHING IN THE GYM REINFORCES WEIGHT THROUGH THE HEELS AND QUAD DOMINANCE.
THE GYM IS NOT ATHLETICS.
Modern shoes are sabotaging your athleticism
Yes, those comfy fashionable sneakers you paid $200 for are actually causing issues all across your body…
You see your foot was not meant to be squished inside a narrow toe box
Nor was it meant to have a constant heel raise or arch support…
And it's impossible to get grounded in any of these shoes (absorbing free electrons from the earth)
All of these things cause the foot to become deformed plus it breaks down the fascial tension in the foot over time as your foot begins to rely on the shoe to function
Your optimal contact point (on the Ball of the Foot behind the second toe) also is lost as your scrunched metatarsals create a tripod (pressure on the 1st and 5th metatarsal and heel)
First and foremost you need to get barefoot for as much of the day as you can
Then wear some barefoot shoes for your casual use. I personally use Xero for my running shoes and Vivobarefoot for everything else.
I still wear full leather Nike Tiempos (with conical studs) as a “barefoot” football boot would be hard to play in at the highest level.
Toss out your ridiculously overpriced modern sneakers and wear something that actually DOESN'T harm you
Athleticism can't be built in the Gym
Athletic strength, power, or speed can not be built under a barbell
Why is that?
First and foremost, it's too slow and too linear.
Moving heavy weight in a slow and linear manner literally reinforces muscle dominance and disrupts fascial sliding.
Elite athleticism involves dynamic and spiraling joint actions at the ankle, knee, hip, spine and shoulders.
Any kind of linear movement, especially under load, is going to decode these spiraling movement patterns making you more robotic and less fluid.
You can toss around whatever study you want, but it doesn't change fundamental laws of Nature that are obvious in all animals and elite athletes of all sports.
A large majority of studies have been shown to be faulty years later and should be all taken with a grain of salt
Sure use them as a starting point, like I did, but eventually you'll see how out of touch with reality studying isolated muscle strength in untrained volunteers over 8 weeks is compared to what built Messi over an 18 year childhood…
Get outside. Get playing multiple sports. Regain full functionality of your feet. Awaken your fascial connections. Train barefoot. Enjoy the sun. Smile. Have fun. Be social. Embrace life and reject artificial indoor living.
