Four daily foot and calf moves to keep your stride strong and efficient after age 60.
Most people think that changes in behavior are just a normal part of aging. As a coach, I don’t. This is what I often see loss of efficiency within the movement system that develops over years and sometimes decades before a person notices a change in their gait. The good news is that the mechanics behind effective walking can be learned, and these four daily exercises can help you keep walking well into your 60s.
The mechanism of inflation, explained
One of the most important concepts in walking, and one that very few have heard of, is something called the wind mechanism. The arching mechanism is a biomechanical process that occurs in the foot every time you walk.
When the big toe is extended during the swing phase, it strengthens the plantar fascia at the bottom of the foot. Think of it like wrapping a rope around a winch. As the fascia tightens, the arch of the foot rises and the foot transforms from a flexible shock absorber to a rigid gear capable of efficiently transferring force to the ground.
This process happens thousands of times throughout the day and most people never think about it until it starts to malfunction.
When the ventilation mechanism works well, walking is efficient. Power is transferred smoothly through the foot and into the rest of the body. The foot takes the load, stores energy, and then releases that energy to propel us forward.
When the foot becomes a point of failure
When the ventilation mechanism becomes vulnerable, the entire system must adapt. This is where I often see what we call a point of failure. In engineering, a single point of failure is a component that can adversely affect the entire system when it stops working properly. The human body works pretty much the same way.
For many people, the foot becomes a point of failure. Loss of motion in the big toe, restrictions in the ankle fascia, decreased ankle motion, or changes in arch structure and function can all interfere with the glans mechanism.
It is a body remarkably adaptabletherefore, it will continue to find ways to move. The problem is that these adaptations often come in the form of compensation. If the leg loses the ability to transmit power effectively, the knee must often compensate. If the knee compensates, the hip can also compensate. Changes in the hip can affect the mechanics of the pelvis, the movement of the spine, and even the way the rib cage rotates during walking.
Because these changes happen gradually, most people don’t recognize them. They just think they are getting old. I think a better question is why the body becomes less efficient in the first place.
Flexibility is the ability to adapt to force
This is where the fascial system becomes important. Fascia is a network of connective tissue that surrounds every muscle, organ, nerve, blood vessel, and joint in the body. One of its main functions is power transmission and distribution. The plantar fascia on the bottom of the foot is one of the clearest examples of this system in action.
Every step you take requires the body to absorb energy, store energy, move that energy through the system, and then release it. Winding mechanism is one of the main ways to perform this task.
When the system is working efficiently, movement feels smooth and coordinated. When it loses adaptability, movement becomes more expensive. More energy is needed. Walking speed is often reduced. The stride length can be shortened. Balance may become less predictable. Over time, the body works harder to do what should be done automatically.
So I rarely think of flexibility as stretching a muscle. I think of flexibility as the ability to adapt to force. A healthy foot should be flexible enough to absorb the force when it comes into contact with the ground, but strong enough to transfer the force when pushing off. The wind mechanism allows the foot to do both.
As we age, maintaining these adaptations becomes more important. The goal is to become more flexible for the sake of more flexibility. The goal is to maintain efficient movement. Effective movement allows us to walk farther, move more confidently, maintain balance, and be active throughout life.
Walking is one of the clearest reflections of how well the entire movement system is working. In many cases, maintaining good walking ability begins with maintaining the mechanisms that make walking possible in the first place. The wind mechanism is one of those mechanisms, and it may be one of the most important factors in keeping an efficient pace as we age. Here are four exercises I use to improve your wind mechanism and keep you going past 60.
Finger coordination
The first exercise in our glass mechanism series is toe coordination. We want to see if we can lift the big toe without lifting the other four and without moving through the rest of the foot. Your ankle should not move and your knee and hip should not move. This movement is specific to the foot itself.
Muscles trained: Intrinsic muscles of the foot, big toe extensors and flexors
How to do it:
- Stand with your feet flat on the floor.
- Just hold your thumb up, keep the other four fingers down.
- Hold for 20 to 60 seconds and then lower it down.
- Now lift the other four fingers while keeping the thumb down.
- Hold for 20 to 60 seconds.
- Once you can do both isometrics, start going back and forth between the two positions.
Form tip: If you’re having trouble, reach down and hold all four toes while you work on the big toes, then hold down while working on the other four toes. If you don’t want to bend that far, use your other foot to support the toes of the foot you don’t want to move.
Recommended Sets and Reps: 1 to 3 sets per leg, making sure you train both sides.
Taking and opening the legs
The second exercise in our leg function and learning wind mechanism is to roll and open the legs. One foot at a time, you’ll roll all the way up to the big toe and come back down nice and smooth. We want to slowly move through this full range of motion on each leg before bringing them together.
Muscles trained: Plantar fascia, intrinsic foot muscles, calves, foot stabilizers
How to do it:
- Standing up, roll one foot smoothly over the big toe.
- Bring it back with the same control.
- Repeat on the other leg until both legs can move easily through the entire movement.
- Once comfortable, alternate: when the left leg goes down, the right leg comes up.
- Set the timer for 30 to 90 seconds and keep tossing and turning.
Form tip: Start very slow and smooth. As you get comfortable, you can increase the speed, but make sure you hit the full range of motion each time.
Stretching myofascial muscles
The next exercise in our bloat mechanism series is the myofascial stretch, or calf muscle stretch. I like to use an incline block because it allows your heel to stay on the ground. If you don’t have a block, you can use a book, a towel, or even a step.
Muscles trained: Gastrocnemius (calf), plantar fascia
How to do it:
- Place the ball of one foot on the block with the heel on the ground.
- Put your fingers on it.
- Straighten the knee of the long leg.
- Step your other leg forward as far as you can and bend the knee to feel the stretch in the back of the calf.
- Keep some in your pelvis.
- Hold in one position for 30 to 90 seconds on one leg.
Form tip: To thicken one side of the stomach, adjust your heel. A straight heel stretches both heads. Turn the heel slightly inward to stretch the outside or lateral gastroc. Turn the heel slightly outward to stretch the medial or gastroc. The time remains the same: from 30 to 90 seconds in one position, on one leg.
Myofascial Soleus Length
The final exercise in our lunge mechanism series is the leg myofascial stretch. If you pull the calf muscles, then the tension is the muscle below it. The year is important. In fact, we call it the second heart because it is the primary muscle responsible for pushing blood to the legs.
Muscles trained: Soleus, fascia of the sole
How to do it:
- Get into a kneeling position with an incline block in front of you.
- Place your foot on the block, everything straight to start.
- Lift your finger from the block.
- Push your knee forward to stretch your leg.
- Hold in one position for 30 to 90 seconds.
Form tip: Like gastroc, you can bias each side. Turn your heel slightly inward as you move forward to stretch the outside more, or turn your heel out as you move forward to stretch the inside. The same time in abdominal pressure: 30 to 90 seconds in one position.
