One thing about us dancers, we are obsessed with feet! Whether it be our feet or each other’s feet, we love the appearance of having good arches! It’s a goal we all work to achieve because of the great benefits that having good arches provides. Good arches can mean the appearance of better lines, easier ability en pointe and even strong turns, just to name a few advantages. But how do you achieve those golden arches, you may ask? Come along with us as we share some methods and practices that will help you build your arches naturally and rather quickly. Let’s go!
- Build Your Strength
Releves will always be a go-to for all things feet and ankle improvement. Not only does it aid in building range of motion, but it most importantly builds strength. While some may see the curve of an arch and think all that is needed to achieve this goal is foot flexibility, when it is actually foot strength that will help reach these results. So this is why incorporating nightly reps of 16-32 releves will do wonders for your arches and will actually help you achieve your desired results that much quicker!
- Use a Theraband For Range of Motion & Flexibility
No matter how many years come and go, the Theraband will also be a staple. In addition to building range of motion in your ankles and feet, as well as flexibility, the Theraband is the perfect tool to help with arch improvement. Simply choose a resistant strength that is right for you and then point and flex your feet for about 10 reps (holding for 10 seconds on the last rep) on each foot, once a day. If you feel that using your Theraband daily could be a bit much, try using it every other day or two to three times a week.
- Stretch Your Arches the Old Fashion Way
Our next tip for bettering your arches is to stretch them the old fashion way. Just like we do in class, grab hold to a chair, wall or even an at-home barre and stretch your arches, both on the balls of your feet and over on the tops of your feet. You can incorporate this in with your releve routine at the end of every day as a warm up as well!
- Point & Flex
And last but not least, one of the tried and true ways to better your arches is to point and flex your feet in your free time. The arches of your feet are muscles that need to be stretched and exercised in order to be improved. So while you’re watching tv or just laying in bed, create the habit of pointing and flexing your feet. Though it may not seem like much, this creates muscle memory and buildings up your strength and flexibility easily. So achieve those arches by working those arches and you’ll be good to go!
And that will do it for this week’s blog post! We hope these tips are able to help you as you work to improve your arches. As always, we wish you a wonderful weekend and until our next blog post, remember…
Keep dancing!
Lexi
FROM THE TOP! 