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Other/Mixed Gripping the floor with feet

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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yorkshirecomrade

yorkshirecomrade

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hello all

I tried gripping the floor with my feet yesterday and noticed a totally different neuromuscular response.

Can any offer any advice why or educate me on the benefits?

I remember reading it in ETK years ago (think it was that) and I simply must've failed at some point in my practice to continue actively gripping the floor.

Much love
 
@yorkshirecomrade, if you think about it, everything press, deadlift, getup, swing, involves you pushing against the ground. The ground doesn't yield, so your force turns into something else. The firmer your grip on the push into the ground, the less power you will leak and the stronger you will be.

Not the most scientific explanation, I realize ...

-S-
 
natewhite39 said:
Also when you grip the deck with your big toe, and screw your self into the ground it cues the glutes to contract harder.
Click to expand...

Nate, do you cue to "screw the feet into the ground with an outward twist", or similar? I've found it helps with the goblet squat especially; I learned it from Besty Collie in the 1-day kettlebell course, and found it totally changed what I was doing as far as tight legs and glutes for this movement, as you said, and brings all the muscles around the outer hip into the picture to create a more connected full-body tension. But I don't hear all instructors use the "outward turn" description and I'm not sure whether it's a good thing to focus on for swings and other things. In yoga we are often cued to "spread the floor by moving the feet outward" or something similar.

I totally agree, the feet can and should be very active... I'm just trying to think through which of these is the best focus: 1) gripping down, 2) moving outward, or 3) screwing into the ground.

Interested in anyone's thoughts on this.
 
Anna C said:
I totally agree, the feet can and should be very active... I'm just trying to think through which of these is the best focus: 1) gripping down, 2) moving outward, or 3) screwing into the ground.
Click to expand...

Hi Anna, yes I prefer to use the internal cues of "grip the deck" and "screwing yourself into the ground" instead of "spread the floor."

Spreading the floor can get people to redistribute their weight on to the outside of their feet a bit too much and thus taking the big toe out of the equation, not good.

As you know, training with shoes off will allow you to see what the feet are doing and in most cases will allow the student to feel the training effect with more intensity.

Also, consider your sequencing of exercises leading up to the main lift. For example, have your student prime their feet for a stronger swing head to toe with a sequence such as:

A) Hardstyle Plank
B) Heavy Farmer Walk
C) KB Deadlift
D) 2H KB Swing (Main Lift)
 
Anna C said:
Nate, do you cue to "screw the feet into the ground with an outward twist", or similar? I've found it helps with the goblet squat especially; I learned it from Besty Collie in the 1-day kettlebell course, and found it totally changed what I was doing as far as tight legs and glutes for this movement, as you said, and brings all the muscles around the outer hip into the picture to create a more connected full-body tension. But I don't hear all instructors use the "outward turn" description and I'm not sure whether it's a good thing to focus on for swings and other things. In yoga we are often cued to "spread the floor by moving the feet outward" or something similar.

I totally agree, the feet can and should be very active... I'm just trying to think through which of these is the best focus: 1) gripping down, 2) moving outward, or 3) screwing into the ground.

Interested in anyone's thoughts on this.
Click to expand...

Screwing into the ground is good for goblet squat, not so much for front squat. I find if I "grab with the toes" the entire foot crushes down and I get a better plant on all my movements.
 
Hello,

@yorkshirecomrade
Feet and all body extremities (hands, etc...) contrains lots of nerves. Then, "using" them by gripping the floor (if we talk about feet) or crushing an handle (if we talk about hands) creates a great nervous, and so muscular response to contract the body. This explains why press is easier when you "dig into the ground" with your feet while contracting glutes and crushing your bell handle and make a tight fist with your passive hands.

Paying attention to these signals create a great tension which prepare muscles for an intense contraction.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Anna C said:
Nate, do you cue to "screw the feet into the ground with an outward twist", or similar? I've found it helps with the goblet squat especially; I learned it from Besty Collie in the 1-day kettlebell course, and found it totally changed what I was doing as far as tight legs and glutes for this movement, as you said, and brings all the muscles around the outer hip into the picture to create a more connected full-body tension. But I don't hear all instructors use the "outward turn" description and I'm not sure whether it's a good thing to focus on for swings and other things. In yoga we are often cued to "spread the floor by moving the feet outward" or something similar.

I totally agree, the feet can and should be very active... I'm just trying to think through which of these is the best focus: 1) gripping down, 2) moving outward, or 3) screwing into the ground.

Interested in anyone's thoughts on this.
Click to expand...
I've had that exact same question since reading one of Kelly Starrett's books. In it he describes the proper way to stand which involves starting with an outward corkscrew of your feet to fire up the glutes and external rotators, which should be doing all the work. When you do this you'll notice that your arches lift up and are supported by muscle power, rather than letting your ankles/arches collapse inward (pronate) and relying on ligaments and tendons to support the load unassisted. I'd never heard of the outward corkscrew of your feet prior to this, though I'm very familiar with NW and the outward corkscrew of your arms for greater strength.

This issue is of particular interest to me with training my wife and her with her foot injury (from years of pronation) and runners knees. I'd been coaching her in the KB deadlifts to spread the floor, and when she has to stand for a while to do the outward corkscrew with her feet. But since reading Kelly's book, I'm not sure if the corkscrew is more valid than spreading the floor with the deadlifts or even with the swings, where I just have her gripping the floor with her toes. Thanks in advance!
 
Andy Bolton claims that research done by Vladimir Janda shows that gripping the floor with your toes can improve midsection activation by up to 30%. That is quite the number in my opinion.

What do you mean by "screwing into the ground"? How is it done?
 
Tharayman said:
What do you mean by "screwing into the ground"? How is it done?
Click to expand...
For me, the best cue/visualization for this is; imagine (or do if you can) standing in a squat stance, each of your feet is on a sheet of paper, and you need rotate each foot/leg away from the other (right leg is clockwise, left is counter clockwise). If you actually have paper under your feet, you'll go on rotating, but now if you do this with no paper and drive your toes down, this activates major parts of the posterior chain. I like to experience this at the bottom of a squat, when I do, I get around a 2" rise without even firing the quads to begin standing up.
 
@Tharayman, welcome to the StrongFirst forum.

I highly recommend attending one of our courses or working with one of our certified instructors in order to best learn this skill. You may, of course, also read about it in many of Pavel's books, and watch videos about it online.

Speaking for myself, I can tell you that I forget to do this far too often in my training, and when I forget to do it with a heavy weight, e.g., 90% and up for my barbell deadlift, the weight doesn't move, so I'll vouch firsthand for the effectiveness of this technique.

-S-
 
Hello,

@Tharayman
Welcme to StrongFirst !

Tharayman said:
What do you mean by "screwing into the ground"? How is it done?
Click to expand...
From my modest understanding, it means that you have to "tense" the toe the same way you would tense your fingers around a ball to strongly press it. However, when you tense the toe, you do it on a plane surface. Visually, toes are like "crushed" on the ground.

I never checked the additional tension this kind of technique can create however, I noticed that when I do it, I can pass SLDL with 35kg, and I can't when I do not do it. The same logic applies when I crush the handle of the bell during a bent press (even if for that move, I also tense the toe)

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I've read recently that strengthening toe flexion can easily add an inch or 2 to your vertical jump.
 
Screwing your feet into the ground - right foot clockwise, left foot the opposite. You'll find more than just your toes fire up.

-S-
 
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