This class is for big toe abduction

Equipment Needed: Rubber band

Something a lot of people struggle with is big toe abduction. For some people, their big toe will adduct inwards. This can happen due to poor footwear over the years. A lot of shoes have small toe boxes that squish your toes inwards and over time your toes adapt to this. Socks also have a similar impact, but not *as* bad.

So in this class we work on big toe abduction and we try to create better spacing between the big toe and the other toes.

We’ll work our toe CARs with a rubber band to help pull the big toe out into abduction. When you’re doing these, try to keep the big toe out wide as best as you can. For most people they will struggle to keep it out wide and that’s okay, over time it will get better.

Then we will work an abduction PAILs base where we hold our standard 2min passive stretch, but we only work the PAILs contractions. The reason for this is that RAILs on a big toe abduction base is going to feel almost impossible for most, so at first we will just work on the PAILs contractions to get the most out of our training session.

For anyone who really wants to create better spacing for the big toe, it’s important to get consistent inputs on this. You can do this class 2-3x a week. You can start with 2x a week and then gradually build up to 3x a week if desired. You can also buy some toe spacers to wear around the house. When you first wear toe spacers it’s important not leave them on for too long, because your toes/feet will not be used to this and they can get sore. So only wear them for as long as you feel comfortable and over time you can build up to wearing them more.

I would also recommend walking around barefoot as much as you can around the house. Try not to wear socks or shoes around the house if possible, unless you’re wearing those five finger socks, this way you can help promote better spacing of those toes.

Totally normal for your feet/toes to feel a little tender after this class!

Hope you enjoy the class!