Ball rolling: rolling your feet on a hard ball can reduce tension in the feet. Stand with one foot on the floor and another on top of a hard ball, and roll it for a couple of minutes under each foot before you start working out and at the end of the day for a good release. You might find that your arches and sides of the foot are most uncomfortable but lean into that discomfort – that’s the bit of the plantar fascia that needs the most release!

Go barefoot: “As with strengthening any part of our bodies, we need to engage with our feet,” Fergus explains. “We will all have different starting points based on how connected we are with our feet, but slowly adjusting to more time in barefoot shoes is a great place to begin.” When transitioning to barefoot footwear, it’s important to approach it slowly. Fergus warns that when “we change the way in which we move, we simultaneously change what is being used to do so. With so many muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the foot, as well as our alignment from moving to zero-drop shoes, it is important to give our bodies a chance to adjust to the movement patterns we are redeveloping.” It is just as important to complement this change by adding in exercises like calf raises, balance drills, barefoot lunges, mobilising the big toe and squats so that we can reengage with our feet, without the restriction of modern footwear.

Have a crawl and toe stretch: Primal movement is fast becoming popular because its so good for mobility, strength and injury-prevention. Try crawling barefoot on all fours, with your feet tucked under. If yoga is more your thing, have a go at a yin toe stretch. Start on your knees, with your toes tucked under. Sit back until your bum is resting as close to the heels as possible and try to stay there for at least one minute. It may be painful but your feet will thank you for it!

Balance more: As Fergus pointed out, there are a number of exercises we could and should be doing if we want to rebuild lazy muscles and start to transition towards going barefoot more often. One of the key, every day things all of us should be looking to improve, however, is balance. Balancing on one leg and then the other can help to engage our foot, ankle and leg muscles while making obvious the imbalances. Try brushing your teeth standing on one leg or balancing on one leg while you’re on the phone. Single leg exercises like lunges and deadlifts are also great for getting every muscle working.

Why foot muscles are so important if you want to get stronger overall