Hello dearest reader! Given this foray into video, perhaps that intro needs to be reworked. Hello, dearest content consumer! Hello, dearest Dunk Day-er! Yeah, we’ll keep workshopping that one.
Today marks the first of four explorations into Phase Two of Dunk Day. It’s admittedly an off-the-wall topic to start with - who really wants to talk about feet for over 10 minutes? Better yet, who is listening to us talk about that for that long? You’re a real one for sticking with us on this!
Of course, there are plenty of insights to gain from this chat. Some of my favorite takeaways:
The foot is special, and the basis for how our whole body interacts with the world. Yet we shove them into shoes (here’s the promised photo of LeBron’s foot, egads) that take away from their natural function (don’t even get me started on dress shoes!). You don’t need to be trying to dunk to think a bit more about your foot interacts with the world and how shoes are (or aren’t!) a tool in that interaction. Not saying you need to overhaul your entire collection, but it’s always good to stop and think!
Just don’t be like these guys and have your cake and eat it too. Choose form or function, you don’t get both. I can’t emphasize enough how much I hate this. They must be stopped.
I’ve incorporated two recommendations so far: socks in the gym1 and foot intrinsics.
No one other than my fiancé has explicitly called me out for being a weirdo for not wearing shoes in the gym, though I do sincerely apologize to anyone that has been within 20 feet of me at that time. I’ve spent enough of this past year+ being a weirdo in the gym, this just feels like the next evolution. Anything to steal another half an inch of vertical!
As expected, foot intrinsics (stretching) is uncomfortable. I don’t know that I can point to any additional foot strength and/or mobility yet but I can definitely tell you that I have some underutilized muscles throughout my foot. Give them a try yourself if you’re curious and let me know how uncomfortable this at first! So weird.
Coach Doctor Andrew recommends two sets of 10 reps each, and I’m doing the first four “options,” as they’re called in the video. Short foot is my current favorite and can be found around the five minute mark.
I’m generally more aware of my feet and how they feel. From a tough day in the gym leading to soreness, to putting my foot in a pair of shoes I’ve worn for years and feeling the constraint, I’m generally more in tune with how my feet are feeling.
It’s only been a few weeks so I’m not quite ready to buy a pair of shoes designed to address these problems but for a sneakerhead this is a bigger consideration than I ever thought I’d face.
Hope you enjoyed topic one! Would love to hear your thoughts, the comments are always open.
Thanks, as always, for jammin with me and stay tuned for the second topic of Phase Two!
I workout on the fourth floor of my gym and there are typically only one or two people around me. Just need you, dearest Dunk Day-er, to understand that I’m not walking around a crowded main area in my socks. Those people that chopped off the soles of their shoes are the real menaces to society.
Share this post