Your training programme probably has everything. Strength days, conditioning blocks, mobility sessions, skill work. Every major muscle group gets periodised and progressed. And then there's your feet — which you shove into shoes every morning and expect to just work. Here's what the science says about what you're missing.
The Intrinsic Foot Muscles: A Quick Anatomy Lesson
The foot has two categories of muscles: extrinsic (originating in the lower leg) and intrinsic (originating and inserting entirely within the foot). The key players: abductor hallucis (supports the medial arch), flexor digitorum brevis (supports the arch under load), interossei and lumbricals (fine motor toe control), and abductor digiti minimi (supports the lateral arch). Together they create the "foot core" — a system that stabilises the foot from within, adapts to terrain changes in milliseconds, and protects the plantar fascia from overload. In most athletes trained exclusively in conventional footwear, this system is significantly undertrained.
What the Research Shows
Research shows that habitually barefoot populations have significantly stronger intrinsic foot muscles and lower rates of foot pathology. A 2019 study found that 6 months of foot-strengthening exercises combined with minimalist footwear produced significant improvements in running economy, single-leg balance, and hop test performance — markers that translate directly to CrossFit and Hyrox performance.
The Foot Strength Protocol
Phase 1 — Activation (Weeks 1-3): Toe spread 3×10, short foot 3×10 per foot, towel scrunches. Daily practice. Sounds simple — for most shod athletes, it reveals immediate weakness.
Phase 2 — Load (Weeks 4-6): Single-leg balance on varied surfaces 3×30 seconds, heel raises with full range 3×15 per leg, barefoot box step-ups 3×10 per leg.
Phase 3 — Integration (Weeks 7+): Warm-up and technical work in minimalist footwear, light conditioning sessions, gradually increasing barefoot training load.
Build the Base
At The Nude Foot, we design footwear that makes this work easier to sustain. Zero drop, wide toe box, contact sole — the training environment your foot core needs.
Discover The Nude Foot — designed to work with your foot, not instead of it.