Foot & Ankle Mobility: How to Perform a Ball of Foot Circle

We are about to cover the mother of all foot and ankle mobility. 

The foot and ankle have 33 joints and over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Our goal with all of our mobility drills is to teach you how to isolate various joints and then learn how to integrate those movements into more complex mobility variations. 

The Ball of Foot circle is one of our integrations, with great complexity, that will require practice to master. And, the result will be awesome!

This drill is one of the most athletic drills we offer because it teaches you how to access very precise ranges of motion in the lower extremity that will allow you to access much more power!

Let's get started: 

Ball of Foot Circles

Here's how you perform the drill:

• The target for this movement is the midfoot and forefoot. We will utilize the ball of your foot through the whole movement, not ever placing the heel on the ground
• As we move from the outside of the foot to the inside of the foot, we need to allow our foot to evert and the lower leg to internally rotate. This creates pronation. 
• Practice these two movements first before progressing to a standing position and performing the whole ball of foot circle. 
• Be sure to roll through from the inside of your foot to the outside of your foot by applying slight pressure to the base of the metatarsals. 
• Review the video for precise details on how to perform the circle

Common mistakes:

• Internally & externally rotating at the hip rather than the foot/lower leg
• Drawing a knee circle rather than a ball of foot circle
• Placing too much weight on the ball of foot by raising the heel too high (heel should not be higher than the height of a tennis ball)
• Avoiding pronation and supination of the foot
• Losing the tall spine position
• Building up too much tension all over
• Breath holding

Let's get your feet & ankles moving freely! Let us know how it goes!

(Education Credit: this drill is part of a series of mobility drills taught by Z-Health Performance Solutions - a leading educational company in neuro-centric training for pain and performance) 

About the Author: 

Taylor Kruse, recently featured in Men's Health, is dedicated to empowering you with the truth and tools for improved health and performance.

His inspiration stems from more than 15 years of education and coaching through systems like Zhealth Performance, The Burdenko Method, and various movement practices.

In 2013, he co-founded KRUSE ELITE with girlfriend, Alisha Hale. Both are dedicated to inspiring people, coaches, and trainers into their best health and performance.