Walking in heels is something that can strike fear into the heart of any woman. If you’ve ever been to an event that required you to wear high heels for women, I’m sure you’ve experienced some form of discomfort by the end of the night. Whether it was an aching arch or sore toes, we’ve all felt it at one point or another. But did you know that there are a few exercises that you can do to help you strengthen your legs?
Here are our top five exercises to help make walking in heels feel like a walk in the park:
1 – Stretch your calves:
If you’re going to be wearing heels, you need to make sure that your calves are flexible enough to walk in them comfortably. A good way to do this is by standing on a step with one foot and bending your other leg behind you until you feel a stretch in your calf. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and repeat three times with each leg.
2 – Wall squats:
Stand with your back against a wall and your feet about one foot away from the wall. Slowly bend your knees while keeping your heels flat on the ground until you feel a stretch in your calves. Hold for 30 seconds and then repeat 3-5 times.
3 – Hip flexor stretches:
Lie on your back with your legs up over a chair or bench so that only your lower back is touching the floor. Use both hands to grab behind each knee and pull them toward each other until you feel a stretch in the front of your thigh (the hip flexor). Hold for 30 seconds and then repeat 3-5 times on each side.
4 – Knee extensions:
Lie face down on the floor with one leg extended straight out in front of you and one leg bent at 90 degrees with toes pointed toward you (this is called “tabletop position”). Slowly lift the straight leg up toward the ceiling as high as possible without lifting your hips off the floor.
Bottomline
We hope that now you feel more confident in your ability to walk confidently in your heels. Whether you’re using the exercises above on your own—or if you’re incorporating them into a physical therapy program with a professional—you should feel a lot better when you put these on to strut your stuff.
Author bio-
Dr. Taryn Rose is an orthopedic surgeon turned shoe designer focused on technical innovations to improve how we live. After selling her namesake company in 2008 she came out of retirement to team up with her partner, Enrico Cuini. Together they have built a first in kind shoe company making made to measure sexy high heels for smart women who set their goals high and wear their heels even higher.