I actually enjoy working out barefoot, so I can wear my slippers out! Just kidding. I’ve been exercising without shoes for certain activities, such as when I do Muay Thai/kickboxing, Pilates or at Ritual where their 20-minute HIIT workouts don’t require shoes. Hence I readily accepted the invite to try a Willpower & Grace class, which is part of The Willpower Method, a feet fitness programme developed by Stacey Lei Krauss.
[Read more on The Willpower Method I wrote for Yahoo! here.]
The one-hour class, which is exclusively offered at Momentum Lab, is a functional workout that contains elements of Pilates, yoga and other bodyweight exercises. One main difference from other barefoot functional workouts is that the first few minutes of this class focuses on warming up the feet with stretching of the toes.
Come to think of it, we do tend to neglect the feet when we work out. People work their back, abs, lats, back, shoulders, arms, but feet is something that we tend to overlook. In addition, shoe manufacturers are coming out with more advanced technology that protect and cushion our feet well, but it also means making our feet lazy and dormant, thus we end up forgetting how to use our feet.
Like me, you may already be working out barefoot, like in boxing or something, but we may still have imbalances or weak feet support. Strengthening your feet and ankles will lead to stronger knees and hips, which will in turn reduce the risk of injuries. There are different levels within the Willpower & Grace class itself; for the benefit of us first-timers at a class that Stacey personally conducted when she was here in Singapore to train instructors, she introduced us to level one.
Some of the moves require more practice and I found myself somewhat uncoordinated at some point or not being able to stretch well into the pose, but as Stacey says, the first class is always the hardest. Once you are familiar with the moves, the class will become easier and you will naturally progress to higher levels (eg. doing a burpee with jump instead of a burpee).
Some people have slippery feet as our feet DO SWEAT TOO, but if you can grip the floor well with your toes then there shouldn’t be any problem. I’ve never had issues at Muay Thai or Ritual as the floor surfaces have a degree of grip to them, but I slipped during the Willpower & Grace class. Oops.
There is a lot more to The Willpower Method, which is also used as cross training for performance athletes. There is also a workout called Sole Training which is solely (pun fully intended) training of the feet. Feet fitness – not something new, but something often overlooked.
The Willpower & Grace programme is available exclusively at Momentum Lab, 354 Alexandra Road, #01-15. Tel: 6339 2210. First time trial classes are at $35 per session.
