This is perhaps the most common exercise dancers are recommended to improve their foot and ankle strength. However, I’m not particularly a fan of this exercise, mainly because I see it performed badly all the time. Performing this exercise with poor technique is always a bad idea. Poor form creates bad habits and doesn’t strength your muscles appropriately. Even worse, training errors can lead to injury! It’s really easy to ‘cheat’ with this exercise to try and get more range. The two most common mistakes I see are:
- Toe clawing – This happens when you get to the end of your point range and then let your toes curl under. Toe clawing is particularly problematic if you’re training your feet for point work. When you point your toes, you want to think about lengthening them. You should try to create a straight line from the top of your foot through the end of your big toe.
- Sickling – It’s really easy to let the sickle creep in when you’re trying very hard to work your foot and ankle and increase your point range. Don’t do it! Keep your ankle straight. If you’re unsure about the difference between a straight and sickled foot, check out my Banish the Sickle post.
If done correctly, pointing and flexing into a theraband is not a bad exercise. You just have to be 100% sure you perform each repetition with good form. Make sure you completely understand what proper ankle, foot and toe alignment look and feel like in your body before working on this exercise.
In my clinic and studio, I rarely get dancers to work on this exercise because of the common mistakes, but also because it’s really no that effective. It is useful for beginners and those recovering from injury, but after a few weeks of practicing this exercise, it quickly becomes too easy on the muscles to be effective. To really build the strength you need to support healthy and successful training, you need to get your body weight through your feet and ankles. After all – you need to be on your feet when you dance!
My number 1 strength exercise for dancers is basic single leg rises. Stand on one foot in parallel. Slowly rise up onto your full demi pointe, hold for a couple of seconds, and slowly lower. Repeat until your calf muscles are on fire! This basic but super effective drill will build the basic strength and control in your feet and ankles you need. If you are serious about improving you foot and ankle strength, it’s also good to work on some more advanced foot and ankle exercises. In my Banish the Sickle post, I teach three of my favourite supplementary feet and ankle exercises. Those exercises work to strengthen the feet and ankles and improve point range, without the above discussed technique problems.
For more advanced foot and ankle strength, check out all of my foot and ankle exercise on YouTube for loads of options to fit your training needs.
Have you found pointing and flexing into a theraband to be beneficial? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave your comments below.
