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Sole & Splay
Sole & Splay

Foot strengthening exercises for the transition

The cheapest risk reduction available: build the capacity off the shoe, so the shoe is not the only thing training you.

By Brijon M. · Updated October 2026

Short-foot holds, toe splays, big-toe presses, slow calf raises and single-leg balance build the strength minimal footwear demands with almost no impact loading. Fifteen minutes three times a week, alongside a gradual increase in minimal-shoe hours.

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A bare foot pressing its toes into a wooden floor during an exercise

Most transition advice treats exercises as optional. The evidence suggests they are the best-value part of the whole process, for one specific reason: they build the capacity minimal shoes demand without the impact loading that causes the injuries.

Why this is evidenced rather than assumed

A randomized controlled trial assigned 57 healthy runners to a foot-strengthening group, a minimal-shoe walking group, or a control group, with intrinsic foot muscle cross-sectional area measured by ultrasound at baseline, 8 weeks, 16 weeks and one year. Both intervention arms were studied against a control — which is why we can say the exercise route is evidenced in its own right rather than as an add-on.

The broader picture is consistent: a review of minimalist-footwear studies found significant increases in foot muscle strength, volume and cross-sectional area, with strength gains across studies spanning roughly 9 to 57 percent. Whichever route produces the adaptation, the adaptation itself is real and measurable.

Set against that, the risk side is specific to loading: in the 2013 Ridge MRI study, 10 of 19 runners transitioning into minimal shoes over 10 weeks developed new bone-marrow edema, mostly without symptoms. Exercises give you the strength half of the equation without adding to the loading half. That is the entire argument.

The program

Fifteen minutes, three times a week, barefoot, on a firm floor. Not before a run — these are not a warm-up, they are training.

  1. Short-foot holds — 3 sets of 10, five-second holds

    Sit or stand with your foot flat. Without curling your toes, draw the ball of your foot toward your heel so the arch lifts slightly. Hold five seconds, release. The toes stay long and flat — if they are curling, you are using the wrong muscles. This is the core intrinsic-foot exercise.

  2. Toe splays — 3 sets of 10

    Spread all five toes apart as wide as you can, hold two seconds, relax. Most people cannot do this at all at first, which tells you something. If you cannot, use your fingers to spread them and hold, and the voluntary control comes later.

  3. Big-toe presses — 3 sets of 10 each foot

    Press your big toe into the floor while keeping the other four relaxed and lifted. Then reverse: press the four down while lifting the big toe. Separating these is the specific control a tapered toe box takes away.

  4. Slow calf raises — 3 sets of 15

    Rise onto the balls of both feet over three seconds, hold one, lower over three. Slow is the point: the lowering phase is where the Achilles adapts. Progress to single-leg when 15 double-leg reps are easy.

  5. Single-leg balance — 3 x 30 seconds each foot

    Stand on one foot, barefoot, on a firm floor. Let your toes grip and spread to make the corrections. When 30 seconds is easy, close your eyes — which removes vision and forces your foot to do the work.

  6. Toe yoga and a towel scrunch — 2 minutes

    Lift just your big toe while the others stay down, then just the little toes. Then place a towel on the floor and scrunch it toward you using only your toes. Both train the flexors and the lumbricals that a supportive shoe lets you ignore.

How to progress, and what to expect

A sensible progression over the first three months.
WeeksFocusProgression
1-2Learning the movementsQuality over reps. Short-foot holds are the hardest to learn and the most important
3-4Building volumeFull sets of all six. Add the eyes-closed balance
5-8LoadingSingle-leg calf raises; longer short-foot holds
9-12MaintainingTwice a week is enough to hold the gains while minimal-shoe hours grow
A sensible progression over the first three months.

Expect the foot cramping. Almost everybody gets a cramp in the arch in the first week or two of short-foot holds, because those muscles have not been asked to contract deliberately in years. It settles. If a cramp is sharp or persists, stop that set.

Expect slow progress on toe splays and toe yoga. Separating your big toe from the others is a motor-control skill as much as a strength one, and it can take weeks before anything happens voluntarily. That is normal and it is not a sign you are doing it wrong.

Toe spacers alongside

Spacers address toe position rather than strength, and they complement the exercises rather than replacing them. Used in short sessions they make the splay position easier to find; they only work in a shoe with genuine room, which means a wide barefoot shoe anyway. Toe spacers.

The picks in detail

What is actually worth buying for this: spacers that work in a shoe, a shoe you can do the work in, and the toe-shoe option if toe independence is the goal.

1. Best spacers

Correct Toes Toe Spacers

Medical-grade silicone spacers designed by a podiatrist to be worn inside shoes - which is the whole difference from the gel spacers sold for pedicures.

What works

  • Designed to be worn inside a shoe, not just at rest
  • Medical-grade silicone holds its shape through repeated washing
  • Adjustable - the spacing posts can be trimmed

What does not

  • They only work in a shoe with enough toe-box room, which means a barefoot shoe anyway
  • Expensive next to generic silicone spacers
  • Uncomfortable for the first few sessions

Skip these if: Your current shoes have a tapered toe box. Spacers plus a narrow shoe is worse than neither.

Specifications as published by the maker and reported by Correct Toes in-shoe toe spacers product page. We have not measured them ourselves. All brand fit profiles

2. Best shoe to train in

Xero Shoes Prio

The closest thing to a default first barefoot shoe: genuinely wide, genuinely flexible, and cheap enough that a failed experiment does not hurt.

What works

  • Removable 2 mm insole, so you can go thinner as your feet adapt
  • Wide enough for most square and plateau foot shapes
  • Flexes and rolls flat, which is the quickest way to spot a fake minimalist shoe

What does not

  • The lacing panel can pressure a high instep
  • Thin heel padding is noticeable on hard floors for the first week

Skip these if: You have a high-volume foot and dislike lace pressure across the top, or you need any cushioning at all on day one.

Specifications as published by the maker and reported by Xero Shoes Prio listing specifications. We have not measured them ourselves. Xero Shoes fit profile

3. Most toe independence

Vibram FiveFingers KSO EVO

The gym and foot-strengthening pick: individual toe pouches, minimal cushioning, and nothing between you and the floor during a lift.

What works

  • A stable, flat platform for squats and deadlifts
  • Lets each toe grip, which is the whole point for balance work
  • Machine washable

What does not

  • Not a running shoe for most people
  • Toe-pocket fit takes two or three attempts to get right

Skip these if: You want one shoe you can also wear to the shops. These are specialist equipment.

Specifications as published by the maker and reported by Outdoor Life, best barefoot shoes 2026. We have not measured them ourselves. Vibram FiveFingers fit profile

Common questions

Do foot exercises actually help the barefoot transition?

A randomized trial studied a foot-strengthening program and minimal-shoe walking against a control group, measuring intrinsic foot muscle cross-sectional area by ultrasound. The practical advantage of exercises is that they build capacity without adding impact loading, which is the part that carries injury risk.

How often should I do them?

Fifteen minutes, three times a week, during the active transition. Twice a week maintains the gains afterwards.

Why does my arch cramp during short-foot holds?

Because those muscles have not been asked to contract deliberately in years. It is extremely common in the first week or two and it settles. Stop the set if a cramp is sharp or persistent.

I cannot spread my toes at all. Is that a problem?

It is very common and it is partly motor control rather than strength. Use your fingers to hold the splay at first; voluntary control develops over weeks.

Can I do these instead of wearing minimal shoes?

You can build foot strength this way, and the trial evidence supports that. What exercises do not give you is the toe room and flat platform of the shoes, which are mechanical rather than muscular benefits.

Sources

  1. Ridge et al., foot bone marrow edema after 10-week transition to minimal footwear (BYU ScholarsArchive)
  2. How Does Running in Minimalist Shoes Affect Injury Risk? A Systematic Review
  3. Counseling Runners on Safely Transitioning to Minimal Shoes (University of Florida PM&R)
  4. A Comparison of Foot Strengthening versus Minimal Footwear Use on Intrinsic Muscle Size and Strength
  5. Effects of Minimalist Shoes on Plantar Intrinsic Foot Muscle Size and Strength: A Review

Accessed October 2026. Where a source is a manufacturer, the specification is theirs as published — we have not measured it.

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