Flat feet/fallen arches (physical condition) affecting footwork

[DugzBoxing]

Does anyone have any suggestions? I have worn insoles since the age of 9 and wear them in my gym trainers. My rear foot keeps resting itself on the ground as a result of this condition. I will try loads of footwork drills.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar or do you have any advice? Thanks.

[Eastbound]

You can tighten up the feet with jump rope and running. These will condition and tighten the foot for better mechanics. Also, it will strengthen the muscles in calves and connective tendons to the foot, allowing for quicker mobility. Your arches will never be up where their supposed to be but this will help. Work up to 25 or 30 mins of jump rope without stopping. Use different skip steps and boxer skips to keep it interesting. Put on some music and keep the beat with your feet. Run 3-5 miles...you should be able to do this almost daily at your age. Watch some videos on proper running form online and try to emulate. Avoid striking on your heal when running. You want a forefoot to midfoot strike underneath your body

[DugzBoxing]

You can tighten up the feet with jump rope and running. These will condition and tighten the foot for better mechanics. Also, it will strengthen the muscles in calves and connective tendons to the foot, allowing for quicker mobility. Your arches will never be up where their supposed to be but this will help. Work up to 25 or 30 mins of jump rope without stopping. Use different skip steps and boxer skips to keep it interesting. Put on some music and keep the beat with your feet. Run 3-5 miles...you should be able to do this almost daily at your age. Watch some videos on proper running form online and try to emulate. Avoid striking on your heal when running. You want a forefoot to midfoot strike underneath your body

I do a lot of running on most days before I start work in the morning. I have noticed that I do strike on my heel quite a bit.

I'm going to try and improve my mobility overall to help footwork because like most people I just focus on attacking finesse.

I have filmed myself doing light sparring and shadow boxing. Watching back I can see that my heels do strike the ground and I'm not always on the balls of my feet.

Thanks for the tips.

[OctoberRed]

I do a lot of running on most days before I start work in the morning. I have noticed that I do strike on my heel quite a bit.

I'm going to try and improve my mobility overall to help footwork because like most people I just focus on attacking finesse.

I have filmed myself doing light sparring and shadow boxing. Watching back I can see that my heels do strike the ground and I'm not always on the balls of my feet.

Thanks for the tips.

I would suggest running a few miles as well, even on treadmill at higher speeds for nice run bursts.

[DugzBoxing]

I would suggest running a few miles as well, even on treadmill at higher speeds for nice run bursts.

I do a few rounds of sprints on the treadmill as a warm up. I also run with weight on my back by using a backpack with weight plates in.

[tcbender]

I do a few rounds of sprints on the treadmill as a warm up. I also run with weight on my back by using a backpack with weight plates in.

Sprinting as a warm up is a terrible idea. You should be completely warmed up before attempting any sort of sprint (ie at least 5 mins of slow exercise (jogging/riding the stationary bike, some slow jump rope) and then do a series of mobility exercises to activate the muscles and joints (ie leg swings, arm circles, twisting lunges, bodyweight squats, do circles with your ankles each direction) particularly if you are suffering from any sort of problem (ankle, feet, knee, etc).

If you are sprinting on a treadmill it should be at a minimum 3% incline to offset the negative effects of the treadmill. I usually do incline sprints at 11% incline.

I also wouldn't recommend running with weight on your back in general, but particularly if you have issues with your running form or issues with your feet/ankles. The added weight is going to change your stride and in the end cause more harm than the benefits you may get. Even running with ankle or wrist weights or holding dumbells is a bad idea.

If you want to do weighted exercises do weighted squat jumps, weighted jumping lunges, etc.

I also have flat feet, I wear insoles in my running shoes but not in my boxing shoes. I don't really jump rope that often as its bad for my achilles, ankles and calves. Its very important to warm up and to stretch often as tightness or imbalance can exacerbate issues or lead to new issues. Tight calves caused issues with my knees, which caused issues with my achilles, which then started to cause issues with peroneal tendonitis due to different parts of the leg making up for the lack of bounce and dispersion of energy that the calves provide.

[DugzBoxing]

Sprinting as a warm up is a terrible idea. You should be completely warmed up before attempting any sort of sprint (ie at least 5 mins of slow exercise (jogging/riding the stationary bike, some slow jump rope) and then do a series of mobility exercises to activate the muscles and joints (ie leg swings, arm circles, twisting lunges, bodyweight squats, do circles with your ankles each direction) particularly if you are suffering from any sort of problem (ankle, feet, knee, etc).

If you are sprinting on a treadmill it should be at a minimum 3% incline to offset the negative effects of the treadmill. I usually do incline sprints at 11% incline.

I also wouldn't recommend running with weight on your back in general, but particularly if you have issues with your running form or issues with your feet/ankles. The added weight is going to change your stride and in the end cause more harm than the benefits you may get. Even running with ankle or wrist weights or holding dumbells is a bad idea.

If you want to do weighted exercises do weighted squat jumps, weighted jumping lunges, etc.

I also have flat feet, I wear insoles in my running shoes but not in my boxing shoes. I don't really jump rope that often as its bad for my achilles, ankles and calves. Its very important to warm up and to stretch often as tightness or imbalance can exacerbate issues or lead to new issues. Tight calves caused issues with my knees, which caused issues with my achilles, which then started to cause issues with peroneal tendonitis due to different parts of the leg making up for the lack of bounce and dispersion of energy that the calves provide.

You have a point but my mindset is like that because I was used to doing similar warm ups when I played for my football (soccer) team. As I wear insoles, I would have thought my running would improve a little. I do weighted press ups and squats in between reps. I wouldn't say the sprints are a warm up, it's more of something I would do before hitting the heavy bag or weights to get my heart rate up. I'm just so used to running due to previous sports I've played in the past and I always look to make it more difficult which is why I am so fast.

It's not really a warm up but follows that, usually I jump rope. Due to flat feet, I can't do tricks or sprint through the rope but can bounce with both feet, basic skipping.

[Miriam_A]

Running - is a best choice for you!

[OctoberRed]

Running - is a best choice for you!

I can agree with that.