Over the past few weeks, I noticed something “off” in my son’s stride.  He’s a 6’6”, explosive high school senior who can jump out of the gym — but his right foot was noticeably turned out while walking.  His “gait” has been affected.

Often, this is simply an awareness issue and can be fixed by just noticing it.  But his issue has lingered.   He was walking like this more often and nearly always when he wasn’t paying attention.   at rest, while talking to friends, his default was standing with his right foot turned out.

This finding means something to those trained and committed enough to give a damn.   It’s a key finding as part of a solid performance assessment.

For elite athletes, small movement patterns like this can start a cascade of problems, from overpronation to energy leaks that rob vertical jump potential. While you can Google a million different answers, this is my kid and this type of performance zapper is what I care about.

I want to give him the same rehab protocol I’d deliver to a professional athlete, so I got a hold of one of my buddies, a genius athletic trainer with a lot of experience in this type of thing. Brett McQueen of Lightening Performance Solutions.  He took my ideas and improved them, helping create a modern twist on old school, slow acting rehab protocols and juicing it up for high end performance. 

Because if you don’t understand your own body’s mechanics, you’ll never fix the dysfunction.  Pain is not the issue. “I feel fine.” doesn’t really enter the equation.  It’s not an injury we’re dealing with – it’s about leaving athletic potential on the table, and I cant let that happen to my son.

❌ The Old-School Mistake: Stretch and Strengthen

Forget early-2000s rehab advice: you can’t just stretch tight muscles or crank out a few exercises and expect lasting results.

My son’s primary issue is decreased stability and a lack of control.  It’s about a faulty norm, and will manifest, especially during movement, leading to valgus (medial) collapse typically diagnosed as an overpronation, although I feel there is much more going on than a simple pronation issue. 

🔑 Key principle: If stability and connection (activation) is the problem, you must train stability and connection.  Strength won’t fix it.

We’ve all heard, “Put more tools in your toolbox,” at every rehab seminar on the planet but here’s the truth: it’s not just about having more tools, it’s about choosing the right one for the job. 

There’s a better tool available for this issue (as stability and control are not strength) and you need to know it exists if you want lasting results.

✅ Phase 1: The Bracing Sequence — Creating a New Default

Bracing sequence is typically used for posture and standing tall. However, we’re making a few critical modifications to dial it in specifically for foot and ankle control:

Start with your feet straight, about armpit-width apart. Every time you look down and notice your feet turned out, fix it immediately.

Every.

Single.

Time.

Until feet straight becomes your new default.   This isn’t 3×10 or some random set and reps.

This is probably  400-500x day.  You need to create a new normal.  Also, it’s not about feet, it’s about feeling it.

You need to be ON!  

Most people stand in what I call a flamingo stance.  All the weight is one one foot and your other is sort of hanging.  You are using your bones as a support structure and when you get tired you shift to the other leg.   That’s weak and unathletic. Get your muscles on board and create a better default structure.

Grip the ground.

Don’t grip down with your toes. Instead, grip with the sole of your foot, staying relaxed but almost as if you’re grabbing the earth with your entire foot surface. Your knees will naturally want to turn slightly outward as you should feel the entire lower kinetic chain — arches lift, calves, knees, hamstrings, and glutes turn on.

💡 Gripping the Earth to create a new default of standing is the primary problem we’re fixing.  It’s really a brain to body thing, not a “weakness” as we often put it in the rehab world.

While you’re here, you might as well finish the full bracing sequence, it only takes another half second and should become second nature, especially for a basketball player as a full bracing sequence should be done before every free throw:

Step 2: Pull your ribs down like you’re bracing for a punch. Step 3: Flatten and hang your shoulder blades down, as if performing a farmers carry or holding on to suitcases.

A full bracing sequence should take a millisecond – no one can see it – but you should feel it.  Powerful, athletic.  Bouncy and ready to explode.  That’s an elite athlete’s norm.

This bracing sequence isn’t about reps, it’s about creating a new default for how you stand, move, and prepare for explosive athletic actions.

🔄 Phase 2: Re-Grooving Better Movement Patterns

For explosive athletes, every time the heel lifts, the calcaneus should move slightly outward. Without this, the toes turn out, allowing the arch to collapse inward. (Heels Out, Not the Toes)

This is one of the first things I look at when I assess an athlete and how they move and run. Without proper ankle movement and the calcaneus grooving in an outward pattern, you are going to have all sorts of issues to contend with as you move up the chain.  Lets fix this!

🦵 Calf Raise Routine (think sets of 50+) remember it’s a pattern we’re working on – not reps, not strength.

Vary the positioning to mimic the demands of sports. Try reps with the Toes straight, toes pointed in, toes pointed out. Some with movement, like driving for a layup.

On every raise, the heel moves outward at the top. Precision is key — sloppy reps won’t fix faulty patterns.

🦵 Soleus Raises (again 50+):

Same calf raises only for the soleus, have your Knees bent just past 45°, still focusing on outward heel movement as you lift.

🦵 Posterior Tibialis Activation (50+):

Feet close together, with a ball squeezed between ankles for light inward pressure. This targets the posterior tibialis — crucial for arch control.

🦶 Phase 3: Arch and Toe Neuromuscular Re-Training

This bracing and then movement training is all about the arch and how the rest of the body follows.  So get good at this. 

Arch lifts:  Gain control of your arch by practicing! – 50+ per foot, lifting the arch without rolling the foot.  I cue clients, imagine a string is connecting your hand to your arch, pull it and LIFT only the arch.  You should have CONTROL of your arch.

Mastering movement and control is like anything else – it takes reps and patterning.  Get to work.

Big toe vs. four-toe drills:  Lift only the big toe, keeping the others down. Now reverse it: press the big toe down, lift the outer four toes.  This is probably tough for your brain -get better at it.  Alternate for controlled, independent movement. (this is tough!) 

These drills build neuromuscular control (think electrical system rather than muscle rehab) — the missing link between muscle and brain that most rehab skips. Without it, movement patterns can’t truly change.

🧘‍♂️ Phase 4: Balance & Hip Check

Balance:

Single-leg stance:  Balance for a breath or two. 

Now do it over and over again.  Wherever you are at – practice this, master this.  Do it standing but then start to build in different positions and angles, get sport specific, when will you need this?  Get good at that! 

Build to mastering balance and then challenge it. Play with eyes closed, tossing a ball off a wall or perturbation. 

Hip rotation assessment:  Just a clue from a couple guys that have worked with this a lot.  Especially check internal rotation, since the hips and ankles work symbiotically. Restrictions at the hip often mirror ankle dysfunction.

Seems like too much?   You can always skimp, but –

Don’t complain about the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t put in. 

At the start of this article I stated quite plainly, my kid gets pro level protocols.

 

⚙️ Quick Recap: The 5-Step Protocol

For clarity, here’s the action plan your athlete can follow daily:

1️⃣ Bracing sequence:

If classic rehab looks something like 3×10  – Bracing and gripping the ground do not.  The real goal is to live in this position. Make this the new NORMAL!

Every time you notice your foot turned out, fix it immediately.  Hundreds of reps.  Pay attention to how you stand and walk.

2️⃣ Better movement pattern training:

Calf raises  (toes straight, in, out), heels move outward at the top.

Soleus raises (knees bent 45°).

Posterior tibialis raises  (ball squeezed between ankles).      

           These are tons of reps guys – it’s patterning, not strength training.

3️⃣ Arch lifts & toe control drills:

Arch lifts.  

Big toe vs. four toes alternating (advanced neuromuscular training!)

4️⃣ Balance training:

Stand on one foot, hold for a breath or two.  Get good at this is all kinds of sports specific positions. Now Challenge it.

5️⃣ Hip rotation check:

Especially internal rotation. Your hips and ankles must move together.

If you don’t have 10-12 minutes to work on yourself, you simply wont get better.  

🔥 Why This Matters

These exercises aren’t about sets and reps, because its not a strength issue.

They’re about creating bulletproof stability, CONTROL and elite-level movement patterns.

When an athlete like my son rewires faulty patterns, they don’t just prevent injury, they gain explosiveness, reaction time, and stability. In basketball, a tenth of a second advantage equals nearly two feet of separation! That’s the difference between a blocked shot and an easy bucket.

This protocol is simple, effective, and takes CARING about it.   But it’s nearly always skipped for something more conventional like, even though it’s probably more effective for performance than anything in the weight room.

I’ll make this easy to understand.

There are simply some boring, repetitive things that professionals do that make them…not amateurs.

 “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” – Jerry Rice.

Don’t leave athletic potential on the table.

Train smarter, move better!