The Xero Blog

You can train your legs, lungs, and core for the mountains and still get sidelined by the one system that actually touches the ground: your feet and ankles. In this guide, NASM-certified personal trainer and Xero Shoes partner Mikey Bell from Outdoor Adventure Training shares why foot and ankle health matters so much to your longevity as a hiker, then walks you through 3 at-home tests and a simple framework for building the ankle mobility, stability, and load capacity that the trail demands. Why Feet and Ankles Matter on the Trail Most of us can get away with weak ankles in daily life. Cushioned shoes, flat, predictable pavement, sidewalks and office floors. There's no stimulus to respond to, no obstacles, and no brain-body connection being built. Each foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments. All of it has to articulate and stabilize to move over uneven terrain. When those structures are undertrained, the load shifts up the chain to your knees, hips, and lower back. The good news: with the right approach, most of this is trainable. What Changes in Barefoot Trail Shoes Most of us have spent our lives in traditional footwear. Moving toward a barefoot shoe changes a few things at once. You get feedback again. Cushion lifts you off the ground. At the extreme, imagine walking on stilts: you lose proprioception, balance suffers, and you have no sense of what is underneath you. When you switch to a barefoot shoes,  your foot is finally feels sensory information again. Your foot gets to be foot-shaped. Toes are meant to spread when you load them, and that splay is a large part of your balance. Most shoes, hiking ones included, taper to a point and squeeze the toes together. Match the shoe to the shape of your foot, not your foot to the shape of the shoe. Your calves are going to work harder. Most street and workout shoes lift the heel, which shortens the calves and Achilles. If you've spent decades in a heel-lifted shoe, this adaptation isn't going to happen overnight. A gradual approach starts with addressing your weak link. Start by Finding Your Weak Link Before changing anything, find out where you stand. These 3 tests take about 15 minutes. Do them barefoot and cold, with no warm-up or rolling first, so you're seeing a true baseline. Log your results. Download and print our free Mountain Ankles Score Sheet before you start. It has the benchmark for each test and scores you at the end, so you'll know which one is your weak link. Follow along. Mikey walks through all 3 tests, start to finish. Test 1: Knee-to-Wall What it measures: ankle mobility. How to: Run a strip of tape out from the base of a wall and mark it at 1-inch intervals out to 6 inches. Half-kneel facing the wall, front foot flat on the tape, back knee down. Drive your front knee forward to touch the wall without your heel lifting. Move your foot back inch by inch. The farthest distance where your knee still touches with the heel grounded is your score. Coach's cue: your knee tracks straight over your 2nd and 3rd toe. Don't let it cave in or flare out. Log: left, right, and the difference. Test 2: Single-Leg Balance What it measures: stability and proprioception. How to: Stand on one foot, hands on hips, eyes open, and time how long you hold it. Then close your eyes, which is where most people find their limit. Run both legs, eyes open and eyes closed. Coach's cue: hands stay on your hips. The control should be coming from your foot and ankle. Log: 4 numbers, left and right, eyes open and eyes closed. Test 3: Single-Leg Heel Raise What it measures: calf capacity and endurance. How to: Stand on one leg. Rest your fingertips on a wall for balance only, and don't push through them. Rise as high as you can onto the ball of your foot, then lower slowly, under control. That's one rep. Go to failure, meaning the point where you can't hit full height with control. Count only clean, full-height reps. Coach's cue: slow and controlled, no bouncing. When your height starts dropping, you're done. Log: left and right. Now tally it up. Your Mountain Ankles Score Sheet turns those numbers into a score and points you at the weak link to work on first. What Builds Healthy Feet and Ankles Order matters. First you learn a new range of motion, then you learn to control that range, and only then do you add load to it. Jumping ahead without a stable foundation is usually where injuries happen. Mobility. Good ankle range of motion is crucial for the trail. It's what lets your knee travel forward over a planted foot on a climb, and what lets the feet and ankles absorb and articulate on the way down. It isn't the fix; it's a gateway that allows for meaningful work to happen. Stability. Stability is control. It's how well you can hold and articulate the ankle through the range you have, and it's what keeps you upright when the ground moves under you. Load capacity. What makes the mobility and stability hold up over a long day. Hiking alone probably isn't going to cut it. This needs to be intentional, focused work. Consistency. None of this works as an occasional big effort. Short and regular beats long and sporadic. The 15-minute version: a full follow-along session to build mountain ankles. Footwear "What shoes should I wear?" is one of the most frequent questions we get from our training community, and the honest answer is that it depends. On your goals, your training history, and what you've had on your feet for most of your life. If you're curious about barefoot shoes, this is a great place to start. Barefoot trail shoes offer real advantages to let feet move naturally, combining ground feel and proprioception. What to look for: Toe room so the foot can splay under load Flexibility so the sole bends with the foot instead of forcing it into one shape Ground feel so you can react to what's underneath you Secure fit with the heel locked and the toes still free Traction that grips on loose dirt and wet rock Enough protection for the terrain you're on. Match the footwear to the adventure Meet the Mesa Summit Speaking of protection, the most common tradeoff with barefoot trail shoes is too little protection: feeling every rock and root underfoot. That’s where Mesa Summit provides protection where it matters and freedom where it counts. A new ESS rock guard, the first from the brand, is embedded in high-impact zones and helps shield feet from rocks and roots without stiffening the ride. The updated abrasion- and debris-resistant polyester mesh upper, reinforced with a 3D-printed overlay, adds durability without compromising flexibility or lightweight comfort. For wet conditions, the Mesa Summit WP retains breathability with waterproof protection.  Start from the Ground Up Range you can't load isn't going to hold, and load without range just reinforces a bad position. You need all of it working together. Watch the Mountain Ankles series, run the 3 at-home tests, and start with whichever came back weakest. If you're moving toward a more barefoot-inspired shoe, explore the Mesa Summit as part of a gradual, trail-ready approach. The Mesa Summit combines the protection you need on technical terrain with the natural feel, flexibility, and ground connection that define our barefoot experience. These upgrades improve Xero Shoes’ popular Mesa Trail franchise. About the Expert With over a decade of experience as a NASM-certified personal trainer and professional mountain guide, Mikey blends his fitness expertise with firsthand knowledge from the field. As a Xero Shoes partner, Mikey advocates for barefoot-inspired footwear in the gym and on trail. Connect with Mikey: Website | YouTube | Instagram FAQ What do hikers usually misunderstand about foot and ankle preparation? That hiking is the training. Miles maintain what you have. They don't build what's missing. What are the top 3 movement checks before switching to barefoot trail shoes? Knee-to-wall, single-leg balance drills, and single-leg heel raises. What does ankle mobility actually change on climbs and descents? Climbing and descending both need the knee to travel forward over a planted foot. Without that range, the body will compensate. What's the difference between ankle stability and simply having "good balance"? Balance is a snapshot of one moment. Stability is whether you can control the joint through its range, under load, when the ground moves. What are the most useful exercises for uneven or technical terrain? Single-leg work of almost any kind, banded work, and controlled single-leg landings. How should someone new to barefoot shoes approach their first month? Think of it as the start of a long process rather than a one-month project. Start out with short, flat walks on easy ground, then gradually let volume build from there. How do footwear, training, and consistency work together? Your footwear is how you interact with the ground on every step. But the work that changes things happens when you're out of the shoes: the mobility, the recovery, the loading. Footwear helps the process along. Consistency is what makes it stick. What's one drill you'd give almost every hiker? Single-leg balance. On trail you're on one leg at a time. Getting comfortable there is what sets up every unilateral exercise after it, and that's the foundation of hiking. Stability first, always.  

Court sports are won from the ground up. Whether you play pickleball, tennis, racquetball, or padel, your feet are constantly reading the court, helping you stop, shuffle, pivot, reset, and react. That’s why we work with pro pickleball trainer and Xero Shoes partner Connor Derrickson to share how he trains players to build better movement from the feet up and what to look for in footwear built for the demands of the court. Connor wears Xero Shoes extensively on the court, and he’s also trained top pickleball pros, like Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin, and amateurs alike to move with more control, confidence, and efficiency on the court.  If you’re a pickleball, tennis, racquetball, padel, or other court-sport player who wants to feel more connected to the court and build better footwork from the ground up, read on to learn more. In This Guide: Why court sports start at your feet Barefoot court shoes vs. traditional court shoes What to look for in a court shoe Q&A with pickleball trainer Connor Derrickson How to transition to barefoot court shoes Meet the Xero Shoes 360 Rally Your Feet Are the Foundation In Court Sports Court sports aren’t linear. Unlike running or walking, which usually move you forward in one plane, court sports rely on dynamic movement. Sure you’re running on the court, but you’re shuffling side to side, running to the net, stopping quickly, backing up, all which require repeated direction changes. That constant change of direction starts at your feet. The more connected you are to the court, the more information your body has to work with as you move, reset, and react. Running shoes are usually built for forward movement and have added cushioning to support repetitive similar movement. A good court shoe should support lateral movement, secure foot placement, grip, and quick ground feedback. When you can't feel the surface you're on, or how you're contacting it (the angle, the speed, etc.), your muscles, ligaments, tendons, joints, aren't getting the information they need for more responsive movement in time. Barefoot Court Shoes vs Traditional Court Shoes Difference Traditional Court Shoes  Barefoot Court Shoes Stack Height Raises the center of gravity and often places more material between you and the court. Low-to-the-ground design helps you feel more connected to the surface beneath you. Cushioning More cushioning creates separation between your foot and the court, which  may reduce some ground feedback. A thin and flexible sole with minimal cushioning helps preserve court feel.   Drop An elevated heel can subtly shift how your body moves from the ground up. Zero-drop design keeps your heel and forefoot level, encouraging a more natural stance. Toe Box A narrower toe box may limit how much your toes can spread. A wide, foot-shaped toe box gives your toes room to spread and contribute to balance. What To Look for in a Court Shoe Pickleball has been exploding around the globe and footwork is an important part of the sport. Good footwork starts with your shoes. The way you move on the court starts with how your feet connect to the ground. For court-specific movement: Heel lockdown and secure midfoot fit to support sharp cuts Grippy outsole for quick stops and starts Durable sidewall and toe protection  For barefoot court feel and natural movement: Low-to-the-ground zero-drop design to stay connected to the court Wide, foot-shaped toe box to power through your toes You want a court shoe that’s built for lateral movement, fast reactions, and controlled resets. Traditional shoes can dull sensory feedback. That’s why barefoot fundamentals are another key part to rebuild your connection to the ground.  Xero Shoes 360 Rally was designed specifically for the court, with a tailored fit, heel lockdown, and durable outsole to keep up with the demands on the court.   Q&A with Expert Trainer: Training for Better Court Movement Connor helped us answer some frequently asked questions about training in barefoot court shoes.   What is the benefit of training in a barefoot court shoe? The ability to feel the ground is especially important when we’re moving and making cuts. My favorite part of Xero Shoes is the minimal stack height to feel the ground while you play. It feels like the shoe is part of your body, and for the dynamic movement needed in pickleball, that connection is huge.   What do players often misunderstand about cushioning and stability? I used to think that I needed as much cushion as possible under my feet. The more cushion, the better my joints and back would feel. I was wrong. What I needed to do was actually strengthen my feet and ankles so that I can withstand the demands of pickleball. If players focus on strengthening the lower leg first, then they can have more freedom on the court. Why does ground feel matter during quick cuts or direction changes? Your feet are basically your steering wheel, and you can't steer what you can't feel. Every time you split-step, plant, and explode in a new direction, your foot is sending a flood of information up to your brain: like weight distribution, how the court's gripping, whether you're balanced or about to trip and fall. The better that signal is, the faster and more precisely you react. When standing on an inch of foam, that feedback gets muffled, you could end up a half-beat late and a little off-balance. Sometimes, that can cost you a whole point. Ground feel turns your foot into a sensor for all of this information. What are the most common movement mistakes you see in amateur pickleball players? First, no split-step. They're flat-footed and stationary when the ball's struck, so they're already late before they move.  Second, they reach instead of step. They plant their feet and lunge their paddle at the ball instead of taking two quick adjustment steps to get behind it, and now they're hitting off-balance with no power. Third, they cross their feet on lateral movement instead of shuffling, which kills their recovery and leaves the court wide open. These are the three big ones I see every single time. The theme here is that most amateurs train their hands and completely ignore their feet and footwork. At every level I've coached, from rec players to pros like Anna Bright, footwork is what separates clean shots from scramble shots. Anna always says her goal every match is “no footwork errors”. Meaning no missed shots due to footwork. What’s one thing you wish every player understood about footwork? That footwork happens before the ball, not after. Most players think footwork is how you chase a ball down; it's actually how you're already in position when it arrives. Some of the best movers aren't the fastest, they're prepped early. They split-step on time, make fluid movements, and recover to ready position before the next ball comes. If you're constantly lunging and reaching, that's not a speed problem, it's a timing problem. Get your feet set early and the game slows way down. Then you've got time, balance, and options on every shot. Transitioning to Barefoot Court Shoes Consistency beats intensity. You don’t need to change everything overnight. Transitioning to barefoot shoes on the court will look different for everyone. Start with short training sessions, practice the fundamentals, and let your body give you feedback. Court sports are fast and reactive, so give yourself time to build confidence before jumping into long, high-intensity play. Connor developed a court-specific workout plan below, designed to activate from the ground up. Helpful tips to get started in barefoot court shoes: Start with the workouts below before going on the court.  Work through phase 1 before progressing to the next phase. When you feel ready to hit the court, start with training sessions, not full games. Wear barefoot shoes for short durations first. Use removable insoles if you want a step-down approach. Pay attention to how your body responds. If you experience any tightness in your calves, try a standard stretch by dropping your heels off the edge of a step or curb. Expert-Recommended “Train to Court” Workout Once you understand why court movement starts at your feet, the next step is putting that awareness into practice. Connor created a simple three-phase workout to help players build better foot awareness, lateral control, and quicker court reaction — starting with foundational drills and progressing into more game-like movement. Connor’s Train to Court workout is broken into three phases: Regain foot awareness and mobilitySimple balance and mobility drills to reconnect with the ground. Build court-ready control and powerStrength-based movements that mimic side-to-side court demands. Improve speed and court reactionFaster drills that help you practice quick transitions, acceleration, and deceleration. Read next: Connor's Train to Court Workout: 3 Phases for Better Court Movement  Want to take the workout with you on the go?  Download the free PDF Watch the videos for a step-by-step guide. Subscribe to the YouTube Playlist   Meet the 360 Rally Xero Shoes 360 Rally was designed for players who want the natural movement benefits Xero Shoes are known for, with court-specific features for lateral movement, quick stops, and secure foot placement. Xero Shoes product team isn’t just made up of footwear experts, they’re pickleball players, too. That’s why they spent a lot of time dialing in a shoe that lets your feet move naturally while staying stable when the pace picks up. Our Design Director Kristina Funck says, “We spent a lot of time on the internal gusset system that cups your foot to make sure you’re super stable. The 360 Rally gives you stability, power and confidence to be surefooted on the court. Our Chief Product Officer, Michael Pao says, “We’re taking what our shoe is great at  – natural movement and court feel – and enhancing it with our minimal to the max philosophy. Minimal ingredients for maximal performance.” About the Expert: Connor Derrickson is a trainer to top pickleball pros like Anna Bright and Hayden Patriquin as well as amateurs, helping players train better footwork, court movement, and body control. As a Xero Shoes partner, Connor has extensively tested the 360 Rally and worked together to develop the workout plan.  Connect with Connor: Instagram | YouTube | LinkedIn The content of this post is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition. 

You’ve probably heard of (or tried) doing planks for time as a way to test your core strength and stability.  But did you know that your feet have a "core"? You can actually train your foot core to help prevent running-related injuries according to a study by Dr. Sacco. In the book Born to Run 2: The Ultimate Training Guide, authors Christopher McDougall and Eric Orton place a high priority on what they call “foot core” training. Here’s how you can test your "foot core" strength.  ONE-LEGGED BAREFOOT BALANCE TEST Balance on one foot, on your forefoot, on a hard surface with the heel a little elevated so you feel nice and strong at the arch.  Use a wall or chair or partner to help you stabilize when needed.  Note: This isn’t a calf raise exercise, with up and down movement with the foot. There’s no movement, just stabilizing. Do this for 30–90 seconds per foot, or until you fatigue. It seems simple, balancing on one foot. But that's the key to getting the stabilizer muscles and tendons in your feet activated.   What are some other ways to unlock your foot's natural strength? Wear Xero Shoes Walking in minimalist shoes, like Xero Shoes, could be effective for strengthening foot muscles according to Dr. Ridge’s research showing how walking in minimalist shoes built foot strength as much as doing an 8-week foot strengthening exercise program.   Add a challenge Mastered the standard one-legged balance? Now try to balance while closing your eyes. Or stand on a log, yoga block, or any other raised surface. Keep practicing One-legged balancing is both a test and a zero-impact exercise that you can do pretty much every day. Long video meeting? Stand up, adjust your camera and balance on one foot. No one will even notice.  Time yourself and see if you can beat your previous record.