How to Use BlackBoard ToeBands

Take a moment to examine your fingers. They are strong, flexible, and have good motor coordination—similar in many ways to the toes. Of course, fingers and toes are not the same thing, but imagine what it would be like if you put your hands in boxing gloves all day long and couldn’t use your fingers to grip, type, write, or play music or sports. It would be strange, right? Well, that’s what we do with our feet every day when wearing conventional footwear, and the numerous muscles and ligaments that support our feet lose their full potential over time as a result. Thankfully, BlackBoard ToeBands allow you to strengthen your individual toes and improve the overall function of your foot. You can also use ToeBands for your BlackBoard Basic exercises to strengthen and mobilize your feet in a more targeted manner.

This blog post walks you through how to get the most out of your BlackBoard ToeBands, and it includes a number of video demonstrations showing the key exercises you can perform to build stronger, more resilient feet.

BlackBoard ToeBand Training Goals

BlackBoard ToeBands are the first tensile strength bands specifically designed and developed for the purposes of building lasting foot strength and robustness. These durable and comfortable bands allow you to isolate the specific parts of your feet that require the most attention in order to realize optimal foot health. Some additional goals you can use this simple and effective foot training tool to achieve include the following:

• Increasing foot adaptability
• Enhancing foot function and gait
• Strengthening key neural pathways
• Improving foot and toe joint mobility
• Activating and stabilizing key lower leg structures
• Enhancing athletic performance and rehabilitating feet

Now that you have a sense of what’s possible with the use of BlackBoard ToeBands, let’s take a closer look at the specific exercises you can perform to achieve these goals and build a sturdier foot. These exercises are all quick and easy to perform, and they have been helpful for a wide range of individuals seeking to build a solid foot foundation and improve the musculoskeletal function of their feet and lower body.

Seven Key Exercises for Long-Term Success

What appears below are the seven basic exercises that constitute the core BlackBoard ToeBands training routine. The manufacturer of ToeBands recommends that you perform these exercises daily (or up to several times daily) for optimal results. The overall aim of these potent foot-building exercises is to safeguard your feet from problems related to functional foot deficits (i.e., to build the most robust foot possible). In addition to the videos depicting each of these exercises, you’ll find below some additional tips and pointers on how to perform them successfully. We suggest watching the videos (ideally, several times) before performing the exercises to ensure that you conduct them as intended.

In terms of duration and reps, the manufacturer recommends the following for each of these exercises:

• 20-40 seconds
• 3-5 repetitions on each side

Every set of BlackBoard ToeBands comes with a detailed user’s manual that includes descriptions of and QR codes for all the exercises that appear below, as well as visual depictions of how to don the bands for each individual exercise.

Note: All exercises demonstrated below require basic body awareness and foot coordination. Also, mobilizing and strengthening individual parts of the body, including the foot, is not a competition and must be carried out slowly and with persistence. Most people who adopt and use ToeBands begin to notice at least some improvement in foot function after just a few workout sessions, with additional gains occurring over subsequent weeks and months.

Exercise 1: Active Big Toe Flexion

Depending on the intensity needed, choose the green or pink ToeBand for this exercise and secure it around your ankle and big toe as shown in the video. Bring your feet into a slight stepping stance, placing the foot with the band in front of you. Actively move your big toe toward your shin, making sure to pull it up in as straight a fashion as possible. Then slowly move your big toe back against the resistance to its original position on the floor or ground. Consider bringing your knee slightly forward, over your foot, to simulate a weight increase. The goal of this exercise is to activate the big toe only, so try to relax your other toes as much as possible.

Note: Beginners may opt to use the pink band for this exercise and then, after building up some big toe strength, graduate to the green band.

Exercise 2: Active Pinky Toe Flexion

Again, depending on the intensity needed, select the pink or green ToeBand for this exercise. Stretch the band around your ankle and pinky toe as shown in the video, making sure that the band is as flat as possible and does not twist too much. Bring your feet into a slight stepping stance, placing the foot with the band in front of you. Actively pull your little toe up toward your shin, and then push it back against the resistance. Your foot should be loaded and extended along its outer edge, to the small toe. Consider moving your knee slightly forward over your foot to help simulate additional weight on that foot. The goal of this exercise is to isolate the little toe as much as possible during activation.

Exercise 3: Active Big Toe Flexion & Abduction

For this exercise, place the ToeBand of your choosing (green for a tougher workout, pink for a lighter workout) around your big toe and pull it across the top of your foot to the outside of your ankle, using your heel as an anchor point. The band should lie as flat as possible in order to avoid twisting. Now, bring your feet into a slight stepping stance, placing the foot with the band in front of you. Just as with exercise No. 1, for this exercise, pull your big toe up in as straight a fashion as possible toward your shin and then press it back down against the resistance. If you bring your knee slightly forward during this exercise, you will simulate a weight increase on your foot.

Note: Beginners may opt to use the pink band for this exercise and then, after building up some big toe strength, graduate to the green band.

Exercise 4: Active Pinky Toe Flexion & Abduction

Place the pink ToeBand around your pinky toe and pull it across the top of your foot to your inner ankle, using your heel as an anchor point. Again, make sure that the band is as flat as possible and does not twist too much. Bring your feet into a slight stepping stance, placing the foot with the band in front of you. Actively move your little toe up toward your shin while letting your big toe relax on the floor or ground. Once you reach the top of this movement, press your pinky toe against the resistance of the ToeBand, lowering your little toe back to its original position. As with the other exercises mentioned here, if you bring your knee slightly forward during this exercise, you will simulate a weight increase on your foot.

Exercise 5: The Functional “V” Foot

Place the green ToeBand around your big toe and pull it across the top of your foot to your outer ankle, using your heel as an anchor point. Now, place the pink ToeBand around your pinky toe and pull it across the top of your foot to your inner ankle, where your heel also acts as an anchor point. The two bands should be as flat as possible and not twisted. If you look at the ToeBands from above, they should form a clear “V” pattern. Bring your feet into a slight stepping stance, placing the foot with the bands in front of you. Actively move both your big toe and your little toe toward your shin, and then press them back toward the floor in a controlled manner. Try to spread your toes as much as possible when pushing against the resistance of the bands.

Exercise 6: Passive Big Toe Abduction & Extension

Wrap the green ToeBand around your two big toes and position your feet about hip-width apart, so that the ToeBand is comfortably pulling your two big toes toward each other. Spread your weight evenly between both feet as well as between your forefeet and heels. Try alternately raising your forefeet and heels during this exercise. Start small and increase your rocking motion when you feel secure. Perform the rocking motion slowly and in a controlled manner. If you feel unstable, please use a wall for support. Important Note: Apart from the gentle rocking motion, this is a passive exercise, meaning that you are trying to stretch, or lengthen out, the adductor hallucis muscle, not strengthen it by actively resisting the pull of the ToeBand. Just simply feel the stretch that’s occurring on the inside aspect of your big toe (on each foot) and follow it to a point of comfort. You want to feel a gentle stretch, not a strain, in this part of your big toe.

Exercise 7: Active Big Toe Abduction

Wrap the pink ToeBand around your big toe and pull it under your other four toes, so that these toes are lying flat on the ToeBand. Secure the end of the ToeBand that’s sticking out to the side under a heavy object, such as a thick book or a kettlebell. Bring your feet into a slight stepping stance, placing the foot with the band in front of you. Bend your knee slightly over your ankle and distribute your weight evenly over your entire foot. Now, move your big toe away from your other toes, out toward your other foot. Your other four toes should remain as relaxed as possible. Then bring your big toe back to its original position in a slow and controlled manner. The goal of this exercise is to actively strengthen your abductor hallucis muscle—the muscle responsible for aligning your big toe with its corresponding metatarsal bone.

How to Use BlackBoard ToeBand Anchor Straps

Each set of BlackBoard ToeBands comes with two anchor straps that you can use to dial in the placement of the bands on your toes. The anchor straps also help keep the bands rooted in place during any toe exercises you perform. The video above shows you how to set up the anchors, while the videos below demonstrate how to perform many of the core BlackBoard ToeBands training exercises with the anchor straps deployed.

BlackBoard ToeBands: A Formidable Way to Cultivate Foot Health

BlackBoard ToeBands provide you with an excellent opportunity to enhance your foot form and function through natural means and methods, improve the strength and performance of key foot and lower leg structures, and take back control of your long-term musculoskeletal well-being. Indeed, ToeBands are helpful not just for foot rehabilitation, but also foot prehabilitation—the process of improving the functional capabilities of the foot in order to thwart potential problems before they arise. The greatest gift of a more sturdy and dependable foot, then, is the degree of confidence it confers to you, the recipient, who can now move forward in life with the most stable possible foundation upon which to operate. Join the many foot health enthusiasts who are using BlackBoard ToeBands to build stronger, healthier feet!

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