Everyone talks about glutes—“activate your glutes!”, “turn on your glutes!”, “glute bridges for glutes!”—but rarely do we drill into one foundational element that underlies it all: your connection to the ground. Specifically, how your big toe interacts with the floor. The reel points out that your “big toe’s ability to properly connect with the ground is probably the single most underrated element of glute activation.”
Why the Big Toe Matters (Especially for the 40+ Busy Adult)
Ground contact = structural stability. If your big toe isn’t firmly engaged, your foot can collapse, your arch can lose integrity, and your lower chain (ankle → knee → hip) can go out of alignment. That weakens glute activity.
Glutes don’t fire in isolation. They’re part of a kinetic chain. If your foot isn’t “seated” properly on the ground, your hips won’t get the stable “platform” they need to push from.
Aging brings foot/ankle changes. For your target market (40+, mobility & recovery focused), foot stiffness, diminished proprioception, and reduced mobility can all impair this connection. So this “toe-floor link” becomes even more important.
Function over aesthetics. It’s not about bigger glutes—it’s about glutes that work: enabling you to stand, push, hike trails, pick up kids, avoid injury. That starts from the ground up.
How to Train This Connection Today
Here’s a simple sequence you can incorporate or suggest in your studio:
Barefoot big-toe press hold
Stand with feet hip-width. Press your big toes into the ground, lifting just slightly through the ball of foot/arch (don’t over-lift heel). Hold 10–15 s × 3 sets.
Focus: Feel the ground under your big toe root. Notice what changes when you shift or let it collapse.
Glute activation with grounded toe
Choose a glute bridge or hip hinge variation. Before you start the movement, cue: “Big toe → ground. Feel it.”
Perform 8–12 reps, 2-3 sets. After each set ask: “Did I feel the glute fire differently when the big toe was pushed into the ground?”
Functional movement carry-forward
Squat, lunge, deadlift. At setup, consciously engage the big toe on the one side you’re training (even in a bilateral movement).
Practice for 1-2 weeks until it’s automatic.
Foot mobility check
Ankle dorsiflexion + big toe extension: kneel near wall, big toe against wall, press knee toward wall until you feel stretch. Do 30-60 s each side.
Why? If big toe extension is limited, your ground link is compromised.
Final Word
At Results Based Coaching—where mobility, function, and long-term vitality are core—this kind of detail matters. It’s the difference between training that looks good and training that works well.
So next time you cue glute activation, don’t just say “glute squeeze.” Cue the big toe. Cue the ground. Because your body doesn’t activate upward—it activates from the floor up.
