Strengthen Your Shins: Heel Walk Exercise for Stronger Ankles

The heel walk is not very popular amongst gym-goers, but adding it to your routine can have far-reaching benefits, including boosted lower leg development, peak upper leg contractions, and enhanced stability and balance.

As the name suggests, this exercise involves walking on the heels with the toes pointed toward the ceiling. Notably, the heel walk involves an exaggerated heel strike.

When I introduce this exercise to my personal training clients, some express concern about heel striking as it can lead to joint strain and injuries. However, heel striking isn’t as bad as some people make it out to be.

Heel walks can improve your posture, boost ankle and calf health, and stimulate lower body muscles, which can help with recovery.

How To Perform the Heel Walk

Here is how to perform the heel walk correctly:

Step One — Find Your Starting Position

Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart and toes pointed forward. Maintain the natural curvature of your spine. I recommend being barefoot for this exercise as it will allow you a greater dorsiflexion. Nonetheless, you can do this in shoes if you find walking on your bare heels on the floor uncomfortable.

Step Two — Elevate Your Toes

Brace your core and lift your toes off the floor and as high toward the shins as possible. Ideally, only your heels should be in contact with the floor, and the balls of your feet and midfoot should be clear of it.

Step Three — Walk

Contract your quads and anterior tibialis and begin walking by taking small steps forward. Actively drive your heels upward with each step.

Tips For Performing Heel Walks

Make the most of this exercise with the following tips:

• Lock your eyes on something a few feet in front of you to help with your balance.
• Keep your knees locked at a slight angle and avoid excessively bending your knees with each step.
• Use your arms to balance yourself during the exercise.
• Beginners should aim for 10-15 steps per leg. You could also perform this exercise for a set time.
• Look out for pronating ankles. It can be a sign of weak muscles or unstable joints. People who have difficulty heel walking should start with stationary dorsiflexions to build the necessary strength, stability, and balance.
• Heel walking can put a significant amount of stress on your knees. Stop the exercise immediately if you feel knee discomfort or pain.

Muscles Worked — Heel Walk

These are the muscles engaged during this exercise:

• Tibialis Anterior: This muscle is located at the front of your shin and plays a vital role in dorsiflexion, which involves pulling your toes upward. Heel walking primarily targets the tibialis anterior and helps build strength and improve flexibility.
• Calves: Since calves and tibialis anterior are antagonistic muscles, heel walking stretches the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus). Studies have shown that stretch training can help promote hypertrophy. (1)
• Quads: Your quads will kick in as you lift your toes and contract the tibialis anterior. They are also crucial for helping you maintain balance.
• Hamstrings: Hammies stabilize the ankle during the movement and help with control and balance.
• Core: The entire core musculature plays a supporting role in the heel walk exercise and helps keep your hips stable.

Benefits of Heel Walking

Adding heel walking to your exercise regime has the following advantages:

Improved Posture and Better Balance

Walking on your heels will force you to maintain a good posture or you risk losing your balance. Keep your chest proud, scapula retracted and hips pushed forward during this exercise. It also engages your core muscles, which can translate to a better overall posture.

The feet are our foundation, and stable feet mean a stable body. Heel walking fires up every muscle in your foot, promoting strength and coordination.

Strong Calves and Ankles

As soon as you lift your toes off the floor, you will feel a peak contraction in the anterior tibialis and a deep stretch in the calf muscles. Heel walking can strengthen the lower leg muscles, lead to healthy ankles, and reduce injury risk.

Injury Prevention

Heel walking can result in stronger ankles and improved foot alignment and balance, which can all contribute to a lower risk of injuries like ankle sprains and overuse injuries like shin splits. Some people also report that heel walking has helped improve their lower back pains.

That said, if you are dealing with pre-existing health conditions, you must consult a healthcare provider before starting a new exercise regimen.

Versatility

One of the best things about heel walking is that it is suitable for people of all experience levels. This low-impact exercise can be adapted to different training programs. Plus, since it requires no equipment, it can be done anywhere at any time.

Heel walking can also improve your foot health by promoting arch support due to the dorsiflexed position. It can also ease plantar fasciitis pain by stretching tight calf muscles.

Programming Heel Walks into Your Routine

This is how you can integrate this movement into your fitness program:

Recommendations for Beginners

If you’ve never done heel walking before, this is how you should incorporate it into your workouts:

• Start Small: Begin with two to three sets of 10-15 steps per side. Perform this three to four times weekly.
• Form is King: Each step you take, ensure that you are using the textbook form. Feel free to reset your position if you notice your form slipping. If you’re facing difficulties, hold onto a walk for balance.
• Listen To Your Body: It is normal to experience soreness in the shins initially. However, if you feel a sharp, stabbing pain in the tibialis anterior, you should discontinue the exercise and seek medical attention.

Progression

As you gain more experience, make the most of this exercise using the following tips:

Increase the Number of Sets and Reps

Gradually increase the steps per set and training frequency to make the workout more challenging. You can go as high as 20 reps per leg for three to four sets per training session.

Add Weights

You will eventually be able to walk the 20 recommended steps in a breeze. At this point, you should increase the difficulty and hold onto dumbbells, kettlebells, or weight plates for an added challenge. Alternatively, you can also try walking up a slight incline.

Superset

This is how I integrate this exercise into my resistance training workouts. I superset squats and calf raises with heel walking to maximize target muscle stimulation and bias hypertrophy.

Warm-Ups and Recovery

Heel walks are an excellent exercise to warm up your lower body for a run. It can help prep your ankles and lower legs for a sprint or long-distance run. Furthermore, you can also perform this exercise on your rest days to boost recovery.

Who Can Benefit From Heel Walking

The following people should make this exercise a priority:

• People with a Poor Posture: Heel walking can help re-center your weight, which can help improve your posture and boost your overall balance. This is a must for people who spend most of their days on their computers.
• Athletes: Strong calves and ankles are essential for athletes engaged in physically intensive sports. Plus, heel walking promotes lower body mobility, which can lower the risk of injuries.
• Seniors: Maintaining balance can become more challenging with age. Sticking to heel walking can help sustain balance, reducing the risk of falls, which is a major concern for this population.
• Those with Foot and Ankle Issues: Heel walks are an excellent exercise for promoting overall foot and ankle health. Furthermore, it can help with plantar fasciitis pain and ankle sprains.

Variations — Heel Walk

Here are a few variations that you can add to your arsenal to get even more benefits from this exercise:

Toe Raises

Perform this variation after you’ve mastered the conventional heel walk. This involves the same form as the standard heel walk. However, you must raise the toes toward the shin with each step to maximize muscle stimulation.

Backward Heel Walk

Although a backward heel walk might sound straightforward, it is trickier than the conventional exercise, and it will test your balance. Take smaller steps and focus on maintaining your balance and curling your toes as high as possible.

Weighted and Incline Heel Walks

As discussed above, you can make this exercise more challenging by walking while holding onto dumbbells or pacing up or down a hill. The added stress can translate to extra strength and muscle gains.

Conclusion

The heel walk is a straightforward exercise that packs a serious punch. It targets the often-neglected muscles, which can boost your overall fitness levels. Perform this exercise at least once weekly to get the best bang for your buck.

If you have any questions about heel walks, drop them in the comments below, and I’ll be happy to help!

References

1. Nunes, J. P., Schoenfeld, B. J., Nakamura, M., Ribeiro, A. S., Cunha, P. M., & Cyrino, E. S. (2020). Does stretch training induce muscle hypertrophy in humans? A review of the literature. Clinical physiology and functional imaging, 40(3), 148–156. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpf.12622

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