Tag Archives: foot schmear

The Ball Fucking Harder Challenge

I am really excited by how the #stretchfuckingharder challenge went last month.  So many people played along and posted pictures.  Even more people told me that they loved the stretches and did them and had their friends and clients doing them too.  Before I lose momentum, I am issuing another challenge: The #ballfuckingharder challenge. For the next 30 days I will be posting a new myofascial release/ball rolling technique each day.

If you want to play along I recommend getting some Yoga Tune Up® balls to roll on.  The large majority of the techniques I’m going to show will utilize the Classic, Alpha and Coregeous ytuballs but I will also show some techniques using other props as well.  The Yoga Tune Up® balls are soft, grippy, pliable and affordable.  Unlike lacrosse and tennis balls, ytuballs are designed for self massage and will greatly increase the effectiveness of the techniques.


Day 1 of 30.  The Foot Schmear.  We are on our feet constantly and, if you are an athlete, you are running, jumping, kicking, squatting and generally applying high amounts of force through your feet.  Additionally, wearing shoes all days pretty much laminates your soft tissues into a tight mess.  The Foot Schmear will unglue your feet and make you feel refreshed and relaxed like a good foot massage.  As a bonus it will also improve your flexibility.

Check in/Check out: Bend down and try to touch your toes with straight legs.  Notice how far you get and notice how tight your hamstrings feel.  You should feel looser in your hamstrings and be able to stretch farther after rolling your feet.

The technique:  Place a Classic Yoga Tune Up® ball under the sole of your foot.  Step on it like you want to flatten it and then drag your foot slowly from side to side.  You want to imagine you are schmearing cold cream cheese on a bagel with your foot.  A new ytuball will be a little stiff, but after doing this technique a few times, you will break-in your balls and they will get nice and soft.  Inhale as you press down on the ball and schmear as you exhale.  You want to do this for 2 minutes on each foot and try to get every inch of the sole of your foot.

Day 1 of 30. The Foot Schmear from Force Distance Time on Vimeo.