The Ultimate Guide to Mastering the One Foot Shoe Tie Movement Challenge

Click HERE to submit your movement challenge…

Why is this movement SO important?

Balance is more important than you think. Consider these statistics…

• The #1 reason for emergency room admissions for people over the age of 49 is falling.
• The #1 cause of concussions in the US is a fall
• If you do not have the mobility, strength, and balance required to complete this movement, as you age, you are much more likely to struggle with…
• Playing with your kids and grandkids
• Maintaining your independence
• Shoveling your own snow
• Cleaning the baseboards in your house
• Taking decorations out of the attic
• Any daily activities that require bending, crouching, squatting and lifting  
• Gardening
• Picking up your dogs toys
• Putting on your socks and shoes

Who does this movement challenge apply to?

• Anyone at any age that wants to live a long and healthy life.
• Anyone worried about having a fall at home due to poor balance.
• Most applicable to those 40 and over who have cut high and low-level activities out of their lives like recreational sports, exercising, or just normal stuff like going up and down ladders.

What will I learn if I keep reading?

Everything you need to know to complete this challenge safely and without pain so that you can set yourself up for a long and healthy life.

What is a movement challenge (and why does it matter)?

A movement challenge is a test. Remember back to your school days? You were given tests to prove that you had the skills necessary to move on to the next unit, class, grade, etc. Well, this is kind of the same thing. It’s a test to show you have the Mobility, Strength, and Balance to do all the activities you want to do, and maybe more importantly, the activities you used to do but because of pain or some other reason you stopped doing.

Terms to Know

There are a TON of definitions for these terms that a simple google search will drown you in. For our purposes, I will make them as simple as possible…

Mobility: The ability of the entire body or part of the body to move.

Strength: The amount of force a group of muscles can produce. The more force you can produce the stronger muscles are.

Balance: Your ability to not fall over.

How to do this challenge…
Stand with feet shoulder width apart.

• Raise your right foot up to your hands.
• Untie your shoe and remove it from your foot.
• Put your shoe back on and re-tie it.
• Return your right foot to the floor.
• Follow the same steps with your left foot.

What does success look like?

Successful completion of this movement challenge happens when you can do this movement with….

1. No pain
2. Maintaining your balance, meaning, you don’t fall over and you don’t have put the foot of the shoe you are taking off back down on the ground.

What does failing look like?

You have failed this challenge if you…

1. Had pain in any part of your body during the movement.
2. Could not get through the entire movement from start to finish.
3. If you had to touch something with your hands or put your foot down for support to get through the movement.

What if I passed the test?

Congrats! You are in good company. If you can do this movement challenge, then you have good lower extremity Mobility, Strength and Balance! Now try the progression…

Do this movement challenge with your eyes closed.

By closing your eyes, you have taken away one fo the 3 main systems in your body that control your balance.

• Your visual system
• Your vestibular system
• Your neuromuscular system

If you can do this challenge with your eyes closed, you have extremely good balance.

What if I had PAIN during the test?

Pain with movement is never OK. This pain can indicate a small issue that is a quick fix or it could indicate significant structural damage. The best course of action is to get it checked out. If you are reading this and you live in the Lehigh Valley, we have a simple solution…

Come in for a free screen and get evaluated by one of our Docs. Click HERE for everything you need to know about our free screen program.

What if I failed the test?

Not to worry… well, you should be worried that you won’t be able to do the things you want to do physically as you age, but we have fixes for that. Here are your options….

1. Regress the challenge by doing it with your hips touching a wall. If you get better at this you can eventually progress to doing it without the support of a wall.
2. Follow the guide below to improve your mobility, strength and balance!

Improving your one foot shoe tie movement challenge

If you could not do this movement, the problem is likely coming from a lack of the 3 main components of any movement challenge: Mobility, Strength and Balance. I will explain how to improve each of those below.

Mobility

Mobility: The ability of the entire body or part of the body to move.

If you are struggling with this movement challenge because you feel stiff or feel like certain parts of your body can’t move enough to get into the positions necessary, mobility is part of the problem.

The 3 key areas that commonly lack the mobility needed to do this challenge are…

• The foot and ankle
• The knee
• The hip.

In the videos below, you will learn how to improve your mobility and range of motion so that you can safely complete the challenge.

Strength

Strength: The amount of force a group of muscles can produce. The more force you can produce the stronger muscles are.

If you are struggling with this movement challenge because you feel like you can’t control your body during the movement, strength is part of the problem.

The 3 key areas that commonly lack the strength needed to do this challenge are…

• The foot and ankle
• The knee
• The hip

In the videos below, you will learn how to improve your strength so that you can safely complete the challenge.

Balance

Balance: Your ability to not fall over.

If you are struggling with this movement challenge because you feel like you are going to fall over during the movement, balance is part of the problem.

Lower extremity balance is a skill. Just like playing a musical instrument, If you don’t practice, you will lose the skill over time.

In the videos below, you will learn how to improve your balance so that you can safely complete the challenge.

My Challenge to you…

Ok, you have made it this far. I KNOW that you now understand the importance of achieving this movement. My challenge to you is to make this a part of your movement hygiene routine. You would never stop brushing your teeth right? So why would you stop moving? Consider these movement challenges the “brushing your teeth” of your entire lower extremities. You don’t have to do it for hours a day, but if you never do it you will lose the ability to do all the physical activities you want to do as you age.

Make sure you test this movement at least once a month so that you know you have the mobility, strength and balance necessary to complete it safely. If for some reason you have pain with the movement or can’t do it any more, consider that the “Check Engine” light in your body and take the same action you would if you saw it in your car.

“You can always get a new car, but you only get one body. Take care of it”

-Travis Robbins-

Extra Credit

We want to see you move! This accomplishes a few things…

The more movement faults we see, the easier it is for us to come up with solutions to the problem of poor movement hygiene.
You get an expert opinion of what is going on with your movement and specific advice on how to fix it!
Now that’s what I call a Win-Win. Click HERE to submit your video so we can take a look.

Final Thoughts

Last but not least, please remember that my team is here to help you. If you have pain or can’t do this challenge, please take us up on our offer to take a look at the movement. Come in for a free screen. Click HERE to learn more about this program.

REMEMBER: Pain with movement is NOT ok. If you want to get checked out by one of our PTs for free, click HERE to learn more about our free screen program.

Want more great information on how to get rid of your knee, back or shoulder pain? Check out our Ultimate Guides by clicking HERE.