I get numerous emails every day from people dealing with foot pain or foot issues that stop them from doing the things they love. Your feet are the literal foundation of your entire body, yet they’re often overlooked until something starts to hurt. And the thing about feet is – when something goes wrong there, it rarely stays just in the feet.
Because everything is connected, problems often travel upstream – into the ankles, knees, hips, low back, and even the pelvic floor.
The good news? When you start working on your feet, you’re actually supporting your entire movement system.
And if you want stronger, healthier, happier feet – or if you’re thinking of transitioning into minimal shoes – consistent footwork is essential!
While you can do a lot without any equipment, using the right props can make your practice much more effective and more enjoyable.
These are the exact tools I recommend inside my Build Better Feet program – and the ones my students tell me make the biggest difference in their progress. You don’t need all of them to get started (in fact, most people just need one or two!), but having the right props can make your foot exercises more effective and way more enjoyable.
Why Foot Exercise Equipment Makes A Difference
Movement gear is a fantastic way to enhance your foot exercises by allowing you to access movements you couldn’t do otherwise, waking up muscles that have been offline for years, and speeding up your progress in a safe, smart way.
When it comes to feet, props can:
👉 allow you to do exercises that are nearly impossible without them – like rolling out your feet or getting into deeper calf stretches.
👉 help you customize exercises and positions so they work better for your body with fewer compensations & more targeted results
👉 increase challenge and intensity, which builds strength and encourages your tissues to adapt
👉 boost your body awareness and erase body ‘blindspots’ you may not have even known were there
👉 accelerate your progress, especially if you’re dealing with specific issues like bunions, plantar fasciitis, flat feet, hammertoes, or collapsed arches.
Having the right tools doesn’t just make footwork easier – they make it smarter, safer, and more effective.
(And all of the gear I’m about to recommend pairs perfectly with the exercises I teach inside my free Free Your Feet program – if you want to actually put these tools to work and start building stronger feet today, grab that mini-course and start with the basics! For those ready to go deeper, the full Build Better Feet program gives you the complete 12-week system these props were designed for.)
Alright, let’s step into the wonderful world of foot gear!
Essential Foot Strengthening Props (Start Here)
These are the props I use constantly – my can’t-live-without travel companions. If you’re just starting to work on your feet, begin with these.
Half Round Foam Roller
Suggested Exercise: Calf stretch
Best for: waking up the back of your legs, improving ankle mobility, restoring a healthier walking pattern.
Suggested Exercise: Foot rollout
Best for: releasing tension in the arches, stimulating blood flow, and improving proprioception.
Tools For Specific Foot Problems: Bunions, Plantar Fasciitis & More
If you’re dealing with a specific foot issue, these props can help you target those problem spots more directly and get results faster.
AiM Wedges
Suggested Exercise: Pronation & supination
Best for: improving supination & pronation and understanding your feet better
Small Foot Bands (MELT or Blackboard)
Suggested Exercise: Bunion-friendly strengthening
Best for: waking up little stabilizer muscles that help realign your toes & getting deep into different tissues of the feet
The MELT method hand & foot kit has a tiny elastic that’s good for helping with big toe tracking. You can also use a band from a bunch of broccoli for this – but the kit also has great self massage balls if you want to treat yourself.
The Blackboard bands are really nice for toe strengthening and mobility work – they aren’t always sold separately by the Blackboard people but you usually find them (and lots of other foot friendly products and shoes) on the Natural Foot Gear website.
Finally a larger band like a Theraband exercise band or a loop band like you can find on Amazon can be used for resistance for footwork too.
Suggested Exercise: Big-toe and foot-intrinsic strength
Best for: strengthening the arches, supporting the plantar fascia, and improving push-off mechanics by working on big toe extension
These devices work by elevating your toes during foot strengthening exercises, like calf raises, which changes how your foot muscles work (your arch and midfoot have to do more of the stabilizing work when the toes are lifted).
Most people unconsciously grip the floor with their toes during calf raises, which creates dysfunctional patterns like hammertoes and forefoot overload. Lifting the toes removes that ability to cheat, forcing the deep stabilizing muscles to finally activate.
👉🏻 You can also just put a rolled up washcloth under your toes for calf raises though – you don’t need to buy a special thing unless you want to!
Advanced Foot Exercise Equipment for the Foot-Nerdy
If you’re ready to level up or you just love exploring new gadgets, these props can make footwork even more effective – and more fun. They’re not essential, but I highly recommend checking them out if you’re feeling foot-nerdy.
Naboso Product Line
These items add sensory input to reawaken your nervous system and improve foot awareness.
Best for: improving balance and coordination
Suggested Exercise: Foot rollout
Best for: adding deeper sensory feedback and relieving tension
The Foot Collective SoleMate or a Balance Beam
Suggested Exercise: Practicing balance
Best for: improving balance by strengthening your whole foot and ankle in a playful way
AiM Wedges
Suggested Exercise: Pronation & supination
Yes, they’re listed twice—because they’re that useful!
Best for: assisting pronation & supination and understanding your feet better
Toe spacers that create a bit more space between your toes. This gives you better circulation, takes pressure off your nerves, and helps your feet function better.
This brand can be worn in shoes during activities (generally more helpful than toe spacers that don’t fit in your shoes) and is a great complement to more active toe work.
For more detailed toe spacer recommendations, check out this blog, “Everything You Need To Know About Toe Spacers.”
Metatarsal Pads (Pedag brand)
Met pads are helpful for relieving pressure in the forefoot. They’re also good if you have fallen transverse arches and/or forefoot pain or neuromas. These pads can be placed inside shoes to make them more foot-friendly.
Ready to Put These Tools to Work?
Your feet do a ton for you every single day – walking, stabilizing, balancing, jumping, running, and carrying you everywhere you go. Giving them some focused attention (and a few good tools) can completely transform the way your entire body feels and functions.
The best way to start? My free Free Your Feet mini-course. It walks you through the foundational exercises that work with these props to build stronger, more resilient feet. It’s the perfect starting point whether you’re dealing with pain, transitioning to minimal shoes, or just want to move better.
And if you fall in love with the approach (spoiler: my students usually do!), Build Better Feet is there when you’re ready for the complete system – lifetime access, troubleshooting for specific issues, and everything you need to build feet that support you for decades to come.
