Overpronation

[Chris Forbis]

I consistently wear out my shoes faster than they should (in my opinion) due to overpronation. I've gone through over 1/8" of sole (at the big toe and outside back heel) in 4 months of owning these shoes. I probably averaged wearing them every other day.

I know Kelly Baggett cites overpronation as a need to stretch out hip flexors and improve glute strength. I stretch the flexors every morning and have been implementing the things from the Dispelling the Glute Myth article from T-nation. I deadlift, front squat, and RDL.

I suppose I could stretch the hip flexors multiple times each day. Is there anything else that can be done? Is it even something I should be worried about?

[Steven Low]

Check out the Kelly Starett's calves, foot drills, and flat feet links in the sticky.
http://www.performancemenu.com/forum...60&postcount=6

Along with glute strengthening, especially glute medius, and hip flexors stretching this should help a lot.

Also, do you have any knee tracking problems or any other tight muscles?

[Chris Forbis]

Heh, I basically feel like everything in my body is tight and needs work (no knee problems, though). But wouldn't life be grand if we could spend an hour every day stretching and doing mobility work. I've been doing DeFranco's mobility stuff (as posted in the sticky) first thing in the morning. The day after I lift (twice a week) I do the glute stuff.

There's just so much stuff out there, I find it to be a little overwhelming. Just look how many posts are in that sticky after, what, not even a week.

I'll give those links a look. Calves are tight. I very rarely wear "real" shoes (Sanuks most of the time) so I was thinking the feet themselves would be ok and not flat or in need of the drills. I haven't been doing any sprinting or jumping. Lifting twice a week and lots of walking.

Below is a picture of my shoe soles. Yes, on the right there I have completely worn through the sole at the outside of my back left heel.

[Steven Low]

That doesn't look too bad besides the toes.

Get your calves loose, and then reevaulate. At the very least, do the foot drills in the sticky and see which ones feel different.

It's likely that either your biomechanics or posture may need to be tweaked a bit.

[Aaron Gainer]

Just do a lot of tennis ball massage on your lower leg muscles followed by stretches. Do it consistently, and you will get results.

Pick stretches that work for you, and don't fall into the trap of doing too much. I try to break up my massage/stretch sessions to emphasize quality over quantity.