Stand with your shoulders, back, and butt up against a wall. Place your feet away from the wall, with your heels about one foot-length in front of you. Keeping your heels on the ground, raise your toes upward. Stretch as far as possible. This is called dorsiflexion. Slowly lower your toes back toward the ground, but don’t let them touch the floor. Repeat the exercise with 10–15 reps. Once you have finished the reps, let your feet back on the floor for a quick rest, then do one or two more sets.
Stand with your back against the wall, and rest one foot lightly against the wall. Dorsiflex with the foot on the ground for 10–15 reps. Once you are finished, switch your feet and repeat on the other leg. Because you are only using one leg at a time, you don’t need to rest between switching your legs.
Stand up straight, not leaning against anything, with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Take a step forward, making sure only your heel plants. The step should be a normal size, so about how long you would take while walking. Hold your toes in the air, making sure the ball of your foot doesn’t get any closer than an inch to the floor. Step back to the starting position. Repeat this step with the same foot for 10–15 reps, then switch to the other leg. One variation on this exercise is to try walking around the room on your heels. Just make sure you walk very slowly, and maintain your balance. If you start to feel like you are losing your balance, rest your toes on the ground to settle. [3] X Research source
Get on the floor, resting on your knees. Stretch out your feet so that your toes are pointed behind you with the tops of your feet on the floor. Gently lean backward, pushing down on your heels to stretch out the front of your leg. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds, then repeat three times. If you want to increase the stretch, do one leg at a time to increase the weight. You can also try lifting up your knees to further increase the resistance.
Stand with your toes on the edge of a step. Make sure you have something nearby to balance yourself. Shift your weight on to one leg (say the right), then lift the other foot (the left) off of the step. Lower your right heel downward, making sure your toes point upward. Return to your starting position, then switch legs and repeat with the other foot.
Stand at the edge of the towel with your feet hip-width apart. Use the toes on one foot to gather the edge of your towel and pull it toward you. Push the towel back into position. Repeat with your other foot.
Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you. Loop the exercise band around the bottom of your feet, near the arch. Gently pull the band back into dorsiflexion, that is raising your toes upward toward your shins as far as possible, and hold that position for 10–15 seconds. Repeat two to three times on the same foot, then switch to the other leg. You can switch legs between reps, but it will probably be quicker not to keep swapping the band around each foot. The exercise band you use for this and other shin exercises should be a strip design, which will wrap around your foot and ankles. When purchasing your band, consider the resistance based on your current fitness level. If you are already active, and working on your shins to improve your current workout, you’ll want to consider bands with heavy resistance, for average untrained men or active women, or extra-heavy resistance, for active men and strong women. [8] X Research source
Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you. Make sure your toes are pointed up toward the ceiling. [10] X Research source Loop the exercise band around the top of your foot and a stationary object. This can be a table leg, or anything else that will stay securely in place. Dorsiflex your foot against the resistance, pulling your toes back against the band. Repeat for 10–15 reps, then switch legs. For increase the resistance, you can build to using a heavier band, or doubling your reps to 20–30 per leg.
Stand up, placing your feet shoulder-width apart. Wrap the resistance band around your ankles or thighs. Step forward and to the right with your right leg. Then bring your left leg forward so that it is even with the right. Take a step backward toward your original position, then bring your other leg back to even. If you have the space, you can take several steps forward before going backward. Just remember to alternate your lead foot for each forward step.
