Feet in Straps: More Than Just a Cool-Down
If you’ve ever spent a long day on your feet or endured a marathon car ride, you know the feeling—the moment we all crave: a Pilates session isn’t complete without stretching your legs in the long straps, letting gravity do its work while you circle your legs and unwind. But what if I told you that feet in straps is more than just a “cool-down” stretch? When done with intention, it offers far more than simple relief from tension. This versatile exercise explores the congruency of the femoral head’s movement within the acetabulum, while the body stabilizes the pelvis and works with the long lever action of the legs. It creates a relationship between all the muscles within the hamstring, adductors and abdominal families. It also encourages fascial and neural release through the posterior chain, giving us a sense of somatic freedom. Incredible right?
But let’s bring the crowd pleaser back to basics, as the name suggests the placement of the strap on the foot is important and can be a defining moment for this exercise. The foot is an intricate structure that includes bones, muscles, tendons, and fascia, each playing an important role in movement. The talus and calcaneus make up the heel of the foot, and the plantar fascia, a thick band of connective tissue, runs across the sole of the foot. The central band of the plantar fascia connects to the posterior tuberosity of the calcaneus (the back of the heel), which serves as a critical point of attachment for the foot’s arch. When the strap is positioned across the back of the foot, near the arch, it naturally encourages dorsiflexion—the upward movement of the toes toward the shin. This action lengthens the posterior chain of the body, creating a longer line through the calves, hamstrings, glutes, and into the lower back. This elongation is not only beneficial for increasing flexibility but also helps to improve the alignment and function of the entire lower body.
The strap’s placement over the base of the arch of the foot has an additional benefit: it applies gentle pressure to the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is responsible for maintaining the structural integrity of the foot and facilitating movement. By positioning the strap here, you can encourage a release of tension in the fascia, helping to prevent or alleviate common foot issues such as plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, and nerve entrapment. The pressure from the strap also impacts Baxter’s nerve, which runs along the bottom of the foot and can become inflamed or entrapped. This gentle compression can help reduce inflammation and alleviate discomfort, contributing to better foot health and improved overall mobility.
The progressive nature of feet in straps is another reason why using it at the end of your class as a cool down can be a waste of a great exercise. Feet in straps can be an excellent entry-level exercise for teaching new clients the relationship between their torso and legs, and the concept of dissociation—the ability to move the legs independently from the torso. It helps create balanced, controlled movement as the legs move separately, while also engaging deep transverse abdominal muscles to stabilise the pelvic girdle. As the legs extend into a long lever, this exercise highlights the eccentric and concentric action of the hamstrings, promoting both strength and mobility into an assistive stretch. The beauty of this exercise lies in its progression. You can increase the challenge by adding props, adjusting spring loads, incorporating single-leg variations, or introducing thoracic spine flexion to engage and strengthen the abdominals.
Advanced Legs in Straps Series for a Dynamic or Advanced Class
This series, ideal for a dynamic or advanced class, follows a supine warm-up and challenges alignment, adductor and glute recruitment, as well as internal and external rotation of the femur, and coordination. Here are some ideas you could consider - try:
Feet in long straps (or short straps if you want to target the hamstrings more intensely).
Magic circle between the ankles: Start with both legs at 45 degrees, holding the circle gently (without squeezing). Keep the legs straight and internally rotate one leg slightly (very small movement) while the other leg externally rotates in response. Switch sides to activate the internal and external rotators.
Legs and magic circle squeeze: Gently squeeze the magic circle (about 50%) and bend the knees toward the chest, ensuring the straps create a diagonal line to your shins. Increase the squeeze to 100%, then press the legs back out to 45 degrees.
For added challenge, experiment with different props placed inside and outside the ankles and knees, and incorporate these props into variations like short spine and long spine stretches to increase the intensity.
For even more difficulty, use a dowel placed inside the straps with your feet in a "parakeet" position (feet on the dowel). This addition will challenge pelvic stability and help you monitor if one leg is working harder than the other—if the dowel tilts diagonally, you’ll know one leg is overcompensating.
Feet in Straps is one of those timeless Pilates exercises that never loses its appeal, no matter how long your clients have been practicing. As an instructor, it also offers endless creative potential to explore variations and stretches. One of my personal favorites, developed over the years, involves adjusting the strap placement on the foot to enhance neural stretching. By crossing the strap diagonally, the pressure forces the foot into a more pronated position, creating a deep lateral stretch along the Iliotibial Band and stimulating a powerful neural release.
When choosing to incorporate Feet in Straps into a session, always consider the client's specific goals, fitness level, and any underlying issues they may be working with. By doing so, you ensure that this versatile exercise remains both effective and appropriate, helping your clients progress in their Pilates practice with intention.
Maddi Garlick is the Studio Manager at Northern Rivers Pilates Lismore and an Assistant Educator for Polestar Pilates. NRP will be holding a mini-conference called Power in Motion designed for Pilates professionals 21-22 October 2023. Contact them for more information.