Rise Up

If you look closely at the photo, you’ll see we’re all on our tip toes. This action is called a relevé and I’m a big fan. In fact, if you’ve done my classes, you know it’s one of my signature moves. Here are the top five reasons why I incorporate the relevé into a workout whenever possible: 

• They strengthen the muscles of the feet. 
• They promote stabilization of the ankle joint. 
• They strengthen 360degrees around the core.
• They provide a legit balance challenge (without equipment).
• They align the whole spine, from top to bottom. 

All this in one simple action…a huge return on investment. It’s important to note, that there is a big different between a relevé while wearing sneakers verses one done barefoot. Sneakers either cancel out or dull down the benefits, so barefoot is the way to go. 

Way back when I initially got into the fitness world, relevés were called calf raises. The primary intention of calf raises were to strengthen calf muscles. That’s it. One thing. This is a great example of how “linear” the traditional fitness mentality is. I mean, calf muscles don’t even make my top five! Mindbody fitness (a.k.a, my kind of fitness) always sees the forest through the trees. We integrate and thus multi-task. We work towards bringing the whole body into balance. Compartmentalizing the human body is inefficient and a bit boring if you ask me!

So kick off your shoes and rise up. Relevé in French translates as elevate…if you stick with me, you’ll do just that. 😉