I’m big on the big toe. Allow me to explain.
It is well established that pressing the big toe into the ground is required for full glute activation. As the toe flexes, it pulls on the plantar fascia, the tension traveling up the kinetic chain to “turn on” the glutes.
Try this exercise. Do any sort of glute-centric movement, like a kettlebell swing, a hip thrust, or a cable glute kickback… only leave your big toe in full extension so that it’s off the ground and non-participatory. What happens? The movement still goes through, but you probably won’t feel the glute kick in as much as you normally do. The weight will also feel harder.
Now do it while pressing through the big toe. Feel that difference?
Think about the athletic stance. Pick any sport. Are you flat-footed, weight on the heels? Or are you poised on the balls of your feet, big toe engaged, ready for action? Which foot placement gives you the quickest reactions, the best chance at utilizing the prime movers (like the glutes) to explode into movement?
You’ve even got guys like Clifton Harski (whose Instagram is a fantastic source of training content) who promote going up on the toes and even elevating the heel during lunges, split squats, and kettlebell moves to hit the glutes and be more “athletic.”
This is why I made Peluvas: for full toe articulation. You don’t need Peluvas for this of course. You could just go barefoot in the gym or train at home wearing whatever you want. But Peluvas are made for training and are designed to allow full articulation of every single toe.
And it tells you something interesting about "letting nature take its course.” Good things just happen when you return to the basics—when you put your body in ancestral positions (like toe shoes that allow full articulation) and remove novel impediments (like shoes that constrict toe movement). You might not have ever thought about the role the big toes plays in glute activation and athleticism, but if you just go barefoot or wear barefoot shoes, the benefits take care of themselves.
