Heel and Toe Walks
What you'll gain
Trains the calves and the tibialis in one clip, in the way gait actually uses them.
Needs no equipment, so it fits warm-ups and rehab-adjacent ankle work.
Gives running apps a walking drill instead of another standing raise.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Stand tall with the feet together and the arms hanging at the sides.
- 2
Rise onto the balls of both feet and walk forward with short steps, heels high.
- 3
Turn around at the end of the lane.
- 4
Pull both toes up and walk back on the heels only, forefeet off the floor.
- 5
Keep the torso upright and the steps short during both phases.
- 6
Do not roll through a normal heel-to-toe gait in either half.
Common Mistakes
Letting the heels kiss the floor during the toe-walking phase.
Dropping the toes during the heel-walking phase so it becomes a normal walk.
Leaning the trunk back to fake more dorsiflexion.
Taking long strides that force a heel-to-toe roll.
About This Exercise
Heel and toe walks split lower-leg work into two gaits. The heel walk keeps all the weight on the heels with the toes pulled up, loading the tibialis anterior and building shin endurance. The same heel walk is a dorsiflexion drill that also stretches the calves. The reverse gait, walking on the balls of the feet with the heels high, loads the gastrocnemius and soleus. The approved clip starts with both soles flat, then walks forward on the toes, turns, and returns on the heels with the forefeet visibly up. For a catalog this is the two-phase gait clip, not a standing calf raise or a wall tibialis raise. It belongs in ankle-prehab blocks, running warm-ups, and gait-retraining pages that need both plantarflexion and dorsiflexion shown as walking.
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Gait drill that walks first on the balls of the feet, then back on the heels with the toes lifted.
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Specifications
Built for
- Running and gait-prehab warm-ups in training apps.
- Ankle-stability sequences after heel raises and tibialis raises.
- Bodyweight lower-leg libraries that need a walking, not standing, clip.
- Return-to-walk pages that show both toe walking and heel walking.
Muscles Worked
Details
License Includes
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