Meet Heidi Van Mastrigt | Barefoot Functional Strength and Conditioning Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heidi Van Mastrigt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heidi, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
This is an easy one because the very foundation of my work goes against conventional advice around foot health and footwear. The average podiatrist is recommending very thick, cushioned, rigid, and tapered toe shoes–they’re saying “feet need support”. This couldn’t be further from the truth for someone who wants to have strong conditioned feet.

Somehow the feet have been seen as a body part exempt from the laws of anatomy and physiology. If we apply load to muscles, your bicep for example, the muscle will adapt by breaking down and growing back bigger and stronger to be able to better handle that load (given the proper nutrition and recovery is incorporated). These are the basic principles of muscle strength and hypertrophy. It takes time, a good training program, and consistency for the average person to do a proper pull up or heavy squat or deadlift. The feet are no different–they require progressive overload after years of being shoved into high tech shoes that do all the work for them. We don’t view natural footwear as a “heavier weight” but that’s essentially what it is because it requires the muscles in the feet to work at a higher capacity.

I’ve been barefoot and worn nothing but natural footwear for years and my entire body has never been stronger, but it didn’t happen overnight and there was a lot of work involved after wearing modern day shoes my entire life. I have a blog on my website called “The Paradigms of Footwear: Maximalist or Minimalist?” that dives into more details about the very different perspectives of the conventional approach and the functional approach. (www.thatbarefootcoach.com/blog/the-paradigms-of-footwear)

What should our readers know about your business?
What sets me apart from other fitness trainers is my in depth knowledge about foot function and how feet impact the kinetic chain. My clients are typically 40+ former or current athletes that have dealt with some kind of injury and/or surgery in the past. Oftentimes their rehab wasn’t as helpful as they hoped it would be and they still struggle with the injury holding them back in some way. It’s very discouraging for someone who has been athletic and competitive their whole lives to deal with this, but I’ve had great success with my approach in getting these people back in their sports, hitting PR’s, and feeling better than ever before. Even though it’s always about feet and movement, at the core, it’s about people’s longevity and quality of life. Lifelong athletes want to play forever, feel confident and capable in their abilities, and be resilient through age, and that is what I love to see the most in my clients.

It definitely wasn’t easy to get to this point in my journey and business. I’ve been in the fitness industry for 13 years and still learn new things every day. It also wasn’t until I fully embraced and committed to feet that I found my place and niche in fitness. Over the last 13 years I’ve trained for half marathons, competed in powerlifting, and tried a variety of methods in the gym but at every point I would experience pain or injury that could never be solved with your typical solutions. It was frustrating because I’m a lifelong competitive athlete but would always hit a ceiling with my progress. I went to so many different professionals (chiropractor, massage therapist, fascial release pros, corrective exercise specialists, etc), especially while competing in powerlifting and never found a lasting solution. I always had issues with my hips and shoulder/neck, so no one ever took a look at my feet. But as soon as I started addressing my very dysfunctional feet, the pain and injuries up the chain started going away. This is why I do what I do; many people don’t realize their feet are actually the cause of their pain and injuries up the chain.

I am most excited about the big boom that is happening with the barefoot movement. The barefoot movement is fairly new but is making huge strides in helping people get to the root of their pain and injuries, and also helping people explode their progress in and out of the gym. Earlier this year, we saw Justin Holiday–a shooting guard for the Denver Nuggets–wear natural footwear in the NBA Playoffs. That is a huge step in the right direction for athletes that want to improve their performance longevity in their sport. Most people don’t realize how detrimental it is to wear and play in narrow, tapered toe shoes. We’ve come to accept it on a cultural level, but foot function includes toe function and the tapered toe box completely disconnects you from your big toe and disrupts the stabilization of your one point of contact with the ground. However, more and more people–professionals included–are experiencing and learning about the benefits of this approach and it is slowly making its way into all arenas of health and fitness.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a brand new resident to Orange County, I’m still figuring this out myself! 😅

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
It is difficult to choose one so I will highlight a couple. In terms of education and providing me with the tools to do what I do, I learned so much from the following books:

1. Understanding the Human Foot – James Earls

2. Born to Walk: Myofascial Efficiency and the Body in Movement – James Earl

3. Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual Therapists and Movement Professionals – Thomas Myers

My work is rooted in how the feet impact and interact with the rest of the body. There really aren’t any books dedicated to that so I had to do a lot of research in multiple fields and bring it together in my own practice and training with clients. Diving into the function and anatomy of fascia along with foot function allowed me to better understand the connection of the feet to the rest of the body.

I also need to highlight Vibram Five Fingers. This company continues to play a pivotal role in allowing me to restore my own foot function. I’ve tried many “barefoot shoes” or natural footwear and Vibram Five Fingers is hands down as minimal and as close to barefoot as it gets. There is no question about it.

Website: https://www.thatbarefootcoach.com

Instagram: thatbarefootcoach

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thatbarefootcoach