Learn to Walk the Right Way at The Training Room
Dr. Mark Brisby Will Teach You His Patented
‘Big Toe Booty’ Technique
By Ryan P. Cruz
Read all of the entries in our “Self-Care in Santa Barbara, 2023 Edition” cover here.
You can’t make time go backward nor can you undo damage from past injuries, but thankfully with Dr. Mark Brisby and The Training Room, you can make sure you’re exercising with intent and efficiency to keep your body in action as long as possible.
When Brisby started his career in sports medicine, he was used to working with high school and college athletes. But now after years of working with Santa Barbarans at The Training Room, he says his clientele has aged and the people he sees are dealing with a whole new set of issues.
“I used to rehabilitate sprained ankles and knees. Now I rehab replaced knees and hips,” Brisby said. “My baby boomer clientele now have goals of a healthy, productive, and injury-free life.”
“When you’re young, you work on strength,” he continued. “When you’re older, you work on balance, coordination, and efficiency.”
Brisby has earned a reputation in town as the “walking doctor,” emphasizing mechanics that can be boiled down to his trademark phrase: “Big Toe Booty.”
“Walking is the number-one exercise there is,” he explained. “More people walk than any other form of exercise. It’s easy to do but most people don’t know how to do it right.”
Big Toe Booty is Brisby’s way of reminding people to focus on the actions of walking rather than the amount of steps they take, forcing them to “propel” themselves through the big toe all the way through the glutes, building the muscles of the backside and hips that truly strengthen the core.
During our session Brisby, diagnoses the faults in my walk and stance, and leads me through a series of exercises to help address years of bad habits. Through every exercise, he tells me to focus on what each part of my body is doing, step by step instead of trying to power through the reps.
The workout isn’t grueling, and it involves gear that you can readily have at home — bands foam rollers barbells — but the emphasis on technique brings the session to another level. Instead of hyping myself up to hit the gym or go on a run, I could more easily see myself going for a walk and doing a few of Brisby’s exercises, and therefore doing my body a bigger favor in the long run.
At the very least, each time I walk now, I will be focused on my technique, just like Brisby says. Right foot, left foot. Big Toe Booty.
1 N. Calle Cesar Chavez Ste. #110; (805) 962-3278; thetrainingroom.org
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