Another Practical use for Heels

[Mr. X]

I know most of us wear heels because we like the way they look on our feet, or we like the added height, or whatever other reason we choose to wear them.  I fall into most of those categories myself.  But the other day I found a practical use for them, too.

I am a musician who plays a variety of instruments.  I Have an electric drum kit that I have begun playing and learning on.  I am getting better.  But I find that after using the kick drum pedal for a while, my right foot and ankle becomes tired and tight. It is probably because the ball of your foot starts in an slightly upward postion.  And it is above your ankle when it is resting on the pedal.And your foot is going through a full up and down motion for minutes at a time.  And your ankle is basically acting as a pivot point.

But the other day, I happened to be wearing a pair of heels, and I suddenly got the urge to jump on the kit.  And since I was still wearing the heels, I figured why the hell not?!  So I began playing with the heels on.  I noticed as I got started that my foot already felt better.  And after a few songs my foot still felt great!  It felt just like it did when I started.  I was able to play that much more in the heels, as apposed to not wearing them.  And my foot and ankle did not get tight or tired one bit!

It was definitely because of the heels.  I noticed that when I had my heels on, my right foot was in a level, or slightly downward position when it was resting on the pedal.  And the ball of my foot was starting level with, or below the ankle with heels on.  So the range of motion of my foot was essentially cut in half.  Who knew?! And the same can also be said for your opposite foot when you use the hi-hat pedal with heels on.

Edited Friday at 04:12 AM by Mr. X

[Shyheels]

That’s an interesting result! Who would have guessed. I find wearing 3-4” heels can ease back problems - muscle spasms etc so I knew they had their practical uses, but that’s a new one

[CrushedVamp]

My wife like to cook and when we redesigned our kitchen she wanted to put in a place to roll her dough that was a little lower than the rest of the counters so that she could get on top of it and really push down. It was a want and not a need and there really was no way to incorporate it into the kitchen. Instead, he keeps a pair of four inch heels in the cabinet underneath, puts them on and is just enough taller to make rolling out her dough easier. Its a very simple solution... 

[mlroseplant]

4 hours ago, CrushedVamp said:

My wife like to cook and when we redesigned our kitchen she wanted to put in a place to roll her dough that was a little lower than the rest of the counters so that she could get on top of it and really push down. It was a want and not a need and there really was no way to incorporate it into the kitchen. Instead, he keeps a pair of four inch heels in the cabinet underneath, puts them on and is just enough taller to make rolling out her dough easier. Its a very simple solution... 

I do the same exact thing when making bread, for the same reason.

[Gige]

OK - I can not resist responding to this topic because, I, too, was a drummer and played a drumset in heel and, thus, can and do deeply relate appreciate this topic. I do apologize if I am giving you tips and/or advice on techniques of which you may have already learned.  In sum, abandoned the "heel-toe" method of working the bass drum and hi-hat pedals. I was taught to use that and found it to be good only for limiting my speed and agility. If you keep the heel of your foot planted on the bass pedal, for example, it limits your ability to use that for 16th note pick-ups before the first beat of the next measure. Without wearing heels, keep the heel of your right foot on the ground and hit two 16th notes before coming in your snare or toms on the one. Then, trying the same with your foot in an elevated position as if you are wearing heels. You will notice that the elevated position allows you to hit those pick-up notes much faster than with your heel resting on the pedal. Also, as you have/will learn(ed), using the heel-toe method causes the muscles in your foot and ankle to grow tired rather quickly. Thus, the primary movement really comes from the hip while the knee remains stationary (for the most part) and the second note is a quick follow-up with the ankle. If you are wearing heels while playing and resting the heel on the pedal, the primary movement is still coming from the ankle, which is not what you want to do - movement of the leg from the hip is the best technique.  Resting your foot on the pedal, heel or not, limits you ability to use your hip and ankle in combination as all movement then comes from your ankle. You will find that you can move your legs from the hip much for quickly that you can move your ankle on the pedal.  

Go to Youtube and search: Neil Peart - Cotton Tail with drum solo and watch the movement of his legs and feet - there are plenty of close up shots that will clearly show how he places his feet on the pedals. You will notice that only the ball of his foot is on the pedal and the movement of such originates from his hip. FWIW, this solo is undoubtedly one of the finest on a four-piece drum kit you will ever see. That which I do not like about it is his use of traditional grip - don't EVEN get me started on that! 

[Mr. X]

Thanks for the tips @Gige Much appreciated!  I am always ready to sit under the learning tree.

19 hours ago, CrushedVamp said:

My wife like to cook and when we redesigned our kitchen she wanted to put in a place to roll her dough that was a little lower than the rest of the counters so that she could get on top of it and really push down. It was a want and not a need and there really was no way to incorporate it into the kitchen. Instead, he keeps a pair of four inch heels in the cabinet underneath, puts them on and is just enough taller to make rolling out her dough easier. Its a very simple solution... 

That is a good one also. 

Let's see what else we can come up with

Edited Saturday at 02:27 AM by Mr. X

[Cali]

I can clean the top of my refrigerator and reach the items in the back of my tallest shelf in my kitchen.

[mlroseplant]

I was trying to think of anything that I can do more easily in heels besides knead bread dough, which these days I rarely do anyhow. Do I sing better in heels? I think I do, but it's probably all illusion, and there's no real way to test it. I can't think of another thing that is actually easier to do in heels. I'm trying to think through my everyday routine, and if I'm honest, there's nothing that heels don't make harder, if only incrementally.

Then it hit me. It's not something one would normally think of as being a practical use, but if I didn't have heels, I probably would not exercise nearly as much as I do. Y'all know that I like to pound the pavement in heels on the regular, and I have just thought to myself that I would probably be more tempted to sit here in front of this computer and talk about heels, rather than going out and walking in them. As an ancillary to that, I no doubt take way better care of my feet and ankles than I would if I didn't wear heels.

[Shyheels]

In a similar vein I feel more creative in heels, my writing and editing flows better. I think because I’ve liberated myself from those restricting conformist views that prevented visual self expression.

As well, the pleasurable feeling of wearing heels inspires me to get up at regular intervals and walk around - instead of sitting g blued to my desk and computer. It’s a healthy side benefit 

[CrushedVamp]

I think both @mlroseplant and @Shyheels bring up what probably is the most important aspect of wearing high heels, and that is, the importance and long-term positive effects of wearing high heels; its about how they make you feel.

We live in such a negative downtrodden world where people dress how they feel. What so few people realize is that studies have shown numerous times that dressing up can help lift your mood and improve your self-assurance.

My wife and I almost always dress well, whether going out to eat, going to church, or even to work. Surprisingly it is other women that give my wife a hard time; the hairy eyeball, snide comments said in the bathroom so she can just overhear it, and downright vile words spoken to her, all because she dresses well and takes care of herself. For me, I don't hear those same things from other men, but am sure a lot of people think we dress up so that we feel we are "better than them". We don't. We just like to dress well because of how it makes us feel about ourselves.

But it is hard to quantify that. It is much easier to state that rolling dough in high heels is easier on my wife's back then to state how wearing high heels and making her feel more elegant produces a more self-esteem within her. But at times there can. Despite working as a blue collar worker in a powerplant, two days after deciding to dress well before going in and out of the plant and dressing into work clothes in the locker room, I was approached by management and asked to be the Safety Coordinator when the outgoing one retired. TWO DAYS! 

So if it makes you feel good, whether wearing heels is something almost nobody sees or everyone does, it is going to give you better self-esteem and that will transpire into better overall health and well-being. 

[mlroseplant]

It doesn't take much in this day and age for someone to ask, "Why are you so dressed up?" We have always been headed toward the sloppy, but I think the pandemic accelerated the process. A button down shirt and pants that are not jeans will do the trick. The bar is pretty low. Of course, because I habitually wear heels, I'll always be singled out. I just feel like I can't wear heels, no matter how casual, and otherwise dress like I just got ripping down a plaster ceiling. So maybe the whole thing does keep me better than I really am.

Pivoting back to the true original subject, I can't really come up with more things that are easier to do in heels, but I can come up with one thing that I thought should be way easier in heels, and it just isn't so. With the prevalence of online shopping, I'm sure most if not all of you have run into those plastic air pillows they often use to pack items for shipping. I think it's a great invention, WAY better than styrofoam packing peanuts, but you have to pop all of those bags in order to dispose of them in a reasonable volume of space. I figured stiletto heels would be the perfect tool for this. Uh, no. Does not work at all. If the pillows were blown up really hard, they might work, but blown up as intended, stilettos do not cover enough area to actually burst the bags. Perhaps if you put some sort of sharp object on the end of the heel it might just pierce the plastic, but then you'd lose the satisfying BAM! It's an idea that should work, but doesn't work all that well.

[CrushedVamp]

What about changing light bulbs in your home?

I have 9 foot ceilings in mine, and while I can reach up and just touch the lightbulb, I have to stand on my tippy-toes to do so. With high heels on it is possible the last part of that would be negated?

[Shyheels]

For sure, you definitely get some extra height. I sometimes like to work standing up and if I am in high heels that can be awkward because then I’m too tall for working on the counter and it’s an awkward resch

[CrushedVamp]

10 hours ago, Shyheels said:

For sure, you definitely get some extra height. I sometimes like to work standing up and if I am in high heels that can be awkward because then I’m too tall for working on the counter and it’s an awkward reach

I have noticed that with woodworking: bench height is important. For most work, the standard bench height is fine, but for really detail work like working on a scroll saw, a router or even some sanding operations, I prefer my bench height to be a little taller. A few though can be a little lower, pretty much anything to do with hammering since you get a heavier hit. An argument could be made that blacksmithing in high heeled boots with the pants on the OUTSIDE of the boot tops could be safe and add height?

[mlroseplant]

19 hours ago, CrushedVamp said:

What about changing light bulbs in your home?

I have 9 foot ceilings in mine, and while I can reach up and just touch the lightbulb, I have to stand on my tippy-toes to do so. With high heels on it is possible the last part of that would be negated?

The way geometry works, you wouldn't really gain anything wearing heels vs. standing on tiptoe. Platforms change this equation, giving you inch-for-inch increased effective height, but I would say as a practical matter, any platform higher than two inches is precarious to wear in the real world, and safety concerns would outweigh any utility. Maybe two extra inches would be enough under certain circumstances. Ladders Last, innit?

[at9]

I've had to change a lightbulb that was high up above the middle of a double bed. The room was a bit small and crowded so moving the bed wasn't really an option. Standing on a chair standing on a bed is precarious! Heels of any kind wouldn't have helped.

I'll avoid some of the "How many xxxx does it take to change a lightbulb?" jokes. Some are racially unacceptable. For much of the world except the UK there's the double entendre: "How many xxxx does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"

And for seasonality: If you have old fashioned fairy lights (before LEDs) they were wired in series so the union boss says: "one out, all out!"

 

Edited Monday at 11:29 AM by at9

[Cali]

6 hours ago, at9 said:

I've had to change a lightbulb that was high up above the middle of a double bed. The room was a bit small and crowded so moving the bed wasn't really an option. Standing on a chair standing on a bed is precarious! Heels of any kind wouldn't have helped.

I'll avoid some of the "How many BRITS does it take to change a lightbulb?" jokes. Some are racially unacceptable. For much of the world except the UK there's the double entendre: "How many xxxx does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"

I put a stablizing surface (medium size plank of wood) down on the bed first. Then heels.

[CrushedVamp]

18 hours ago, mlroseplant said:

The way geometry works, you wouldn't really gain anything wearing heels vs. standing on tiptoe. Platforms change this equation, giving you inch-for-inch increased effective height, but I would say as a practical matter, any platform higher than two inches is precarious to wear in the real world, and safety concerns would outweigh any utility. Maybe two extra inches would be enough under certain circumstances. Ladders Last, innit?

You make a valid point and kind of why there is not more ideas on this. Heels give you a little more height, but you get the same amount by stepping up on your tippy-toes. For rolling dough, you would not want to do that for extended periods of time, so high heels work, but its not such an issue for changing a light bulb.

My house also has 9 foot ceilings exactly. That means a lightbulb is just out of reach flat footed, but easy to grab on tippy toes (or high heels) But how many houses are like that? Probably few. Its a sucky height too by the way because it means buying lumber that is longer for everything, then having to cut it back. If your lucky, getting 10 ft length, if not getting 12 ft and cutting 3 feet off the more expensive number. Grrrrrr....

Not that this changes that in any way, but platform heels are the style my wife likes. She either likes ones with a half inch or one inch platform to them, and peep-toed. She has others, but about 80% of her high heels are like this.

(Edited post: first post I was short on time and did not explain details)

Edited Tuesday at 05:43 AM by CrushedVamp