Can Toning Shoes Really Help You To Get In Shape?
Can Toning Shoes Really Help You To Get In Shape
?
Toning shoes are the latest and greatest development in fitness footwear. These shoes claim that they can improve posture, minimize shock whilst walking and that they will trim and tone your lower body if you wear them whilst walking around as normal. Slogans like "A Workout while you walk" (Fitflops) and "Get in shape without setting foot in the gym" (Skechers) abound. It's no great surprise that these toning shoes are a rapidly growing sector of the exercise footwear market. After all, who wouldn't want to get toned and trim just by walking around as normal? But do they actually work?
The precise mechanism varies from brand to brand - but a specially designed sole seems to be the common theme. This produces an element of instability whilst walking which triggers muscles which might otherwise be unused in an effort to regain balance. The consequence of this is that the wearers of toning shoes use more energy whilst walking than they would do if they were wearing traditional exercise footwear. According to the various manufacturers, this increased level of muscle activity has a number of different benefits including better posture, muscle toning, using more calories and assisting with weight loss.
Toning shoes are now available from a wide variety of different manufacturers. Fitflops sandals, Skechers Shape Ups Shoes, Reebok Easy Tones and Masai Barefoot Technology are probably the best known and most popular.
Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) shoes could justifiably claim to have been first on the market. They are based on reproducing the barefoot walking style of Africa's Masai tribesmen (hence the name) who are famous for their good posture and who have a lower than normal incidence of back pain. This barefoot walking sensation is attained by the use of a thick, curved sole which creates an uneven walking platform. According to MBT, the curved sole tends to result in a gentle rolling motion when your heel makes contact with the ground which reduces impact shock whilst walking. It also encourages walkers to engage leg muscles for longer than when walking in standard exercise shoes.
Skechers Shape Ups use a very similar technology to MBT shoes. They include a chunky, thick, curved sole which incorporates a kinetic foam wedge to replicate the sensation of walking barefoot on soft sand. Skechers claim to have introduced the first "stylish" toning shoes. In any event, beauty is in the eye of the beholder - but what is undeniable is that Skechers offer a huge choice of different styles of toning shoes.
Fit Flops sandals were developed in the UK by Marcia Kilgore - an ex-personal fitness trainer who didn't have time to get to the gym due to her busy lifestyle. Fitflops launched as a range of brightly coloured sandals but - due to customer demand - clogs, slippers and boots were subsequently introduced. Fitflops also have a thick, specially shaped sole - though perhaps not quite so thick and chunky as MBTs and Skechers - which uses material of different densities in different sections of the sole. The end result is what Fitflops term the "microwobbleboard" effect. Small imbalance means that extra work is performed and the lower body gets a free workout.
The newest addition to the toning shoes market is Reebok Easy Tones. These differ a little from the shoes discussed earlier in that they use special air pods in the sole of the shoe rather than a curved sole. Once again, the imbalance produced means that the muscles will perform additional work as they try to regain balance. Wearers will, according to Reebok, perform 11% extra work with their calves hamstrings and 28% more work with their buttock muscles than they would do whilst walking in normal fitness shoes.
So, do toning shoes actually work - or is it just a clever piece of marketing? It goes without saying that all of the manufacturers have had independent clinical trials performed on their toning shoes - and these appear to support their claims. Some sceptics do query the validity of many of these trials, citing small sample sizes as a potential source of inaccuracy. The fact that the trials, although carried out by independent bodies, were funded by the shoe manufacturers has also given rise to some doubts.
However, it's clear that toning shoes have some benefits. For example, the Fitflops range of shoes has received a seal of approval from the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA). This shouldn't be misinterpreted as being an endorsement of Fitflops toning and trimming claims - but rather as confirmation that such shoes can reduce jarring and reduce the stress on joints whilst walking. It's interesting that, of the numerous positive user testimonials which can be found online, a high percentage of them relate to improved posture and reduced joint pain.
One benefit which toning shoes certainly deliver is to encourage their wearers to walk more than they normally would. Even if they did nothing else, that's still a very positive benefit in itself.
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