The latest development in fitness footwear is toning shoes - and they are proving very popular. Which is hardly surprising really – after all, who wouldn’t want to be able to tone their legs and trim their butt just by pulling on a different pair of shoes? There’s a wide selection of different brands on the market. Most of them operate on the principle of introducing a small amount of instability whilst walking in them.
It sounds like a crazy idea – but the theory is that the wearer’s muscles will naturally respond to the instability by trying to regain balance, and thereby doing doing work. The additional work carried out by the muscles in the lower body has the effect of trimming your butt and toning your legs more efficiently than normal walking. What you get in effect is a workout for your lower body, with no need to visit the gym and without any expensive gym membership fees.
Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) shoes were the first to appear. They were not, strictly speaking, originally intended to be toning shoes. They were aimed at people who wanted to improve posture, reduce stress on joints and reduce lower back pain. They use a specially engineered curved sole which encourages a gentle rolling motion whenever your foot comes into contact with the ground. This is supposed to reproduce the sensation of walking barefoot in soft sand. The sole is fairly thick and chunky and will not be to everyone’s taste. They aren’t cheap - but if they helped your back pain, toned up your lower body, or both, you might well consider them to be value for money.
Skechers Shape Ups shoes also make use of a chunky, curved sole – which includes a special kinetic foam insert – to replicate the sensation of walking barefoot on soft sand. These are also quite chunky and look a lot more like conventional exercise shoes than the Masai Barefoot Technology range.
Fit Flops sandals, boots and clogs were originally developed in the United Kingdom and are now being sold worldwide. They look nothing like a standard exercise shoe but they deliver all of the benefits as other toning shoes – again by using a specially designed sole which is thicker than a conventional flip flop sole and which introduces a very slight instability whilst walking. They cost quite a bit less than the other shoes and – important for many – there’s a wide selection of different colors and styles to choose from. Originally, they started life as a range of sandals – but boots, clogs and even slippers were added to the range in response to customer demand.
Reebok has recently launched its own toning shoe – the Reebok Easy Tone range. This is slightly different from the other toning shoes insofar as it uses air pods built into the sole of the shoe to create instability rather than a specially shaped sole.
All of the manufacturers mentioned above have independent clinical test results which support their assertions that their shoes help to tone up your lower body just by walking around. There are also numerous testimonials from delighted users. It goes without saying that there are sceptics as well.
It sounds great doesn’t it - just pull on your magic shoes and work your lower body just by walking around. But is it too good to be true? Maybe it doesn’t matter all that much. Most of these shoes are priced about the same as normal exercise shoes - some of them are even cheaper. You could just wait until you need a new pair of shoes anyway and then try them. If the chief improvement derived from toning shoes is to encourage the wearer to walk further, then that’s a worthwhile benefit in itself.
Read More About: Toning Shoes Are The Latest Craze In Fitness Footwear - But Do They Genuinely Work?
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