There’s no doubt that they can be an expensive item of equipment, but exercise shoes are one of the most important pieces of fitness equipment that you will have. Regardless of what particular sport you play, or what your exercise routine is, you absolutely must have a good pair of shoes if you want to maximize both enjoyment and fitness benefits from it. If your shoes are badly designed, or if they don’t fit you properly, then you could get blisters, fail to enjoy your activity and even increase the risk of sprains and other injuries.
There are certain types of sports which will require very specialized shoes, but the majority of people will be happy with cross trainers or tennis shoes for general exercise – jogging and walking for example. Currently, new advances in fitness footwear technology are resulting in the appearance of new types of exercise shoes on the market. These are aimed primarily at people who either walk for exercise or, in some cases, maybe don’t exercise as much as they would like. They seem to have popped up from nowhere – and they are proving to be so popular that a new term has been invented for them – “toning” shoes.
The theory is that these shoes are designed in a manner which increases the amount of work carried out by the lower body muscles whilst walking normally. There are now a number of different manufacturers, each with their own offerings available, and designs vary, but this is typically achieved by the use of a specially designed sole.
A number of brands – such as Fit flops sandals, Skechers Shape Ups and Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) include a curved sole. The intent of this is to promote a gentle rolling motion when the foot makes contact with the ground. This reduces any impact shock and is intended to reproduce the effect of walking barefoot on a soft, yielding surface such as sand or thick, lush grass.
Reebok Easy Tones are the most recent entrant to the market and these also make use of a specially engineered sole. However, instead of using a curved construction, Easy Tones use air pods in the sole to introduce a small element of instability. The idea is that the lower body muscle will try to compensate for this and regain balance. This will require extra work and therefore your lower body gets toned. Fitflops also make use of this principle in addition to the use of a curved sole, in the shape of something they have termed “microwobbleboard” technology.
Of the brands on the market Fitflops and MBTs look least like exercise shoes. Many people will find this appealing as the shoes are promoted as being able to give you a “workout while you walk” and also “the sandal with the gym built in”. Clearly the suggestion is that you can tone up your lower body just by wearing the shoes and going about your normal daily routine. To be fair, MBTs are aimed more at people who might want to improve posture or reduce back and joint pain than those who wish to tone up and trim down.
There are some shoes which don’t look like fitness footwear included in the Skechers Shape Ups range. Mary Janes are one of the “non-exercise” models on offer. Reebok Easy Tones are more focused on the mainstream exercise market and look exactly like what they are – high tech exercise shoes.
So – is it really possible to get a “workout while you walk” using these new miracle shoes? Can you really tone and trim your lower body just by pulling on a different pair of shoes in the morning? It would be wonderful if it was true. There must be plenty of people who would love to get more exercise but find it difficult to schedule the time for this into their daily routine.
Currently, opinions are divided. Needless to say, all of the manufacturers are keen to cite the results of independent scientific testing which validates the effectiveness of their products. There is certainly a lot of very positive feedback from satisfied users of this type of shoe. On the other hand, many doctors and health specialists have cast serious doubt over the claims made.
The retail price of these shoes is pretty much at the same sort of level as conventional exercise footwear. The range of styles and colors available are extensive – so there should be something that is to your taste. Perhaps the next time you need a new pair of shoes anyway, you might want to consider trying a pair of toning shoes and finding out if they work for you.