Walk And Workout With The Latest In Fitness Footwear Technology
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. Whatever sport you take part in, and whatever your exercise regime is, you definitely need a good, comfortable pair of shoes in order to derive the maximum 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.
Some sports do require very specialized types of shoes, but the large majority of people will be happy enough with tennis shoes or cross trainers for general exercise – such as walking and jogging for example. At the moment, there seems to be new kinds of exercise shoes becoming available 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 appear to have suddenly popped up from nowhere, and they are becoming so widely used that a new name has been given to them – “toning” shoes.
The idea is that these shoes are designed in such a way as to increase the amount of work done by the muscles in the lower body whilst walking normally. There are a number of different manufacturers offering toning shoes these days, and designs do vary, but a specially designed sole is usually a key factor in achieving this.
A number of brands – such as Fit flops sandals, Skechers Shape Ups and Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) incorporate a curved sole. This is intended to encourage a gentle rolling motion whenever the foot contacts the ground. This replicates the effects of walking barefoot on soft sand and minimizes mechanical shocks.
Reebok Easy Tones are the most recent entrant to the market and these also make use of a specially engineered sole. However, rather than using a curved sole,Easy Tones incorporate air pods in their soles which generate a small amount of instability. The lower body muscles will react and try to regain balance so as to compensate for this. This requires extra effort so your lower body gets toned. As well as the use of a curved sole, Fitflops also use this same principle by incorporating something which they call “microwobbleboard” technology in their range of footwear.
Of the brands available Fitflops and MBTs look least like exercise shoes. This will appeal to many people as the shoes are marketed as giving you a “workout while you walk” and “the sandal with the gym built in”. The suggestion is that you will tone your lower body by wearing the shoes as you walk around during the course of your normal daily routine. To be strictly accurate, the main market for MBTs may be more from people wishing to reduce back and joint pain whilst improving posture rather than getting toned.
Skechers do include some shoes which don’t look like exercise shoes within their 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 the simple, and easy to achieve, act of pulling on a different pair of shoes in the morning really help to trim and tone your lower body? It’s a very attractive prospect. There will be a lot of people who would dearly love to take more exercise but who find it hard to make the time for this in their daily schedule.
Opinions are divided at the moment. Needless to say, all of the manufacturers are keen to cite the results of independent scientific testing which validates the effectiveness of their products. Neither is there any shortage of positive feedback from wearers who swear by this type of shoe. On the other hand, many doctors and health specialists have cast serious doubt over the claims made.
When all’s said and done, these shoes retail at around about the same price as normal exercise shoes. There’s an extensive range of styles and colors to pick from – you should find something that you like. Possibly the next time you are in the market for a new pair of shoes anyway, you should consider buying a pair of toning shoes and finding out if they work for you or not.
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