What’s the most important piece of exercise equipment? If you think about it, it doesn’t matter much what sport you enjoy, you will need a good pair of shoes to take part in it – unless you’re a swimmer or like to practice martial arts that is. So a comfortable pair of shoes that gives you good grip and doesn’t cause any discomfort or produce blisters is an absolute must. Choosing the wrong pair could mar your enjoyment – possibly to the point where you take part in your favourite sport less often – and maybe even lead to sprains and injury.
Just at the moment, there’s a whole new range of fitness footwear available on the market, aimed primarily at people who walk for exercise. They seem to have sprung up from nowhere, but they’re now so common that a new term has been coined for them – “toning shoes”.
Fit flops sandals are a good example. They were developed in the UK by an ex-personal fitness trainer who couldn’t make enough time to visit the gym but still wanted a way to work out. Fitflops feature a specially shaped sole which is intended to reproduce the sensation of walking barefoot in soft sand. The curved shape of the sole produces a gentle rolling motion whenever your foot makes contact with the ground. This prevents any jarring and also means that your muscles are active for a longer period of time when walking normally (when compared to walking in conventional “comfort” shoes.
Skechers Shape Ups are another well known and very popular brand of toning shoe. They also feature the curved sole – it really is very thick in the Skecher’s shoes – and claim to replicate the sensation of walking barefoot on sand.
Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) shoes and Reebok Easy Tones are yet further examples of this type of toning shoe. MBT shoes also feature the curved sole type of design – but the Reebok Easy Tones use something caused balance pods. These are pods of air within the sole of the shoe which keep the wearer slightly off balance. The idea is that you will subconsciously attempt to regain your balance and that this will cause you to do extra work which will, in turn, tone up your lower body muscles.
So – can you “get a workout while you walk”? Can you tone your legs and trim your butt without ever having to set foot inside a gym? It’s an attractive proposition – and many of the wearers of these types of shoes swear by them. They don’t cost any more money than normal fitness footwear, and there are now a wide range of different styles and colors available from several different manufacturers. The Fitflops range, in particular, look nothing like exercise shoes. So there’s bound to be a style or color of toning shoe that you find appealing. It might be worth your while to try them out the next time your looking for a pair of shoes anyway.