Foot Care Relief

Toning shoes are a recent development in fitness footwear - and they are proving to be extremely popular. Which isn’t any great surprise - after all, who wouldn’t like to get a free lower body workout 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. You get a lower body workout with no need to make a trip to the gym - and with no expensive monthly membership fees.

MBT shoes – Masai Barefoot Technology – were the first to appear. They weren’t originally designed as toning shoes. They were aimed at people who wanted to reduce stress on joints, improve posture and relieve back pain. They incorporate a specially designed curved sole which promotes a gentle rolling motion when your foot makes 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 certainly aren’t cheap - but if they helped to ease your back pain or toned up your lower body, you may well think that it was money well spent.

Skechers Shape Ups shoes also make use of a thick, curved sole – which makes use of 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 less than most of the other toning shoes available on the market and - just as importantly - there’s a massive selection of styles and colors to choose from. They began life as a range of sandals but, in response to customer demand, the range was expanded to incorporate boots, clogs and slippers.

Reebok recently launched Easy Tones - their own toning shoe 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 above have commissioned independent trials which support their claims that wearing their shoes will give you a lower body workout just by walking about. Neither is there any shortage of very positive customer testimonials. Needless to say there are sceptics as well.

It’s a very attractive proposition - just put on a different pair of shoes before you leave the house in the morning and tone your lower body just by walking around as you would be doing anyway. But is it too good to be true? Maybe it doesn’t matter all that much. Some of these shoes are about the same price as normal training shoes – some are actually a little bit cheaper. The next time you fancy a new pair of shoes why not try a pair of these toning shoes. If the only improvement that toning shoes provide is to encourage the wearer to walk more often, then that’s a worthwhile benefit in itself.

Related posts:

1. What Are Toning Shoes And Do The Do What They Claim? Toning shoes are a recent development in fitness footwear -...
2. Did You Know About How Comfy FitFlops Toning Shoes Are? FitFlop shoes are proving to be a very popular choice...
3. The Growth In Toning Footwear Popularity The latest development in exercise shoes is toning shoes and...