Can High Tech Shoes Really Provide You With A Free Workout?
How does the idea of toning your legs and reducing your butt without having to make a single trip to the gym appeal to you? It sounds too good to be true – but there are now a whole range of shoes from a variety of different manufacturers which claim to be able to help you do exactly that. They are available in a huge range of colors and styles – most of them don’t look like fitness footwear and they are very chic.
The general approach seems to be to mimic the feeling of walking barefoot on soft ground – like sand or lush grass for example. Many of these latest high tech fitness shoes incorporate specially designed and shaped soles to achieve this. Use of the correct density of materials in the construction of the shoes also seems to be an important factor.
Masai Barefoot Technology Shoes (MBTs)
These are probably the forerunner of the current range of shoes on the market. In fact, they aren’t fitness shoes at all, strictly speaking. They were developed by a Swiss engineer called Karl Muller. Walking barefoot across a rice field in Korea one day, he noticed that his back pain, an ongoing problem for him, was less troublesome than usual.
He did some research and was interested to learn that the Masai are well known for their good posture and have a very low incidence rate of lower back pain. He designed the MBT range with a curved sole to produce a rolling gait and avoid jarring. Users certainly seem happy with he benefits.
Fitflops Sandals, Boots And Shoes
The Fit flops range of fitness footwear was developed in the UK by ex-personal fitness trainer Marcia Kilgore. These also incorporate a specially shaped sole to simulate walking barefoot on soft ground and incorporate something which rejoices in the name of “microwobbleboard” technology. Testing at London South Bank University and Salford University in the UK has shown that the lower body muscles are engaged for longer when walking in Fitflops, in comparison with standard shoes. Fitflops will, according to the company website, give you a workout while you walk. They can tone your lower body just by walking around normally.
Of the different specially designed exercise shoes available, Fitflops are probably the least like fitness footwear. They have sandals available in a wide range of colors and styles and have introduced clogs, slippers and boots. Additional to the independent testing, anecdotal feedback from Fitflops wearers suggests that a wide variety of different benefits are available as a result of wearing these shoes. Improved posture, reduced cellulite and reduced heel spur pain are amongst the various benefits cited. Conventional flip flop type sandals can actually be a source of significant foot problems. However, Fitflops are approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA).
Skechers Shape Ups
Skechers Shape Ups shoes also incorporate a curved sole which uses specially selected materials in its construction. The idea, once again, is the reproduction of bare foot walking on soft sand. Studies in the USA and Japan have concluded that wearing Shape Ups while you walk can provide a number of benefits to wearers.
Reeboks Easy Tones
Reeboks contribution to the latest trend in fitness shoes is the most recent addition to the market. Unlike the other shoes mentioned thus far, these do not incorporate a curved sole but use special balance pods filled with air which are built into the sole. These generate “natural instability” when you wear them and this makes your muscles work harder as they try to readjust to compensate for the instability.
Once again, various independent tests appear to back up the claims that lower body muscles do more work when wearing this type of shoe. There are also any number of rave reviews from actual users, both on the company website and in other locations.
Intuitively, it’s just about possible to imagine how shoes that reproduce the effect of walking in soft sand might make your muscles perform some additional work. It’s probably also reasonable to assume that, if you’re trying to regain your balance on a constant basis, then that might make your muscles work a little bit harder. In any event, it’s certainly a very attractive proposition – getting a free lower body workout by doing nothing other than walking about as normal. It may well be worth a try. There is now such a wide selection of these miracle shoes on the market – at prices which are comparable to standard exercise shoes – that you could probably find a style that you like the next time you need a new pair of shoes anyway.
Tags: exercise, fitness, health, weight loss
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