There's little doubt that women everywhere are very interested in toning shoes. When you think about it, it's hardly surprising. They promise to provide wearers with a cellulite reducing, leg toning, butt firming, posture improving lower body workout with every single step that they take. No need to find the time for a trip to the gym - and no need to get hot, sweat and out of puff. All you need to do is pull on a different pair of shoes before you leave the house and you'll be in better shape before you know it. You can understand how many professional women or busy mothers would find that to be an attractive prospect.
Although toning shoes are fairly new, they are one of the fastest growing market segments in the footwear sector. A variety of different brands and designs exist, all of which rely on a special design of sole to work. The sole is designed to encourage the muscle in the lower body to work a little bit harder whilst walking. That's how the trimming and toning results are delivered.
Skechers Shape Ups and Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) Shoes use a chunky, shaped sole which is intended to mimic the mechanics of walking upon soft sand. FitFlops incorporate a sole which makes use of something called "microwobbleboard" technology. This generates minor imbalances during the course of walking which the muscles in the lower body try to compensate for. The Reebok Easy Tone range use specially designed air pods (designed by an ex-NASA scientist, believe it or not) in their soles. These also produce a small amount of instability which encourages the lower body muscles to attempt to restore the body's natural balance - which makes them work a little harder.
Most toning shoes look like exercise shoes - FitFlops are the exception to the rule. They have never looked anything like fitness footwear and include clogs, slippers and brightly colored sandals in their range. However, manufacturers such as Skechers are now making sandals, boots and shoes which don't look anything like exercise footwear.
Toning shoes have generated a certain amount of controversy. Various "independent" trials have been commissioned by the different manufacturers and, in general, these seem to back up the claims made regarding enhanced muscle activity. There's no shortage of glowing testimonials from happy customers. Almost inevitably, there are probably just as many who consider the claims to be unrealistic and doubt whether the studies carried out to date can be considered as genuinely independent and unbiased given that the manufacturers were the source of the funding for these.
No doubt there are two sides to the story. However, walking is recognised as one of the best ways to take exercise by both health and medical professionals. If toning shoes do nothing other than to encourage users to walk a little bit further and a little more often than they would typically do then that's a pretty good result in itself.
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Learn more about Skechers Shape Ups toning footwear. They have great choice of sandals, sneakers, slippers, clogs and winter boots which will give you a workout while you walk. It's a very good method to ramp up the effectiveness of your walking for weight loss routine.
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