The latest innovation in fitness footwear – toning shoes – which promise a free lower body workout just by walking around normally to their wearers, are proving to be extremely popular with women worldwide. Sales have sky-rocketed over the course of the last couple of years and the sales volume for 2010 is confidently predicted to be somewhere between $ 1 and $ 1.5 billion when the full results become available.
Designs vary from manufacturer to manufacturer – but the common theme is a specially designed sole which generates a small amount of imbalance during normal walking activity. This means that the leg and butt muscles have to work a little bit harder in order to try and maintain the body’s natural balance. That’s how the toning and trimming effect is achieved.
The big toning shoe firms – Reebok, Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) Shoes and FitFlops – have all carried out or commissioned studies to verify the effectiveness of their products. However, some query the validity of the results given that the studies were funded by the footwear manufacturers.
On the whole, feedback and user testimonials seem to be very positive. There are certainly plenty of glowing tributes from satisfied customers. It’s noteworthy that a high percentage of satisfied customers advise of benefits which aren’t actually claimed by the footwear manufacturers. Relief from foot pain and/or joint pain is frequently mentioned.
Perhaps it shouldn’t be so surprising. After all, Masai Barefoot Technology shoes were initially developed to help alleviate back pain after their inventor, Karl Muller, found that walking barefoot across a Korean rice field helped to relieve his back pain.
After some further research, he learned that the Masai tribesmen of Africa have a much lower incidence of back pain than westerners and that they are also noted for their excellent posture. He went on to develop MBT shoes which, thanks to their specially engineered sole, replicate the mechanics of walking barefoot across soft ground.
FitFlop wearers are every bit as likely to wax lyrical about the great fit and extreme comfort of their FitFlops as they are to mention any perceived toning benefits. It’s almost as if the toning effects are a nice bonus rather than the main reason for buying these shoes.
The fact that the new Fit Flops release is a clog targeted specifically at hospital workers, doctors, nurses and other shift workers who spend long periods of time on their feet throughout the course of their working day/night is noteworthy. The special design of sole delivers toning benefits – but it also distributes the weight of the body over the sole of the foot in a more uniform manner – and that’s why they are so comfortable to wear and to walk in.
According to the FitFlop company website, founder Marcia Kilgore has been lobbied by health workers and shift workers in grocery stores, planes and elevators to produce a shoe for hospital workers. Hence the appearance (in the UK only, for the moment at least) of the latest FitFlop Gogh Pro – a clog very similar to the existing ones in the FitFlop range but with the addition of a pivoting heel strap for a secure fit and a no-slip, no-marking sole.
Check out the newly released range of FitFlop winter boots. Or cast your eye over the latest range of Frye Boots for some top quality Western styling.