During a period when footwear sales have been in decline – primarily due to the economic climate – toning shoes sales have been growing rapidly. In 2008, toning sales of toning shoes were as low as $ 17 million. In the first four months of 2010 alone, toning shoe sales soared to $ 252 million. The list of the top ten grossing fitness shoes at this time includes no less than six toning shoes – four Skechers Shape Ups and two Reebok Easy Tones.
The great attraction of toning shoes is that they promise to provide the wearer with a free lower body workout if they just wear them whilst walking about normally during the course of their normal daily business. There’s no need to schedule a visit to the gym into your day – and no membership fees to pay either. All you need to do is to wear a different pair of shoes and you will have toned legs and a pert butt before you know it.
Toning shoes deliver this walking workout using a specially designed sole. There are design variations across different brands. Skechers and MBT Shoes use a thick, chunky sole, FitFlops use a sole which uses different densities of materials and Reebok Easy Tones have special air pods incorporated.
Whilst the exact mechanism may vary from brand to brand, the general theory seems to be that the sole should introduce an element of instability during the course of normal walking activity. This prompts the lower body muscles to attempt to re-establish balance – which makes them perform a little additional work. That’s how the toning and trimming is achieved.
The different manufacturers have had a variety of different tests and trials performed which, by and large, seem to back up their claims. User feedback is also extremely positive and a lot of happy customers even report additional benefits which are not claimed by the footwear manufacturers. Notwithstanding their apparent popularity, there are many who doubt the validity of the claimed benefits of toning shoes and who regard them as little more than the latest health and fitness fad.
Considering the sales figures, there is definitely high consumer demand and a strong market for toning shoes. The product is aimed fairly and squarely at time starved modern women – working mothers and soccer moms. Skechers, probably the biggest player in the toning shoes market, have seen their share of the women’s fitness footwear market treble – rising to 17%, equivalent to annual sales of $ 226 million. Reebok will also have been happy to see their market share grow to just under 7%.
Even in better market conditions, these would be regarded as extremely impressive results. Whether or not toning shoes genuinely deliver any fitness benefits, there can’t be much doubt that the annual accounts of both Reebok and Skechers are in much better shape thanks to them.
When the wet weather arrives, stay cool and trendy in a colorful pair of Hunter boots – the wellies that are worn by royalty! The latest range of FitFlops winter boots will give you a free lower body workout, keep you warm – all whilst still being very fashionable.