You can't go too far nowadays without seeing ads for the new "Fitness / Shape Up shoes. But do they really work ??? Well, it all depends on your expectations.
If you think that wearing these shoes is ALL you have to do to get in great shape - then YOU are reading the wrong blog ! It ain't that easy !
Imagine the perfect legs. Tight, curvaceous, symmetrical things of beauty--able to look fantastic in tight jeans or shorts, yet also able to leap, jump, and step with grace and ease. Now, imagine a funky looking piece of footwear with an awkward bump along the bottom. This footwear is called a fitness shoe and it promises to give you those very legs. In addition to bestowing you , the wearer the calves and butt of Greek gods and goddesses, fitness shoes also promise to enhance balance and posture. But do fitness shoes actually work?
Fitness shoes go by many different names, including wellness shoes, toning shoes, and shaping shoes. A relatively new phenomenon over the past five years or so, fitness shoes are referred to in the shoe industry as rocker-style shoes, because they have a curved bottom and a heel that is lower than the toe, resulting in a rocking motion from the heel to the toe during the gait motion.How Do Fitness Shoes Work?
The premise of fitness shoes is that because of the instability they cause, along with a shift of your weight from the back of your feet to the front of your feet, your body will be forced to use different muscles while walking--specifically the buttocks, thighs and calves. In addition, because your weight is shifted forward, you may be less likely to slouch and you might even learn better balance because of the instability of the shoe.
Other Uses of Fitness Shoes
But before you throw out your fitness shoes, it is important to realize that there may be benefits that go beyond muscle activity and metabolism. For example, because the heel is lower than the toes, fitness shoes may help to improve flexibility in heel tissues, which could theoretically help relieve pain from Achilles tendonitis or plantar fasciitis. These shoes might also strengthen weak muscles in the foot.
Fitness shoes may also help motivate you to exercise, based on the simple fact that if you have a pair of shoes devoted to walking, you may be more likely to walk when you put on that special pair.
So if wearing fitness shoes makes you feel more motivated to walk, helps reduce discomfort you may experience in your feet during physical activity, or simply fits into your fitness fashion, then by all means--wear fitness shoes!
Get the Benefits Promised by Fitness Shoes without Fitness Shoes
Think about the claims made about fitness shoes: better calves, a better butt, tight and toned thighs, and improved posture.
Are there ways to achieve these benefits less expensively ? You bet! Quick and dirty tip for nicer calves: Every morning when you take a shower, attempt to perform 50 to 100 calf raises. For added difficulty, do them on a stair, and try 4 sets of 25, with each set separated by 25 light hops on your toes.
Quick and dirty tip for a better butt: Quick and dirty tip for tight and toned thighs: If you caught any of the Tour de France on TV, you may have noticed that cyclists have some of the most impressive legs in the business, particularly in their thighs. So if you’re going for that impressive, spandex-worthy upper leg musculature, include 2-3 bike rides or spin classes in your weekly fitness routine, with a focus on hill climbs and interval training. Hills were part of my training for my run and I was glad I did them no matter how hard/steep they were !!!
Quick and dirty tip for improved posture: Right now, roll your shoulders back, suck in your stomach, raise your chin, and tighten your butt. You suddenly have perfect posture, don’t you? Now, try a Farmer’s Walk exercise, in which you do all those same postural modifications, but you walk with a relatively heavy set of dumbbells or weights in either hand. Try 3 sets of 25 yards of Farmer’s Walks.
Ultimately, long-term research may eventually find that fitness shoes do offer benefits that we don’t yet know about, or perhaps shoe manufacturers will invent a new way to make fitness shoes more beneficial. But for now, there’s no need to worry that you’re not getting the most out of your walk simply because you aren’t rocking a pair of rockers!
REMEMBER - THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR REGULAR EXERCISE AND CLEAN EATING !
"Peace, Love and Fitness"
