10/09/26 17:38:12 fvMV7F0Y
Will Toning Shoes Really Give You A Better Body?
URLﾘﾝｸ(www.acefitness.org)
The Results
Across the board, none of the toning shoes showed statistically significant increases in either exercise response or muscle activation during any of the treadmill trials.
There is simply no evidence to support the claims that these shoes will help wearers exercise more intensely, burn more calories or improve muscle strength and tone (Table 1).
The Bottom Line
“Don’t buy these shoes because of the claims that you’re going to tone your butt more or burn more calories. That’s absolutely wrong,” says Porcari.
Then how do researchers account for the anecdotal evidence (found on blogs, etc.) from those who wear the shoes and claim their muscles get sore, which must mean the shoes are working?
“Do you feel different when you’re wearing these shoes? Of course you do because you’re walking on probably an inch worth of cushioning,” explains Porcari.
“They feel different, and that’s why when people first wear them they’re probably going to be sore because you’re using different muscles.
But if you wear any sort of abnormal shoes that you’re not used to wearing, your muscles are going to get sore.
Is that going to translate into toning your butt, hamstrings and calves? Nope. Your body is just going to get used to it.”
“These shoes may be encouraging a fair number of people who probably wouldn’t put on a normal pair of walking shoes and go out and walk, to do so because they think they’re getting some super toning effect,” says Bryant.
“So if you want to look at a positive, it’s probably serving as a bit of a motivator to get a group of inactive individuals to at least get up and get moving.”