Do Toning Shoes Really Work?
The toning shoe has become a fitness must have and has consumers lining up to try on these unusual looking shoes. Skechers was one of the first to introduce the toning shoe a couple years ago, they called it Shape-Ups. Many other shoe companies have followed in the rocking-sole design footsteps and produced their own version. GreenBeanBuddy.com has recently uncovered the fact that the shoe industry is under fire about the promises that the toning shoe claims. They have published a story about a Doctor who took it upon himself to test the products promise to shape and sculpt you legs and buttocks. “Dr. Mercer,recently decided to test the Toning shoe, after running into a friend who worked at a local shoe store, who asked him if he knew if the product really worked. He explained that he was uncomfortable about suggesting the shoe because he was skeptical of the promised benefits. “Dr. Mercer didnt know, either. So he recruited a group of healthy young female students (toning shoes are marketed almost exclusively to women) and had them walk on a treadmill for 10 minutes at a time while wearing, alternately, a walking shoe or a toning shoe in this case, the Skechers Shape-ups.” “He and his colleagues attached sensors to the womens legs to measure the electrical impulses generated as their muscles contracted. They also determined the womens oxygen consumption, to see if they worked harder and burned more calories with one shoe rather than the other.” “So Do They Work? The Tests Dont LieOr Do They? “But as it turned out, according to results presented in June at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, muscle activation and oxygen consumption were almost identical whether the women wore walking shoes or Shape-ups.” “The finding was a little surprising, Dr. Mercer said, since his volunteers commented that the toning shoes, with their bowed, unstable bottoms, felt different underfoot from the walking shoes. But that difference didnt change how they moved in the various models, he said.” Green Bean Buddy goes on to report that the findings of these test are sparking controversy and has many consumers asking how are the shoe companies getting away with falsely advertising benefits that the shoe does not uphold. “A 2009 study showed greater muscle activation when women wore the Reebok toning shoe, but it involved only five women and was financed by the shoe company. “Canadian researchers at the University of Calgary last year had volunteers wear a rocker shoe throughout the day for six weeks. “In the beginning, the volunteers wobbled in the unstable shoes, activating and strengthening small, underused muscles in the feet and ankles that stabilize balance. But after six weeks, the swaying had diminished and those stabilizing muscles were not being exercised to the same extent.” “The toning shoes, in other words, had provided benefits, but for a limited time.(Both the University of Puget Sound and the University of Calgary studies were financed in part by shoe companies.)” The fact that the shoe companies are making money off of people desperate to get fit in this fast paced day to day grind is what is upsetting to most. The representatives at GreenBeanBuddy.com put it simple,” The positive way to look at it is if the shoe motivates people into exercising or encourages walking you to get out there and walk, then the shoe is a success in my eyes. source: www.greenbeanbuddy.com
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