Running Shoes Are Just As Good As Expensive Toning Shoes

Many may have seen the shoes Sketchers Shape-ups and Reebok EasyTone.  Shape-ups claims that it "can help burn more calories, tone muscles and more."  Reebok EasyTone says that the shoe is "proven to work your hamstrings and calves up to 11% harder. And tones your butt up to 28% more than regular sneakers just by walking.”

Toning shoes are one of the hot product in the athletic shoe industry.  Toning shoes are designed to have an unstable base so that your body will continually adjust and balance itself.  This action makes you leg muscles work harder than normal.  Thus, they claim that it could help you lose weight and tone your muscles.  But a recent research says they are just as good as any other running shoes when used for walking.

The Study

The studies were conducted by the American Council on Exercise (ACE).  Their study was to evaluate exercise responses to walking in traditional athletic shoes (a New Balance running shoe) versus the popular toning shoes.  The second study evaluated muscle activation when walking in regular athletic shoes compared to toning shoes.

The Results

The results of the study was published last week.  You can read the full report here.

"Both studies found that there was no significant difference between any of the toning shoes and the standard running shoe," says ACE's Todd Galati. Bottom line, says Galati, is that claims that toning shoes help people burn extra calories, improve muscle tone and build strength are bunk.

"These shoes are not a magic pill. It is the walking that will make a difference in your life. Not the shoe," he says.

The Reaction

But that's not the way Skechers sees it.

"Well, first of all, I would say that the study that they conducted is deeply flawed," says Leonard Armato, president of Skechers Fitness Group. He says the ACE studies are too limited. He says they're contradicted by what he calls "more than a dozen larger and more rigorous studies" — and by customer response.

"Skechers has received 12,000 unsolicited positive reviews of Shape-ups," Armato says. "And many of these people insist that the benefits they have received have literally transformed their lives for the better."

But ACE stands by its studies, pointing out that they were conducted by independent researchers at the University of Wisconsin.

Galati of ACE does concede that while toning shoes aren't magic, they might motivate people to walk and exercise more — and that can only be a good thing.

A Better Solution

If you wish to really burn more calories while walking, simply carry a pair of handweights.  Pumping your arms as you work will boost the intensity of the workout.  ACE's Chief Science Officer Cedric Bryant Ph.D. further recommends wearing a weighted vest (of up to 10% of your total bodyweight).  For beginners, start with light weights of 1 to 3 pounds so you don’t put undue stress on your elbows and other joints.

Source:  www.npr.org