Toning footwear continues to pop up next to our conventional workout/gym shoe. Do the shoes really deliver all they promise? Like all of you, I’m on the hunt for leg perfection: toned thighs, butt and sleek calves. Can toning footwear really provide all of this just by wearing it? I was willing to be the guinea pig!
I’d never worn a pair of toning shoes before so when I was given the mission of attending Puma’s launch of BodyTrain as RESCU’s fitness expert, I was keen to see what they could do to enhance my training and, more importantly, my pins.
Our Bodytrain shoes were going to be worn through the entire workout. I was excited to have an early morning training session with Anthony Minichello, Adam Goodes, Mitchell Pearce, Toni Pearen and our very own Rescu. Editor, Bahar Etminan. We were all put through our paces with a circuit style workout with boxing, great for burning lots of calories and incorporating whole body movements. We noticed immediately our thighs were burning a little more than usual and my core engaged further by the addition of my new footwear.
The Bodytrain shoe need-to-know facts:
- Allows for greater leg activation and aims to enhance natural movement. You almost feel a little “moon-walkerish” but I can definitely feel my legs having to work a little harder through movements like walking and lunges.
- It’s a really lightweight, comfy shoe which you begin to adjust to the longer you wear them.
- The Rocker-shaped sole helps tone the back of the legs, while back to front motion mimics walking in sand and adding a compression ‘toe off’ property for strengthening and toning the front of the legs.
- The unique ldCELL technology in the midsole of the shoe compresses to create resistance and mimics the natural movement of the body and foot, which may help to reduce the chance of injury caused by gait and footfall adjustments that can occur when wearing some shoes. Instantly I feel taller, which is only a good thing being a bit on the shorter side.
- The shoe is not recommended for running, but definitely for walking and gym workouts/training sessions.
As a female and a trainer, I know we need all the extra help we can get to tone our thighs and butts. Toning shoes may give you the feeling of greater posture, improved leg muscle activation but you still need to put in the hard yards with proper training. Lunges, squats, running and skipping are four easy ways to ensure those pins are kept in top form, in combination with wearing your new footwear.
Try 15-20 of each of the lunge and squat with your running and skipping as an interval for 1 minute. Repeat this sequence 3-4 times and aim to include this mini-workout into your week at least 3-4 times.
Another range of ‘toning footwear’ that I was keen to put through its paces was the Fitflop.
- Unlike your standard thong which are a podiatrist’s worst nightmare, these thongs are designed and proven to activate your leg muscles more with each step. They cleverly contain MICROWOBBLEBOARD™ technology, a micro version of that used by physiotherapists to help with rehabilitation and post-injury muscle strengthening.
- The technology works by destabilising you through mid-foot and forcing the supporting muscle groups to activate quicker and kickstart muscle loading right up through the legs and butt.
- Fitflops users have reported reduction in heel spurs, plantar fasciitis, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis.
- I’m pleased to also report, they come in a range of colours and styles (I’m sporting the ‘Pietra’).
I would definitely recommend these to females who wear heels to and from work plus during the day. Swap them for a pair of Fitflops and you’ll notice the butt start to switch on more and the upper legs (quadriceps) engage further when you walk. Fewer visits to chiropractors or osteopaths are only a good thing. With our busy lifestyles, if these types of toning footwear can provide extra strengthening, I think it’s time to embrace it.
Stay Awesome till next time,
Nat x