My friend Bill Katovsky over at Zero Drop asked me to comment on this New York Times article published today that basically lambasted toner shoes. The article starts by discussing a recent study showing that toning shoes really don’t burn more calories despite marketing claims (no surprise). Then it cites research showing that toning shoes really don’t tone specific muscles (like your buttocks) despite marketing claims (again no surprise). Coming in a little late to the party (my comment was #29), and feeling like I really didn’t need to add fuel to the fire, I only commented that toning shoes essentially freeze out the foot from properly functioning which makes the rest of the body have to work harder. In that respect, they are similar to high heeled shoes – both types of shoes block the foot from doing its job, including naturally pronating, which increases the work up from the foot needed to support and transfer your body weight. That extra work doesn’t unfortunately translate into better tone in your buttocks. Instead, it’s manifested as increased joint pressures and forces than otherwise…not good.
Of course OESH works nothing like a “toner” shoe. There are no gimmicks with OESH…yes, your buttocks get a good workout…but so will everything else!
