ATLANTA,None — Toning shoes are the latest fad in fitness wear. Sales totaled more than $250 million in the first four months of this year alone.
But do these shoes do anything besides lighten your wallet? We asked Dr. R. Amadeus Mason at the Emory Sports Medicine Center. Dr Mason said, "If you're walking in the fit shoe and then you walk in a normal shoe and you go the same distance, you're not going to get any better benefit from the fit shoe than the normal shoes."
Lillian Winfrey has fitness shoes. In fact, she has two pairs. Her verdict?
"In terms of comfort they're absolutely fabulous. In terms of actually doing anything you're not going to be able to do going to the gym, it's just not going to happen."
Shawn Gorrell is a trainer at Operation Bootcamp. He also has a pair of the toning shoes. And he said that he can feel a difference when he's worn the shoes all day. However, Shawn said, "It's really, really a marginal difference, and I would say, if you're already fit, they'll give you a little bit more, but if you're not fit, they're not going to make you fit."
So here's the bottom line, if you'll pardon the tone up pun....Dr. Mason says the shoes might help with balance, and posture a bit, but it's no substitute for working out.
WSBTV
