The theory behind the design of tone shoes is that we should not be walking on hard flat surfaces constantly and lets face it, that makes sense. Naturally, a long time ago before we had shoes, we walked in bare feet or with soft footwear made of animal skins with no hard sole, and our feet were exposed to all types of terrain – solid ground, sand, mud, and vegetation. there would not have been a concrete footpath or asphalt road in sight
The fact that we were continuously walking on these surfaces meant that our body as a whole had to have worked differently. Stabilizing muscles would have been used constantly to help keep us upright and moving by supporting the other larger muscles that create the movement.
The different brands of tone shoes on the market have different structures in their soles and I have no doubt that some do a better job of creating that natural requirement for the stabilizing muscles to work than others.
Masai Barefoot Technology were the originators of this type of shoe (MBT’s or Anti Shoe are the other common names for these) and I have no doubt that they have done their research and put together a shoe that is based on that research due to the fact that this was the desire in the creation of these shoes in the first place.
The natural rolling action through the foot from the heel to the ball of the foot and toe, is the way we naturally walk when barefoot. Even when you watch little ones that have only just learned to walk, their foot does this rolling action from the heel to the ball of the foot, however put them in a pair of shoes with a hard sole and the gait is awkward, with feet kind of slapping the ground (this is something that worries me – the common practice of putting little ones in hard ‘cute’ but cheap shoes, even before they can walk these days).
The effects of tone shoes are based on the principle of natural instability. an effect which can, in fact, be achieved without the benefit of expensive or high tech footwear by simply walking barefoot on soft, uneven, natural ground such as sand or moss. however, in today’s modern world with expected standards of dress, concrete paths, concrete floors etc, this is not always easy to do. it is worth doing though, as the health benefits can be significant.
Wearing tone shoes means that the body is forced to maintain its natural balance, stimulating and exercising the body’s supporting muscle system resulting in many benefits for the body.
There are many manufacturers jumping on this popular bandwagon at the moment and the various brands of tone shoes on the market today, are marketed on the same basic principals. Wearing the shoes activate and strengthen the small stabilizing muscles in the body – the legs, buttocks, back and stomach as well as relieving pressure on joints by improving posture and gait.
I have seen amazing reviews and comments by wearers of these shoes who absolutely swear by them. Happy wearers that have relief from back pain, knee, hip and foot pain. I’ve also read comments from people who don’t like them and say they can’t wear them – but the numbers of happy customers seem to well outweigh the unhappy ones. I actually wonder if those wearers that say they can’t wear them are perhaps the less fit and their bodies are struggling more with adapting to the instability of the shoes? It’s just a question that I have in my mind as I know that human nature will often result in a negative result purely due to an unwillingness to really give something a go. however, I also know that we are all different and there is never a one size fits all solution.
These shoes are being marketed mainly from a weight loss, body toning perspective because that is where the marketers see the largest potential market I guess. Some people have had great results in this area and it’s very likely the case. if the muscles are being worked more then there is going to be some result there. That makes sense. whether it’s visible or not, again probably depends on the person. It’s also going to be dependent on how much an individual actually wears the shoes and how much they actually move in them if you buy a pair of tone shoes and wear them to work every day, but you sit in your car to get there and then sit at your desk all day, with the occasional wander to the coffee machine, then that’s probably not going to get great results now is it?
However put them on and go for a brisk walk for a half hour or an hour each day and you’ve got a whole different scenario. when it comes to weight loss and body toning, it’s still comes down to actually moving. There’s no getting away from that, but tone shoes can improve the results you get and that’s a good thing
Tone Shoes – How Do They Work?
