Is anyone else sick of the Sketchers ShapeUps commercials on TV? Give me a break! If these shoes really did what they claim, gym memberships would be obsolete. Now, having said that, I am all for people being active and especially walking so if wearing the shoe is your only incentive, well then more power to ya. BUT…consider that the benefits you are getting are most likely from getting off your keester and doing something, not from the shoes. Here are their claims followed by some of my observations and opinions and comments from the experts.

1. Improves Posture

Only if you are carrying a stack of books on your head while you are walking.

2. Strengthens Back

The foot bone’s connected to the shin bone, the shin bone’s connected to the knee bone, the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bond’s connected to the hip bone, the hip bone’s connected to the back bone…..duh! Makes perfect sense.

3. Firms Buttocks Muscles

I think I’ll run out and get a pair in every color.

4. Reduces Cellulite and Tones Thighs

And never take them off……..

5. Firms Calf Muscles

So do my 4 inch heels and they go better with my dresses.

6. Improves Blood Circulation

Maybe…….

7. Tightens Abdominal Muscles

So do coughing and sneezing.

8. Improves Balance (I added this one)

Not like walking on my 5 inch platform shoes!

9. Weight Loss

Because you have to get up off the couch to go put them on.

10. They are Cool Looking ?? ( I added this one too)

Yeah, like Crocs and Birkenstocks …..and Earth Shoes.

Now for the expert’s opinions:

“They’re not for everyone,” said board certified podiatrist and surgeon Scott Jason of Jacksonville Foot Clinic and the Foot Clinic of Palatka. “Even though these shape-up shoes require wearers to use more of the gastrocnemius muscle, or the calf muscle located in the back of the leg that can help firm and create more muscle tone, they can increase the workload of the Achilles tendon causing Achilles tendonitis.”

Two independent studies sponsored by the non-profit American Council on Exercise came to a this conclusion. A team of exercise scientists found “no evidence to support the claims that these shoes will help wearers exercise more intensely, burn more calories or improve muscle strength and tone.”

The researchers used two groups of 12 physically active young females walking on a treadmill set at different grades. In one study, researchers measured the subjects’ oxygen consumption, heart rate, perceived exertion and calorie burn. The second study measured activity in back and lower-body muscle groups.

“Across the board, none of the toning shoes showed statistically significant increases in either exercise response or muscle activation during any of these treadmill trials,” the authors wrote.

I’m sure there are a few benefits to walking in ShapeUps and there are some people whose feet just feel good in them. They are not recommended for people with weak ankles or pronated feet and I certainly would caution against wearing them on uneven terrain. In conclusion, when it comes to getting in shape and losing weight, don’t rely on you shoes to do the work for you!