Have you been tempted to spend a lot of money for a pair of shoes that promises to burn calories, tone your butt, build muscle, and improve your posture?

Read this American Council on Exercise (ACE) study first! Will Training Shoes Really Give You A Better Body?

The conclusion, after studying Reebok EasyTone, Skechers Shape Ups, and MBT: Masai Barefoot Technology:

It's an old, familiar story:

I will say, though, that for people who are on their feet all day, these shoes can alter their standing/walking pattern enough to prevent foot and back pain. I've never seen a positive review for these shoes for someone interested only in fitness...but I've seen a TON from people who normally have sore feet.

My wife works at a florist and stands/walks all day. She used to have terrible, horrible foot pain and huge calluses on the bottoms of her feet. Shape-Ups have made her workday tolerable. But I haven't noticed any difference in her weight or muscle tone.

I've seen the same thing as Amanda - one of my managers started wearing a non-slip version of the Nike ones in the restaurant and she says that her feet feel fantastic. She is on her feet 8-12 hours per day. No noticeable difference in weight or muscle tone with her, either.

I've been wondering about these for a while - the neuroma in one foot can do with all the help it can get - but the cost is prohibitive for something I don't know would even be comfortable.

However, one of our low cost supermarkets is launching a pair on Thursday for about £30 (?$40?), so I may try them and see.

I ended up buying a pair of Skechers shape-ups. To be honest, I really didn't expect them to help me lose weight or tone. I got them because I have severe back issues - arthritis of the spine, degenerative disk disease, herniated disk. Good days, I feel like my spine is full of ground glass. Bad days, it feels like large glass chunks. Makes walking extremely difficult for me.
My Skechers are extremely comfortable, very shock-absorbing so less impact on joints. Most importantly they have reduced my back pain and allow me to walk more.
Skechers shape-ups.... $90. Reduced pain.....priceless.

I have been wanting to try these, but honestly I don't know if I'm willing to throw down $100 for something I don't think I would use all that often. I can't really wear them to work and I don't really see myself wearing them around the house. I have heard they're great for people who are on their feet all day, walking forward. They are hard to move side-to-side in, and you lose a lot of agility. I guess that's the whole point though, to throw off your balance a little to engage more muscles.

For everyone that has them- are the soles really thick? They look like they would add at least 3". I'm 6' tall and really self-conscious about adding on any additional height.

I can't speak for the Skechers (why the **** would I pay $100 for their shoes when I can go to K-mart and get the Therashoe brand for $20!?!?!?) but the ones I have do have very thick soles and would probably add at least 2 - 3 inches.

The Kmart ad has the toning shoes on sale for $19.99 with a buy one get one 50%off. I haven't been to my local kmart to see if they have them in. But I was thinking about it. My dh tried on a pair last week and said they were weird. I'm thinking "aren't they girls shoes? do they come in guy sizes?" But hey, I wasn't with him so he can try on any ol' pair of shoes he wants.

LOL...come to think of it, I don't remember seeing any "men's shoes" like that...but maybe they do have them over in their department and I just haven't ventured over there.

I did my best to get a pair from the cheapy supermarket: got there at 10 on the day they came in but the assistant told me they'd all gone. I'm sure she wasn't really gleeful but it felt like it. :blush:

I've written to head office - either they didn't get enough stock in or they've allowed customers to buy them by the sack load. I expect to see them any day now on ebay!

(Thank goodness sour grapes have no calories..... )

Thanks for posting this, Meg!

DH bought a pair last week. He got Sketchers non-slip, so they were a bit more expensive than the standard shape-ups, around $115. He manages a restaurant and is on his feet for ~15 hours a day, and no-slip soles are a requirement. I read a bunch of reviews for all of the shoes, and determined that you get what you pay for in terms of quality. His normal work shoes are around $100/year, so if the Sketchers last him a year we haven't really lost anything.

So far, he loves them. He says his feet, legs, butt, and back hurt less. And he's not even wearing them a full day yet, since he's still getting used to them. They do have thick soles, they added about 3 inches to his already tall body. But the men's styles are very unobtrusive, they actually look like casual dress shoes instead of tennis shoes.

I know I'm late coming into this thread, but I just wanted to add that I bought the Reebok Easytone flip flops and have been wearing them for over a month now with no noticeable difference in my buns, hamstrings or calves (the 3 areas these claim to target). But they are really comfy, so I'm still glad I got them.

Same thing here. I got the shape ups, and while my butt and thighs know no difference, my heels love them! I have a habit of standing with all the weight on my heels. Not in these shoes, I'd fall on my butt! LOL. It makes walking/standing MUCH more comfortable! My fiance likes his too!

I bought a pair of Sketchers Sandals in May and they broke by November. I was so mad. I have never paid that much for a pair of shoes in my life. I loved the shoes but there's no way they should have broken that quickly even if I lived in them for 6 months. I do not recommend those shoes.