In 2010, affordable muscle-toning tennis shoes were introduced to the mass market. Footwear companies have even expanded their lines to include more formal footwear that they promise will shape the muscles in your legs, especially your calves. Additionally, some advertising has indicated that these shoes can even tone your buttocks. However, you should use caution when choosing to use so-called muscle-shaping footwear as they could produce long-term negative effects.
Purpose of Muscle Shaping Shoes
Muscle-shaping footwear is used to increase your muscle tone and improve the shape and contour of your legs and buttocks. By creating an unstable walking or running surface under your feet, these shoes force your leg and gluteal muscles to fire constantly during your workout or throughout the day in order to allow you to maintain your balance.
Raised Platform Shoes
The first line of muscle toning shoes released offer a raised platform underneath the entire sole of the shoe. Additionally, the platform is modified along the surface that contacts the ground to gradually decrease the thickness of the sole along the front and back of the foot creating a rocking motion. This exaggerates your dorsiflexion and plantarflexion, or the bending up and down of the ankle, which will promote increased muscle tone.
Low-Profile Shoes
The second generation of muscle shaping shoes is aesthetically more subtle. They use small, concentric circle raised platforms underneath several locations on the sole. By putting you slightly off balance when standing, these shoe models force your stabilizer muscles to activate including your lateral calf muscles, the central calf muscle, your buttocks and lateral hip muscles.
Benefits of Toning Footwear
Toning footwear can be a option for muscle shaping if you have a sedentary lifestyle and do not participate in daily exercise. However, you will not be likely to notice a significant difference if you work out at least three times per week, especially if you participate in weight-bearing aerobics or leg weight training. The most affected muscle group is your calf muscles, with your buttocks and thighs showing the least change. Research conducted by the American Council on Exercise shows no significant difference in muscle firing and toning for participants using muscle toning shoes versus standard athletic footwear, indicating that the benefits are small overall.
Short- and Long-Term Outcomes
You may experience some negative outcomes from using muscle toning shoes on a consistent basis. These shoes are effective because they challenge your balance. However, because you are off balance in high platform toning shoes, you are more likely to suffer an ankle sprain or strain, which is damage to the ligaments and tendons in your ankle. Furthermore, the low-profile model creates lateral strain on the ligaments in the sides of your knees. Both types of muscle shaping shoes adjust the curvature of your back, which can cause back pain in the long term.
Member Comments