There’s no doubt that they can be an expensive item of equipment, but exercise shoes are one of the most important pieces of fitness equipment that you will have. Whatever sport you take part in, and whatever your exercise regime is, you definitely need a good, comfortable pair of shoes in order to derive the maximum enjoyment and fitness benefits from it. If your shoes are badly designed, or if they don’t fit you properly, then you could get blisters, fail to enjoy your activity and even increase the risk of sprains and other injuries.

Special shoes may be required for certain types of sports, but generally people will be content with tennis shoes or cross trainers for all round types of exercise - walking and jogging for instance. At the moment, new designs of exercise shoes are appearing on the market. These are aimed primarily at people who either walk for exercise or, in some cases, maybe don’t exercise as much as they would like. They appear to have suddenly popped up from nowhere, and they are becoming so widely used that a new name has been given to them - “toning” shoes.

These shoes are specifically designed to increase the amount of work carried out by the muscles in the lower body whilst engaged in normal walking activity. There are now a number of different manufacturers, each with their own offerings available, and designs vary, but this is typically achieved by the use of a specially designed sole.

A lot of the brands - such as Fit flops sandals, Skechers Shape Ups and Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) incorporate a specially shaped curved sole. The idea behind this is to encourage a rolling motion when the foot comes into contact with the ground. This reduces any impact shock and is intended to reproduce the effect of walking barefoot on a soft, yielding surface such as sand or thick, lush grass.

The Easy Tones from Reebok are the latest offering available on the market and also use a specially designed sole. However, instead of using a curved sole, Easy Tones have air pods included which produce a small amount of imbalance. The lower body muscles will react and try to regain balance so as to compensate for this. This requires extra effort so your lower body gets toned. As well as the use of a curved sole, Fitflops also use this same principle by incorporating something which they call “microwobbleboard” technology in their range of footwear.

Of the brands on the market Fitflops and MBTs look least like exercise shoes. Many people will find this appealing as the shoes are promoted as being able to give you a “workout while you walk” and also “the sandal with the gym built in”. Clearly the suggestion is that you can tone up your lower body just by wearing the shoes and going about your normal daily routine. MBTs are, to be fair, aimed more at people who want to alleviate back and joint pain than those who want to get into better shape.

There are some shoes which don’t look like fitness footwear included in the Skechers Shape Ups range. For example, Mary Janes are available. The Reebok Easy Tones range is much more focused on the mainstream fitness and exercise market and look very much like what they are - high tech fitness footwear.

So, can you really get a “workout while you walk” just by wearing these new wonder shoes? Can the simple, and easy to achieve, act of pulling on a different pair of shoes in the morning really help to trim and tone your lower body? It’s certainly a very appealing notion. There must be a great many people who would like to exercise much more frequently but who find it very difficult to find the time for this in their crammed daily routine.

Opinions are divided at the moment. Obviously all of the manufacturers are eager to cite the results of independent clinical tests which confirm the effectiveness of their products. Neither is there any shortage of positive feedback from wearers who swear by this type of shoe. On the other side of the coin, there are a number of doctors and health specialists who have expressed strong doubts concerning some of the claims made.

At the end of the day, these shoes cost around about the same as normal fitness footwear. There is a very wide range of colors and styles available - so you should find something to suit your taste. Perhaps the next time you need a new pair of shoes anyway, you might want to consider trying a pair of toning shoes and finding out if they work for you.

Boost the effectiveness of your walking workout routine using Fit flops exercise shoes. Keep your motivation levels up by using an Omron pedometer to monitor your progress.