Reebok Easytone: Shoes With a Workout?
Posted on Nov 13th 2009 3:00PM by Ronnie KoenigFiled Under: Fitness
Perhaps you've seen the commercial for Reebok's new Easytone shoes? A fit, attractive model explains that these sneakers will help you tone your legs and butt. The camera pans down her lower body, showing the model's sculpted, toned butt.
You can see what we mean by taking a look at the commercial below.
Reebok claims that Easytone shoes will work your hamstrings and calves up to 11 percent harder and tone your butt 28 percent more than regular sneakers just by walking.
How is that possible? These sneakers have "balance ball-inspired technology" that engages muscles in your legs and glutes. Women who have tried the shoes claim that they take a little getting used to, but that they can feel their muscles engaging more.
But are women who purchase these Reeboks setting themselves up for disappointment? One can't help but compare these sneakers to FitFlops or NGR (No Gym Required) shoes that claimed to give you a workout just by walking. Where is the real science behind the Easytone shoes?
Dr. Ethan J. Ciment, a surgical podiatrist at The Chelsea Foot & Ankle Center in Manhattan says that the Reebok Easytone sneaker is the latest incarnation of shoe gear to utilize Masai Barefoot Technology.
"These types of shoes have a sensor (or a roll bar) toward the heel of the shoe that make the shoes somewhat 'unstable,'" Ciment said. This 'rolling' action from the heel strike forces the user to activate under-utilized muscles that are not as easy to engage when walking in conventional shoe gear. In this way, it simulates the act of walking barefoot. When wearing shoes with this kind of roll bar, you take smaller strides, step onto a more bent/flexed knee, and push off with a straight leg. All of this activates your hamstrings and glutes."
Will Reebok's Easytone shoes tone your hamstrings and glutes more than your conventional shoes? Ciment thinks so.
But buyer beware: These sneakers can also cause you to alter your gait and can potentially cause damage.
"I have treated many patients who wear shoes with the rocker-bottom or roll-bar technology who become so adapted to walking in that different way that they find it very painful to walk or stand in conventional shoes and sneakers, let alone barefoot," Ciment said. "Many patients develop painful forefoot issues like neuromas and even stress fractures from the increased load and weight-bearing on the forefoot that these kinds of shoes demand."
Because the Reebook Easytone shoes can cause a radical change in your stance and walk, Ciment recommends speaking with your podiatrist before purchasing the Reebok Easytone shoes, which retail for $109.58.
That's Fit's has ways to help you build muscle fast and get a great butt workout.
You can see what we mean by taking a look at the commercial below.
Reebok claims that Easytone shoes will work your hamstrings and calves up to 11 percent harder and tone your butt 28 percent more than regular sneakers just by walking.
How is that possible? These sneakers have "balance ball-inspired technology" that engages muscles in your legs and glutes. Women who have tried the shoes claim that they take a little getting used to, but that they can feel their muscles engaging more.
But are women who purchase these Reeboks setting themselves up for disappointment? One can't help but compare these sneakers to FitFlops or NGR (No Gym Required) shoes that claimed to give you a workout just by walking. Where is the real science behind the Easytone shoes?
Dr. Ethan J. Ciment, a surgical podiatrist at The Chelsea Foot & Ankle Center in Manhattan says that the Reebok Easytone sneaker is the latest incarnation of shoe gear to utilize Masai Barefoot Technology.
"These types of shoes have a sensor (or a roll bar) toward the heel of the shoe that make the shoes somewhat 'unstable,'" Ciment said. This 'rolling' action from the heel strike forces the user to activate under-utilized muscles that are not as easy to engage when walking in conventional shoe gear. In this way, it simulates the act of walking barefoot. When wearing shoes with this kind of roll bar, you take smaller strides, step onto a more bent/flexed knee, and push off with a straight leg. All of this activates your hamstrings and glutes."
Will Reebok's Easytone shoes tone your hamstrings and glutes more than your conventional shoes? Ciment thinks so.
But buyer beware: These sneakers can also cause you to alter your gait and can potentially cause damage.
"I have treated many patients who wear shoes with the rocker-bottom or roll-bar technology who become so adapted to walking in that different way that they find it very painful to walk or stand in conventional shoes and sneakers, let alone barefoot," Ciment said. "Many patients develop painful forefoot issues like neuromas and even stress fractures from the increased load and weight-bearing on the forefoot that these kinds of shoes demand."
Because the Reebook Easytone shoes can cause a radical change in your stance and walk, Ciment recommends speaking with your podiatrist before purchasing the Reebok Easytone shoes, which retail for $109.58.
That's Fit's has ways to help you build muscle fast and get a great butt workout.
