Health or Hype? Reebok easytone sneakers

Shoes which claim to help improve our balance, increase muscle stimulation, improve posture and more are not new to the market, but they are new to big name brands like Reebok.  Several years ago Bath and Bodyworks started marketing FitFlops, and they've pretty much been on back order ever since.  Sketchers jumped on the band wagon and produced a diverse line of "balance" shoes as well.

The question is though, do any of them actually work?  The idea behind the easytone shoe is that two little mini stability ball like pockets of air create instability, forcing your body and muscles to work harder.  The new easytone's are backed up by a study, commissioned by  Reebok in which participants wore the new shoes, while their muscle engagement was measured.  The study showed that the glutes of the participants increased by 28% and calve engagement increased by 11%, but there are some catches...  First off the study was only based on the first 500 steps taken by the participants.  Any fitness buff knows that our bodies have a pretty amazing learning curve, and although the first couple of times you try something new it may feel pretty tough, it doesn't take long before you need another challenge.  The fact remains that although initially our bodies may work harder when wearing these shoes, it's like anything else - give it a few weeks and literally it's just an odd looking shoe.  Furthermore, 11% is nothing.  Your legs doing 11% more work equates to taking an extra 10 steps for every hundred, that's it, so why not just park a littler further away next time, or do 10 calve raises next time you're standing in line somewhere?

Further more, the shoes cost over $100, and in most instances should not replace your normal gym shoes.  The company notes that the shoes should not be worn during activities with lateral motion (i.e. just about anything other than simply walking or jogging on a flat surface).  In other words, you're buying a pair of less than adorable athletic shoes which you are only supposed to wear when not working out.  Ask yourself how much use will you really get out of them?  From a financial standpoint my advice is to get a few sessions with a trainer, who will help you map out a total fitness plan you can stick to which involves all the best things in life: good, hard work and sweat.  Those are sure to keep your butt looking good for many more years to come than some hyped-up shoes.

My final concern about easytone shoes and many like them is that the principle on which they are founded can very easily lead to over use and injury.  I'm sure many of you use a BOSU during your workouts, and have experienced aching foot muscles while doing an extended set of exercises standing on the BOSU.  Instability, like the kind used in these shoes, forces our tiny muscles and connective tissue to work harder.  T-i-n-y muscles like the ones in your ankles, toes and under and arch of your foot do not raise your heart rate, and therefore do not burn calories.  In addition, what they do do is wear out really quickly.  You would not try to do finger curls with a ten pound weight - you would grab the weight and use your whole arm, because otherwise you would risk injury for no reason.  That's exactly what wearing these shoes for long periods of time can lead to - small muscle and connective tissue fatigue which can result in injury.  To me, that's enough to forgo the slim chance that they would actually make my butt look better, and I will use the time I would have spent shopping to do some butt work... we'll see who comes out on top.