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Posts Tagged ‘exercise’

Toning shoes are a recent development in fitness footwear – and they are proving to be extremely popular. Which is hardly surprising really – after all, who wouldn’t want to be able to tone their legs and trim their butt just by pulling on a different pair of shoes? There’s a wide selection of different brands on the market. The majority of them work on the basis of introducing a very small degree of instability whilst walking in them.

It doesn’t sound like a great idea – but the theory is that the wearer’s muscles will naturally react to the instability by attempting to regain balance, which makes them do a little extra work. The additional work carried out by the muscles in the lower body has the effect of trimming your butt and toning your legs more efficiently than normal walking. In effect, you get a lower body workout without having to visit the gym – and without having to pay any monthly gym membership fees.

Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) shoes were the first to appear. They weren’t originally designed as toning shoes. They were aimed at people who wanted to improve posture, reduce stress on joints and reduce lower back pain. They have a specially designed sole which produces a gentle rolling motion when your foot lands on the ground. This is intended to replicate the sensation of walking on soft sand in your bare feet. The sole is quite thick and chunky and not everyone will find it visually appealing. They are fairly expensive – but if they relieved your back pain, or toned up your lower body, you would probably consider them to be a worthwhile investment.

Skechers Shape Ups shoes also make use of a chunky, curved sole – which includes a special kinetic foam insert – to replicate the feeling of walking barefoot on soft sand. These are also fairly chunky and look much more like traditional exercise shoes than the MBT range.

Fit Flops sandals, clogs and shoes were originally developed in the UK and are now available worldwide. They look nothing like a standard exercise shoe but they deliver all of the benefits as other toning shoes – again by using a specially designed sole which is thicker than a conventional flip flop sole and which introduces a very slight instability whilst walking. They cost quite a bit less than the other shoes and – important for many – there’s a wide selection of different colors and styles to choose from. They began life as a range of sandals but, in response to customer demand, the range was expanded to incorporate boots, clogs and slippers.

Reebok has recently launched its own toning shoe – the Reebok Easy Tone range. This is slightly different from the other toning shoes insofar as it uses air pods built into the sole of the shoe to create instability rather than a specially shaped sole.

All of the manufacturers previously mentioned have independent test results which back up their assertions that their shoes can give you a lower body workout just by walking around as normal. There are also plenty of glowing testimonials from very satisfied users. It goes without saying that there are sceptics as well.

It sounds great doesn’t it – just pull on your magic shoes and work your lower body just by walking around. But is it maybe just too good to be true? Quite possibly it doesn’t matter that very much. Some of these shoes cost no more than traditional exercise shoes – some are even a little cheaper. You could just wait until you need a new pair of shoes anyway and then try them. If the only improvement that toning shoes provide is to encourage the wearer to walk more often, then that’s a worthwhile benefit in itself.

Whilst it’s true that they can be a pricey item, exercise shoes are definitely one of the most important items of fitness equipment that you can have. It doesn’t matter what sport you play or what your fitness program is, you need a good pair of shoes in order to get the maximum enjoyment and health benefits from it. If your shoes are not well designed, or if they are not a good fit, you could give yourself blisters, perform below par and possibly even risk injury.

Some sports do require very specialized types of shoes, but the large majority of people will be happy enough with tennis shoes or cross trainers for general exercise – such as walking and jogging for example. At the moment, new designs of exercise shoes are appearing on the market. These are targeted mainly at people who either walk for exercise or, in certain cases, possibly don’t manage to get as much exercise as they might wish. They seem to have popped up from nowhere – and they are proving to be so popular that a new term has been invented for them – “toning” shoes.

The theory is that these shoes are designed in a manner which increases the amount of work carried out by the lower body muscles whilst walking normally. 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.

Many brands – such as Fit flops sandals, Skechers Shape Ups and Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) include a curved sole. This is intended to encourage a gentle rolling motion whenever the foot contacts the ground. This replicates the effects of walking barefoot on soft sand and minimizes mechanical shocks.

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 natural reaction of the lower body muscles will be to try to regain balance. As a result, the muscles need to work harder and your lower body is being toned with every step you take. 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 available Fitflops and MBTs look least like fitness footwear. This will be an attractive proposition for many people as the shoes are claimed to be capable of providing you with a “workout while you walk”. The suggestion is that you will tone your lower body by wearing the shoes as you walk around during the course of your normal daily routine. To be fair, MBTs are aimed more at people who might want to improve posture or reduce back and joint pain than those who wish to tone up and trim down.

The Skechers Shape Ups range now includes some shoes which don’t look like exercise footwear. They have Mary Janes for example. 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, is the use of these new miracle shoes really going to give you a workout while you walk? Will you really be able to trim and tone your lower body simply by wearing a different pair of shoes? It’s definitely a very appealing proposition. There will be a great many people who would like to exercise much more frequently but who find it nigh on impossible to fit it into their daily schedule.

Opinions are divided, if not exactly polarized, at this time. Needless to say, all of the manufacturers are keen to cite the results of independent scientific testing which validates 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 hand, many doctors and health specialists have cast serious doubt over the claims made.

At the end of the day, these shoes cost around about the same as normal fitness footwear. There’s a large choice of different brands, styles and colors – there’s bound to be something that you like. 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.

One of the most searched topics on the internet is weight loss. Below are a few simple tips that can help you lose some weight no matter where you are now.

The average person drinks soda, coffee, tea, and other high calorie drinks on a daily basis. One way to ease into your weight loss campaign is to start eliminating those drinks and replacing them with water. This one change of drinking water instead of sugary drinks could help you lose several pounds a month even if no other changes were made.

Water can also help you eat less. Additionally, if you don’t have enough water, your body can confuse that with hunger forcing you to eat when you are really just thirsty. Drinking water right before a meal can also help you eat less. You will eat less because you feel full faster. Having plenty of water in your system will also help you flush out toxins which will make you feel better and help you lose weight.

Many people do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. If you make an effort to have one vegetable with each meal and have at least one fruit snack instead of a junk food snack each day, you will, naturally lower the number of calories you consume and still feel full. If you have a salad with each meal you can eat your normal diet, but less of it making it healthier. You could also use a health supplement like acai berry drinks because there are lots of acai berry health benefits including a high concentration of antioxidants.

Now that we have talked about diet, lets cover exercise. Even if you are doing a lot of exercises (like advanced ab exercises), chances are you can either do more of it or do more effective exercises. Here are a couple ideas for you to consider.

If you don’t do regular exercise yet, the first thing to do is start. Don’t try to run a marathon or start doing wind sprints. You have to start with something easier. Walking is a great way to get started. If you can do it in the morning, it is a great way to get your blood flowing and start the day. If you want to walk in the evenings it is a great way to unwind after a busy day. The sooner you start, the sooner you will start losing weight.

If you are already walking or running, you can probably increase the intensity and get more out of your workout. One great way to do this is to do mixed intensity training. For example, start out walking for a couple minutes to get warmed up. The next step is to jog for a minute. Next you will run for a minute. Finish off the interval with one minute or running as fast as you can. From here you start over with walking or a slow jog What happens is that you get your heart racing when you run fast then you catch your breath by going slower, but your heart keeps racing. This is almost like running fast the whole time, but you are able to catch your breath. This type of mixed intensity exercise can be highly effective at improving your heart health and burning fat.

This is just a few ideas for you. If these tips don’t work for you try something else. Just remember, losing weight really isn’t that difficult. You have to either burn more calories or eat less calories to lose weight. The more calories you burn or the less you eat, the better you will do. If you make a few small changes, they add up to big results over time and are usually easier than making massive changes. Don’t stress out over trying to be perfect, just focus on being better. As long as you do something consistently, you should get good results over time.

If you would like to lose weight then you have to look at your calorie balance. Simply put, if you consume fewer calories by eating and drinking than you expend by physical activity, you will tend to lose weight. Physical activity includes almost everything that you do throughout the day. You burn calories all the time during the day. Surfing the internet, doing the ironing, watching TV – all of these normal daily activities use up a certain amount of calories.

Your metabolic rate is the speed at which you burn off calories. Of course, different people can have very different metabolic rates. We all know some lucky people who don’t seem to put on weight regardless of how much they eat. They probably have a high metabolic rate.

And that’s why you should incorporate some amount of regular exercise in your weight loss efforts. Clearly when you exercise you will burn off calories, which is a good thing of course. However, what’s even better is that, as long as your exercise is conducted on a regular basis it will actually cause your metabolic rate to rise. You will burn off more calories than before – even when you’re not exercising – and that could help you see better results, and a lot faster, than if you rely solely on dieting to lose weight.

The main thing is consistency. There’s no need to visit the gym or get all hot, sweaty and out of breath, a low intensity workout will do the trick – as long as it is performed regularly. Walking is an extremely popular form of exercise. It’s easy to do, it doesn’t carry any high monthly membership fees, you can fit it into your day whenever you like and you don’t need any special training or equipment. It has very many health benefits in addition to helping you to lose weight and, as it’s a low impact workout, it has a very low risk of injury.

If you wish, you can boost the effectiveness of your walking exercise program using the latest design of exercise shoes. You can now buy specially engineered shoes such as Skechers Shape Ups, Reebok Easy Tones, MBT’s and Fit flops sandals – all of which use specially designed soles to increase the amount of work performed by your lower body muscles and to help tone your legs and trim your butt. However, even if you don’t feel the need to try any of these, then do be absolutely certain to get yourself a pair of shoes that are a good fit and are comfortable. If your shoes are uncomfortable or, even worse, give you blisters then it will be very hard to keep your walking exercise routine on track.

A lot of people ask how many calories walking will burn off. It depends upon your weight. A heavier person will use more calories per mile than a lighter person – simply due to the fact that they are carrying more weight over the same distance. As a rough guide we can consider that a 180 pound person – a typical adult make – will use around about 100 calories per mile. A 130 pound individual will burn about 84 calories when walking the same distance. If you would like to know more accurately how many calories you are using up then an Omron pedometer is accurate to within 5% and can show your results in terms of distance covered, calories burned or the total number of steps taken.

Health and fitness professionals seem to be in general agreement that if you can take 10,000 steps on a daily basis, you will unlock a number of different significant health benefits – including, but certainly not limited to, weight loss. However, you don’t need to go out and do this tomorrow. Take your time and build up at a pace you’re comfortable with. If you have any medical conditions, or if you haven’t taken any regular exercise for a while, then it would be advisable to seek the opinion of your doctor before you embark on any new exercise program. Don’t forget, the important thing is consistency and exercising on a regular basis. Short periods of high intensity activity are nowhere near as good as repeated low level exercise. That’s why walking is such a great exercise choice.