I first saw the MBT shoes in the Bliss catalog nearly three years ago, and I have to admit I was tempted. Toned thighs, a tighter butt…who wouldn’t go for it? Later on I caught the most gorgeous guy in my office (who moonlighted as a model) wearing them and a few weeks later, one of our neighborhood walkers was shooshing down the street in a pair. So what’s the deal with these funny looking exercise shoes?

Well, to some of us, those soles may look kind of familiar. Back in the day they were called “Earth Shoes,” and the only kids who wore them were the “granolas” who twirled at Grateful Dead concerts and smelled faintly of patchouli. Here’s the scoop.

How Does It Work?

The Swiss based Masai Group claims to the first to come up with the “rocker soled” shoe, which they say helps solve knee and back problems, ease joint pain and tone and firm buttocks and thighs.  There have even been published claims about MBTs reducing cellulite. The step-roll-step-roll action of the shoe says MBT, functions on the basis of “natural instability,” an action that can be reproduced naturally by walking on sand. According to the company, the action of the MBT shoe helps activate and strengthen the small supporting muscles that are the body’s “natural shock absorbers” creating “natural instability” to which the body responds with small, intuitive compensatory movements. You can read more about this at the MBT website.

Popular Manufacturers Get Into The Act

Reebok is having quite a bit of success with their take on MBT fitness with their Easy Tone walking shoes, designed by a former NASA engineer, You’d have to be dead to not have seen their print and broadcast campaigns featuring micro-short clad models. The company says that compared to a typical foam based walking shoe Easy Tone generated 28% more gluteus maximus muscle activation, 11% more hamstring activation, and 11% more calf activation in lab tests.

Sketchers’ entry,  Shape-ups claims a “reduction in body fat, improved aerobic conditioning and increased energy consumption.” Their clinical studies page also says the shoes will give you “improved exercise tolerance.” Mmmmm.

Finally, the FitFlop brand offers a “workout while you walk” and claims that wearers have reported relief from plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, chronic back pain, sciatica, osteoarthritis, RLS (restless leg syndrome), scoliosis and degenerative disc disease. Pharmaceutical companies take note.

Getting to the Truth

So where is the truth in all of this?

Well, according to a recent article in the New York Times, the Reebok claim of improved muscle tone is backed by a single study involving 5 people, which was not published in a peer reviewed academic journal. Conducted at the University of Delaware, the study involved just five women walking for 500 steps wearing either the EasyTone or another Reebok walking shoe and while barefoot. Using sensors that measure muscle activity, the researchers showed that wearing EasyTone worked gluteal muscles an average of 28% more than regular walking shoes. Hamstrings and calf muscles worked 11% harder.

Nonetheless, many exercise shoe users have reported numbness in their feet and toes, pain, soreness and even injury as a result of wearing these shoes.

It stands to reason that wearing any shoe that creates instability for the wearer will cause the wearer to “correct” for that instability – and that correction requires the use of muscles not normally used (or not used to that degree) in normal walking.

As fitness blogger Paige Waehner recently put it, “It's certainly possible these shoes will activate your legs more (and it certainly feels that way), but that doesn't mean you'll have more toned glutes and thighs because of it. Your experience with this shoe will most likely depend on why you're buying it. If you're looking for drastic changes in your body or you want to look like some of the women wearing booty shorts in the EasyTone advertisements, no shoe, no matter how fabulous, can do that for you.

“What we do know is that a pair of shoes isn't enough to change the shape of your hips, glutes and thighs unless, perhaps, you strap them to your thighs with a couple of weight for some squats and lunges. If you want to tone your body, you need to build muscle with strength training and lose body fat with cardio and a healthy diet. It's possible that you'll walk more with (these shoes) and that may contribute to burning more calories which is always a good thing. However, expecting more than that may leave you disappointed.”

Back to the treadmill ladies. Save your $110 bucks. 

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Tags: mbt, fitflop, easytone, reebok, shape ups, fitness shoes, exercise shoes, gear, cellulite reduction

Although there seems to be a steady stream of "get in shape" pills, drinks, gadgets...and shoes- WE all know there is only one way to get in shape and that is to exercise regularly. I just don't get why people avoid exercise like it was the plague! I can't live without my runs! ;-) Posted by: bmoore on Jun 23, 2010 at 08:53 PM

It should also be noted these shoes have instructions. If those instructions aren't followed there is a higher chance of numbness, pain, soreness, and injury. You can't just buy the shoes and wear them all day, basically... Definitely not worth the $110! Posted by: fwaaette on Jun 23, 2010 at 08:15 PM

Thank you! Posted by: katykathjo on Jun 12, 2010 at 11:10 AM