General Question

norah's avatar

Do those sneakers with the rounded bottoms really help tone your legs and bum?

Asked by norah (244points) December 7th, 2009

Sketchers has had them for a while with a really rounded bottom and now Reebok is making something similar… I tired on the Sketchers version and they are very comfortable, is there any actual evidence to back up their claims?

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16 Answers

Facade's avatar

It sounds like those sneakers just make your body work harder, especially with stabilization.

Working harder= burning more calories= losing fat/gaining muscle.

I don’t think there is a drastic difference, but they’re not advertising false claims either.

ItalianPrincess1217's avatar

I really hate those commercials for those shoes. How much more sexual can they make it?I think it’s totally inappropriate for a tv commercial that little kids can see! Sorry, I never even answered the question!

norah's avatar

It’s true, the ad is absurd, but they are very comfortable.

Facade's avatar

She doesn’t even have a nice butt…

Strauss's avatar

I like rounded bottoms!~

Facade's avatar

@Yetanotheruser That’s what I’m saying lol. Maybe it’s because I’m black~

Haleth's avatar

Even if they do, they look so ridiculous and over-the-top. It’s like seeing your boss use an exercise ball for a desk chair or something.

Soubresaut's avatar

I think they only work if people walk a long way in them… but then that’s the real problem, isn’t it? Everyone’s working or going to school, and usually driving or taking the bus/subway there. If we all got enough exercise, our bums and legs would tone themselves, we wouldn’t need shoes “designed” to to that, yeah?

stratman37's avatar

Jimmy’s got special shoes. They help Jimmy jump higher.

sevenfourteen's avatar

They technically do work because since they don’t have a flat bottom your quads/hamstrings/glutes are always working to keep you upright since you’re always “rocking” in them… it’d probably take a while though and theres NO way you’d look like the girl on the commercial. That’s like saying the mcdonalds hamburgers look like how the advertised bigmac does- they’re the same idea but definately don’t look as good.

The sneakers come from the same idea as using one of those rounded tops for your office chair that helps build abs and back muscles.

BraveWarrior's avatar

I have rounded bottom sandals (same idea) and wear them from time to time. Haven’t noticed a difference in my legs or butt, but you do feel it when you wear them, so I wear them anyway, just in case. But only around the house since (I think) they’re too ugly to wear in public. If nothing else, they do help your posture since you have to stand straight to keep your balance.

Simone_De_Beauvoir's avatar

Haven’t tried them, can’t judge but I really don’t think they’d make that much of a difference

jane2010's avatar

“In early 1990s, Swiss engineer Karl Müller was inspired by way Masai tribes of Kenya walked in bare feet across uneven terrain. He wanted to create shoe that enables you to stand and walk way nature intended… without sore backs and aching joints….He invented the MBT shoes… ” other companies copied him. I had posture problems and LOVE these shoes. http://www.mbt123.com/

tragiclikebowie's avatar

I have a pair of Fit Flops, which are essentially the same thing, but less expensive than the Sketchers/Reebok offerings. They are very comfortable and easy to walk around for a long time in. I do notice that my calves are stronger and more defined, and if I walk around in them long enough I will feel some slight “work out” pain in the front of my calves mostly, some in back. I was having some back problems before I got them and it seems to have helped as well.

tranquilsea's avatar

I would wonder what the long term damage to all your joints would be. Right from your feet and up your back. What kind of long term studies have they done?

You won’t see me in them.

tragiclikebowie's avatar

Damage to joints? They’re supposed to be low impact.

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