Okay, you knew it was coming. I haven’t ranted about anything in a while and this was building and building up and officially pushed me over the edge when I saw the amazing Joe Montana on TV advertising these god awful shoes.
If any of you have seen me in the gym, you know that I’m wearing the complete opposite of the Shape-Ups. I’m a huge fan of the Vibram Five Fingers (I’ll review these another time). The goal of a Vibram shoe is to place your body in the correct anatomical position and allow your ankles, feet and entire leg and hip to do actual work to hold you up and help you move. Your sense of balance and proprioception is incredible in these shoes. It’s like walking around bare foot.
Now, back to the problem at hand. The Sketcher Shape-Up is an amazing marketing campaign. “Get in shape without stepping foot into a gym.” Really? Another magic bullet. You’ll put these shoes on and just walk around, and your butt will be tight? Okay…
Their marketing is about the only thing they have done right. If you want my honest opinion, and I know you do…Sketchers Shape-Ups are dangerous. Not only do these shoes elevate your heels, creating a anterior pelvic tilt and a serious over-exaggeration of the natural lumbar curvature. Think of someone walking around with a really arched back. How painful is that over a long period of time? The other problem with these shoes is that they are completely unstable. They actually have specific Shape Up classes but the problem is, you cannot do a proper lunge or squat in these shoes without being completely off balance. Your glutes will not fire properly and because of this, you’ll actually see FEWER results.
When I train my personal training clients I always tell them to “push through your heel” when doing squats or lunges. This gives a metal cue to fire the right muscles (glutes) and also keeps them from putting stress on their knees. This is completely impossible if you are wearing Shape-Ups, a shoe that elevates your heel.
These shoes are really another marketing gimmick that is designed to let people know, “you can do very little work and get in shape.” Unfortunately that is not the case. Getting a toned butt and burning calories requires work. So do me a favor, stay away from the Shape-Ups and I’m not saying go out and buy some Vibram Five Fingers, but at least look for a shoe with a flat bottom and without weight loss gimmick slogans.
Vibram Five Fingers…
[...]Sketchers Shape-Ups: Really the Best Way to Tone Up and Burn Calories? – Cambridge Personal Training- Best Cambridge Personal Trainer- Cambridge Fitness-Boot Camps[...]…