Even though I’ve been teaching Pilates full-time now for 16 years, I still try to re-read Joe’s book – Return to Life at least once a year to see what little gems I can glean this time!  There always seems to be something new that I discover, or something that I’ve forgotten that the words of Joseph Pilates brings back to light.

If you’re looking for a little bit of extra inspiration get a copy of Return to Life and grab a highlighter.  Find your favorite Joe quotes, copy them down and post them someplace you’ll see them frequently to remind you of your goals, and the benefits you’re getting from your Pilates workouts!

Here are just a few of my favorite quotes from Joseph Pilates:

“Through the Pilates Method of Body Conditioning this unique trinity of a balanced body, mind, and spirit can ever be attained.  Self confidence follows.”

“If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old.  IF it is completely flexible at 60, you are young.”

Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor.”

“We retire too early and we die too young, our prime of life should be in the 70’s and old age should not come until we are almost 100.”

“To achieve the highest accomplishments within the scope of our capabilities in all walks of life we must constantly strive to acquire strong, healthy bodies and develop our minds to the limits of our ability.”

I love Joe’s quotes about the Pilates Method, but especially appreciate his thoughts about developing our body, mind, and spirit –Pilates is so much more than just exercise for our muscles!

What’s your favorite Joseph Pilates quote and why ?  Drop me a comment and share your thoughts!

Why Do We Get Foot Cramps?

There are lots of reasons why we might get foot cramps:

• Overuse / Weakness
• Poor Shoe Choices
• Hydration (or lack of)
• Nutritional Imbalance
• Medications

For me, the extreme foot cramps I’ve been experiencing are due to medications.  Prednisone to be specific!  OH MY GOODNESS…  I quickly realized that I was going to have to double up on my efforts to take care of my feet and calves to keep the cramps away!

When foot cramps happen during Pilates training sessions, I always encourage my clients to stop the exercise and get up on their feet to help walk out the muscle spasm.  Once it resolves, we either move on to a different exercise, or dive back into what we were doing and see if we can sneak in a couple more reps before another foot cramp attack sets in!

I also have lots of foot “toys” that I use to help stretch and strengthen the feet.  These foot-care toys are great to use in-between exercises to help work out a foot cramp (or keep foot cramps from happening in the first place!)   Also, my clients love having these foot-care toys  at home  to use in the morning and evening to help keep the muscles of their feet, strong,  supple, and relaxed.

What Are My 3 Favorite Foot Cramp Relief Strategies?

The Circulator Reflexology Massage Mat

The Circulator is a Reflexology Massage Mat.  You actively march on the mat to massage the soles of your feet.  This helps increase circulation and blood flow, which in turn can help reduce foot cramps.   The Circulator mat has a nice little raised bump in the center of the mat, which is perfect for getting to the arches.  It also is covered with rubber “knobs,”  think of it like a softer version of a bed of nails!  All these little spikes hit different pressure points on the bottom of your feet.  You can make it less intense by wearing socks, or using the Circulator on a padded carpet.  You’ll get a deeper massage by using the mat barefoot or on a hard surface like a wood or tile floor.

Yamuna Foot Savers

The Yamuna Foot Savers most people have a love/hate relationship with.  This wonderful little pair of foot relief toys will only hurt if you need them!  While on the Circulator you actively move and march, the Yamuna Foot Savers are designed to stand still on and breathe!  While you’re standing still, you’re striving to relax and release the muscles on the soles of the feet.  You start standing with the Foot Savers under your heels, and every couple of breaths, move forward towards the balls of the feet.  For most people somewhere along the arches it’s extremely tender, and like I said, if it hurts – you need this!  Chances are, once you can stand on these comfortably, you’ll find that your foot cramping problems aren’t such a problem anymore.

The Exercises in the book Fantastic Feet! and the Centerworks® Foot-Fitness Kit

So the Circulator and Foot Savers are to help relax and release the tension through the feet that can be a contributing factor for foot cramps.  But if the muscles of the toes, arches, and calves are not strong and flexible enough – this can also be a reason for foot cramps.  It’s important to do both stretching and strengthening exercises for your feet.  The book Fantastic Feet is filled with quick, easy to do exercises to keep the toes, arches, and ankles strong, fit, and flexible.  The Foot-Fitness Kit contains a massage ball, marbles, sticks, and a thera-band for additional foot-care exercises with extra resistance to progress your foot-fitness workouts.

How Long Does It Take to Get Foot Cramp Relief?

Not long if you’re doing good things to care for your feet, listening to your body, and taking a couple of minutes daily to stretch  and strengthen the muscles of the feet and calves.

For me, using the resources above and taking a short 5-10 minutes daily to play with my feet, either standing on my Foot Savers, or marching  for 2 minutes on my Circulator, and doing a few Fantastic Feet exercises, and I’m pleased to say that within a couple of days my feet were feeling much better and  I haven’t bolted out of bed, hopping up and down with a foot cramp now for the past 2 months.  Woo-Hoo!!!

Foot cramps are no fun!  And a sign that we need to pay attention and be more aware of something going on in our body and lifestyle.

How old are your shoes?  How much, (or how little) are you exercising? Are you eating a healthy, well-balanced diet?  Are there any medications that you’re taking that might be contributing to getting foot cramps?  You often hear “eat more banannas, and baked potatoes” for potassium.  And it’s always good to stay hydrated, but I don’t believe that water alone will provide optimal foot cramp relief.

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This is what’s working for me!  What else have you found helpful to reduce and eliminate foot cramps?  Drop me a comment and share your thoughts!

There’s so much information about Pilates at your fingertips with the point and click of your mouse. It’s hard to believe that a short fifteen years ago, most folks hadn’t even heard of the Pilates Method.  Now while not everybody had tried a Pilates workout yet, most people are familiar with knowing that Pilates is a mind-body exercise system that benefits core training (along with strength, flexibility, body control, better breathing, improved posture, stress relief…and the list of Pilates training benefits goes on…)

Whether you’re looking for Pilates Blog posts about how to do the exercises on the Mat, Reformer, or other pieces of Pilates equipment,  stories about famous people who do Pilates, or can relate to the blog posts from new Pilates students about their experiences in their first Pilates Mat class or Private Pilates session – There are lots of people out there blogging about Pilates! These topics and more are all out there waiting for your eyeballs and comments.

So…   I’m curious to know…

• What are your favorite Pilates Blogs and why?
• What type of information are you searching for when you type “Pilates Blogs” into Google?

Are you looking for Pilates training tips, How to do Pilates exercises, Pilates workouts, Pilates teacher-training program information, Pilates across the Globe, Pilates equipment, Pilates books?, Pilates Products?  New fads and trends with Pilates, motivational and inspirational Pilates success stories?  I’m sure there’s more to add to this list!

Hopefully, http://www.centerworks.com/blog/ is one of the favorites on your Pilates Blog list!

Drop a comment below and share the link to your favorite Pilates Blog!

See ya on the web!

Discover helpful tips and strategies for getting the most from your Pilates exercises to improve your ability to bend and articulate every segment of the back smoothly and easily.

I’ve been on a rant the last couple of weeks with my Pilates clients with the goal of helping them to improve their 100’s curl, as well as getting better articulation through the upper back on exercises like the Roll Up, Teaser, and Neck Pull – Three challenging exercises for most beginner Pilates clients..

If you observe participants executing any of the above Pilates exercises, you’ll either notice smooth, sequential articulation of the spine – in which case the exercises are easy!  Or the head leads, then the next place the body bends is almost at the waist!  When this happens, the upper body is moving as a “chunk.”  Instead of the back muscles releasing and breastbone softening to help the front of the body bend forward more effectively.

When the whole upper body is held stiff, it completely restricts smooth movement, and makes it difficult to properly  engage the abdominals for effective core support.

Here are my Ah-Ha revelations, a couple of preparatory exercises , and helpful tips that I’ve found useful  to help my Pilates clients free up their upper body and improve their ability to bend forward with ease for all of their Pilates Exercises.

1. Rib Expansion & Contraction (rise and fall)

When inhaling the entire ribcage fills with air, and the ribs separate.  On exhaling, the ribs should come closer together, so there is pliability through the entire chest.

Strive on the exhale to see and feel the highest ribs (right below the collar bones and under the armpits) begin softening or actively come closer together.  Lots of people expand under the armpits, but don’t release these muscle on the exhale.

This will help lengthen the spine and help the upper back drop closer to the mat placing the back in a better position to articulate well while peeling off the mat to curl up during exercise.

2. Breastbone Slide Exercise

Stand facing the wall and place both hands on the wall in a “push-up” position.  Keep the arms straight and lower abdominals lifted.  Inhale to stand tall and on the exhale pull the shoulders down while sliding the breastbone down the front of your shirt to flex the upper spine.  The bottom tips of the shoulder blades should spread wide to make room for the breastbone to move backwards between the blades.

Inhale to return to center – standing tall.  Exhale to pull the shoulder blades down and slide the breastbone up and forward reaching it towards the wall in front of you.  Keep the elbows straight and feel the upper back bones move towards the breastbone as it slides up and forward.  The upper back moves into extension.

Inhale to return to center .  Continue alternating between the breastbone sliding downward and the upper back moving into flexion, and the breastbone sliding up and forward as the spine moves into extension.

3. Standing Roll Down on the Wall

Stand with your back against the wall, and either together or hip-width apart as far out to the front as needed to get the entire back from your tailbone to the head firmly pressed to the wall.

Maintain lower abdominal support throughout the exercise to keep the lower back firmly against the wall.  Arms and shoulders remain hanging and relaxed throughout the exercise.

Inhale to stand tall, exhale and nod the chin to the chest. Inhale and exhale to continue forward bending.  Watch the breastbone slide down  the front of the shirt, and move backwards towards the wall between the shoulder blades.  Continue breathing and forward bending to the bottom of the breastbone.  Lower abs stay lifted.

Take as many breaths as needed to roll down the wall peeling one segment of the back off the wall at a time to the bottom of the shoulder blades.  Take as many breaths as needed to roll back up to a tall standing position one segment at a time.  Lower back and lower abs stay firmly against the wall.

Tip for Maximum Movement on this Exercise:

The collar bones should rotate like a rotisserie. Then each rib from the top to the bottom of the breastbone should rotate and move backwards under the collarbones to effectively deepen the upper back flexion.  Strive to put the front ribs that are attached to the breastbone, and the breastbone on the wall behind you, then peel the back off the wall to bend forward. If you have a partner or spotter, they can lightly place their hands on  the front ribs to help find this movement.  The breastbone slides down and back while the ribs rotate and move back and up to bend forward.

I use these three exercises to help improve awareness of rib, breastbone, and upper back movement.  Then take this body awareness and new movement habits back to all of the Pilates exercises that require a forward bend. Hand support behind the head will help when beginning to transfer these concepts to curling the head and upper body off the mat.  The Roll Down Bar and Push Through Bar on the Cadillac are also helpful to improve forward bending and reinforce these new muscle habits.

Every Pilates exercise that requires a C-Curve, needs this whole-spine flexibility to achieve optimal body alignment and muscle use for maximum benefits from every forward bending exercise. These tips and fundamental exercises are great to incorporate  into Pilates workouts, and also make great “homework” exercises!

Have Fun & Happy Forward Bending!

I’ve seemed to have a flurry of issues with Pilates clients lately who are dealing with neck pain.

Pilates exercises done correctly are excellent for strengthening core muscles for support, which over time helps  to reduce neck tension.  However, sometimes getting started – newer Pilates participants can aggravate a neck problem, by not understanding, or having the strength and flexibility needed to support the body well and keep the stress out of the neck.  If you’re doing any exercise and you begin to feel stress or strain in your neck –Stop!  Better to take a break, then start to use muscles that shouldn’t be doing the work and continue to aggravate neck issues. There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of exercises that can be done without neck pain.  The challenge is finding the right exercises for your body to start with, and continue to progress. 

Regardless of the exercise, good breathing habits are critical for opening the joint space in the neck and helping to lengthen the neck muscles to reduce neck strain and improve posture and body alignment. Our head is basically an 8-10 pound bowling ball sitting on a straw.  If the ball is not well-balanced on the straw, the straw will lean or bend and the head will tip to funny angles striving to stay perched at the top of our body.  At this point, some muscles are working too hard, and others are not pulling their weight.  Over time, the body accepts this way of holding the head and neck as correct (whether its good or bad)  and the pattern of muscle use becomes a habit – whether we like it or not!

The good news…It’s never too late to change a habit!

With a little effort, and having some new strategies to play with and practice, you can effectively reduce neck tension and neck strain quickly and easily just by paying attention to where you are holding tension and practicing better breathing habits during  your Pilates exercises.

Here Are Six Tips To Help Reduce Neck Strain During Pilates Exercise
(AND Daily Life Activities!)

1.  Posterio-Lateral Pilates Breathing Technique

Learning how to utilize the Pilates style of posterior-lateral breathing is KEY to helping lift the head up off the neck and lengthen the spine. Emphasis is placed on inhaling to fill the back of the ribcage from the bottom to the top.  In effect, what happens is as you fill the lungs with air, you are increasing the natural curves of the spine.  This should happen from the tailbone to the top of the head.  So your inhale helps to float the head up off the neck.

For more details on a variety of Breathing Exercises to practice your Posterio-Lateral Pilates technique check out my blog post Breathing Basics

2.  Keep the Front of the Neck and Throat Relaxed on Your Inhale

I notice that a lot of people actually inhale through the torso and tense up so much through the front of their neck that the head actually gets closer to the body on the inhale!  When this happens – the neck muscles are pulling the neck bones closer together (when things should be lengthening apart!)  Watch yourself breathe in front of a mirror and see if you notice your neck get longer, or shorter as you inhale. Do you see the muscles in the front of your neck tense up on your inhale?  Or do they stay loose and relaxed? Think about your neck and throat being an open tube that air can easily flow in and out of.

3. Tongue Placement

Where your tongue is placed in your mouth can make a difference!  Lightly touch the tip of the tongue to the roof of your mouth on your inhale, and drop the tongue away from the roof of your mouth on your exhale. This helps facilitate proper use of the diaphragm, and as the tongue drops on the exhale, you may notice that the muscles in the front of the neck soften and relax a bit.

4. On Every Exhale Use a “HA” Sound To Release and Open the Jaw

Using “HAaaaaaa”  and opening the jaw to exhale moves the primary support lower in the torso to help activate core muscles. You might actually make the “HA” sound as you exhale until this becomes a familiar habit to release the neck and open the jaw.

The habit I notice if people aren’t doing a “HA” breath, is exhaling like you’re playing a flute, through a slightly pursed lip.  This creates the look of a sour lemon face.  If you make a sour lemon face, you’ll notice that the front of the throat tenses up, scalene muscles grip, and the head and neck get pulled closer to the body.  Plus,  it is more difficult to feel the activation of core support – support almost gets stuck in the throat instead of dropping lower into the center.   Can you see how this can create or aggravate a neck problem? Strive to make “HA” breathing your new habit!

5. Pelvic Floor

While I’ve got this as #5 on my list….It probably should be #1!  Effective use of the pelvic floor provides the anchoring at the base of the spine which is necessary for lift and lengthening that occurs during breathing.  Without an active, engaged pelvic floor, it’s impossible to get the ribs to lift away from the pelvis, the neck to lift away from the torso, and the head to lift away from the neck! How do you effectively find and use the Pelvic Floor?  If you’re not already familiar with using your Pelvic Floor, check back soon, for a blog post on this very important topic!

6. Shoulder Depression

Our body is a system of levers and pulleys.  Think of a teeter-totter.  Both ends can’t go up!  One goes down and the other goes up.  So for our body, the shoulder blades doing down provide the leverage for our upper spine, neck, and head to lift up. If your shoulders are wrapped around your ears, chances are your head and neck are jammed in too close to your torso.  Pull the shoulders down and you should feel your head shoot up another inch or two closer to the ceiling.

Which Pilates Exercises Should You Apply These Six Tips to Reduce Neck Strain?

ALL of Them!!! Whether it’s a Pilates Matwork Exercise, or Exercises on the Reformer, Cadillac, Chairs, or Barrels.  If you’re walking, running, riding a bike, swimming, lifting weights, dancing, riding a horse, playing golf, tennis or other sports…  You have lots of opportunities to apply these six tips to get your support where you need it and reduce the amount of tension and stress you feel in your neck.

Don’t forget about moments throughout your day too– at work, driving the car, doing things around the house…anytime you remember to take a minute or two and practice utilizing these six important neck lengthening tips – you’ll be changing your habits for better health!

Don’t worry if you can’t make them all happen at once!  Pick one and practice for a few days.  When it gets easier, see if you can add another one, then another – until you’re able to incorporate all six into any and every exercise you do!

I received a great question in my in-box this week about exercise for weight loss when you have foot pain.  I am sure that there are other people out there with similar issues, so I thought I’d share my reply!

Here’s the Question:

I’ve had foot pain since I was a teenager, so in my weight loss journey I’ve had to do everything so far without exercise.  While I’ve had great success, I’ve gained back a little of the weight.  Now trying to get back on track.  Are there any exercises, low key, that I can do to aid me in reaching my goals that won’t hold me back because of my foot pain?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Advice from Aliesa:

Thanks for your questions and congratulations on your weight loss success!  And it’s great to know that you’re actively looking for things you can do that will keep you healthy, active,  fit, and safe with a foot problem.  I’ve had several  clients over the years who have had major foot problems, and have still managed to stay consistent with a Pilates exercise program.

There are lots of things you can do, but since each of us is a unique individual, and we all respond differently to different things, it may take a bit of experimenting to find the best exercises and develop an great wellness program for you.

I strongly recommend finding someone in your local area who can help teach you safe and appropriate exercises and help you design and develop a fitness routine that fits your lifestyle, meets your goals, and takes any health challenges into consideration. Whether it’s a Physical Therapist, Personal Trainer, or Pilates Teacher…  having an expert to help guide you can make a huge difference in knowing what to do, how to do it, and helping to keep you motivated to stick with your program and get results.

If you don’t have the financial resources to do weekly training sessions with a trainer – it will still be worth the investment to find someone to get you started, develop and teach you a program to get going, then turn you loose to work out on your own.   Then, I’d encourage you,  once or twice a month,  to schedule a check-up to evaluate your progress and tweak your program.

With foot pain, there are actually lots of exercises you can do and stay off your feet!

Pilates is excellent for this, since it’s  a total body workout that combines strength and flexibility. Pilates Matwork keeps you moving and off your feet.  On the Pilates equipment – Reformer, Cadillac, Chairs, and Barrels, there are hundreds of exercises that you can do against spring resistance that keep you off your feet.  A bonus here is that by working the Pilates system and helping to strengthen some of the imbalances that have been created over time because your feet hurt – there’s a chance that in time you may actually reduce your foot pain because the rest of your body is moving better!

While swimming isn’t necessarily looked at as a “weight-loss” cardio activity, if your feet hurt and weight-bearing activities like walking or running are out, this can be a good alternative. Plus – it’s a whole-body activity – so you get bonus points for coordinating breathing, with upper and lower body movement!

Other good exercise choices include:  Weight training, dumbbells, resistance bands, sit-ups, push-ups… there are so many options.

A well-balanced workout should include at least one exercise for each direction that the joints of the body move:

• Chest
• Upper Back
• Lower Back
• Shoulders
• Biceps
• Triceps
• Abdominal (curling forward)
• Abdominals ( twisting)
• Outer Thighs
• Inner Thighs
• Back of Hips/Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Quadriceps
• Calves
• Feet/Ankles

The list above contains 15 muscle “movement” groups.  While some of these have multiple muscles and you could do dozens of different exercises…  If you just picked one exercise that you can do safely, for each group – 8-12 repetitions, 1-2 sets, you would have a great workout that might take you 30 minutes-1 hour.

All of these are general guidelines – without seeing you I can’t give you anything specific, but I hope this inspires you to find someone locally who can help you pick the best exercises to get you started.  And while I know you have foot pain – I’m a firm believer that there are probably some safe and appropriate foot/ankle exercises that you may be able to do also, perhaps not to start – but in time…  Most of the exercises in my book Fantastic Feet are non-weight bearing, and over time they progress to standing exercises.  Would need to know more about your foot issues and see your feet to be able to tell you if the Fantastic Feet exercises might be a good choice for you!

Best of luck!  Keep me posted on your progress.

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Can you relate to the challenge of exercising with foot pain?  Share a comment and let folks know what’s worked for you!

The Pilates side leg series exercises have many great benefits!

• Increased Hip Strength
• Improved Hip Joint Mobility
• Leg Flexibility
• Improved Core Stability
• Increased Body Awareness
• Improved Gait Mechanics

Here are 5 things you can practice to help keep your body still and improve the free swing of your legs on all of the hip and leg exercises in this series:

Here are my two favorite ways to challenge balance & core control for the Side Leg Series:

Need some cues and reminders to keep you moving through your at-home Pilates mat workouts?

Check out  these Pilates Matwork Audio CD and MP3 workouts.

I whole-heartedly agree with Dr. Klein on his recommendations, but I also have to encourage people to not only care for their feet by wearing good shoes and maintaining healthy skin and toenails, but also take the time to learn some quick and easy foot-fitness exercises to help maintain healthy feet.

Each foot contains 26 bones, 33  joints, 107 ligaments, and 19 muscles.  (one quarter of the bones in our entire body are in our feet! )

It’s important that we maintain strength and flexibility through the toes, feet, and ankles to assist with balance, body control and pain-free movement.  Just putting our feet in a pair of shoes and going out for a walk, isn’t enough to maintain excellent foot fitness!  Especially as we get older…  Which is why I wrote the book Fantastic Feet! Lots of great foot specific exercises that are simple to do, and extremely effective for helping to stretch and strengthen the ankles, arches, and toes.

Our feet shouldn’t hurt!  If you have foot pain, go see your podiatrist to address any medical concerns, then consider getting a copy of Fantastic Feet, so you can blend foot-care, with foot fitness for optimal foot health.

Click here to see the Fox News interview with Dr. Klein

Whether you’re a PMA Certified Pilates Teacher in need of continuing education credits to maintain your PMA certification, or just looking for some great information to add to your expertise, these three courses are packed with usable tips and information that can help you improve your eye, make great Pilates exercise choices for your client training programs, and help deepen your understanding of the brilliance of the Pilates system.

Here are the three courses that have been PMA-CEC Approved:

The Centerworks® “Holy Grail” System for Anchoring & Awareness  

- An Amazing “Secret” KEY to Success for Whole-Body Health!

Discover how to find & fire the right muscles in sequence for a long and strong base of support to help make ALL exercises and movement free, easy, and effortless.

This 3-hour workshop is approved for 3 hours of PMA CEC credit.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reformed…Results!

Increase Movement Efficiency & Effective Pilates Exercise Technique on the Reformer with the Centerworks® “Holy Grail” System

Maximize client benefits and the mechanics of movement by learning how to apply the “Holy Grail” system to Pilates Reformer programs.  Increase support, stability, and movement with a system that makes sense and can be used by beginner to advanced level Pilates clients.

This 3-hour workshop is approved for 3 hours of PMA CEC credit.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

These Hips Were Made for Walking… 

Improve Gait Mechanics, Hip Mechanics, and Whole-Body Movement with Pilates

Enjoy discovering tips, techniques, and exercises focsed on helping clients improve balanced muscle development for walking and gait.  Develop your eye to see good vs. poor gait patterns.  Gain insights to incorporate fundamental concepts, Matwork, and Pilates equipment exercises into Pilates training programs to improve whole-body mechanics.  Teach your clients how to walk better with Pilates!

This 2-day workshop is approved for 12 hours of PMA CEC credit.

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These three continuing education workshops for Pilates teachers will make their debut in Little Rock, Arkansas, August 27-29, 2010. Visit http://www.centerworks.com/upcoming-awesome-workshops/ for more details and to register.

Can’t make it to Little Rock…  but you’re interested in participating in these workshops?  Sign up for my newsletter to recieve updates on future courses.

And, If you’re a Pilates studio owner and are interested in hosting workshops  I would  love to come and share my stuff with your Pilates teachers and students!  I’m starting to plan my 2011 workshop schedule.  Drop me a line  and we’ll start planning for a fun-filled CEC workshop at your studio!

Hope to see you in a workshop soon!   ~ Aliesa

This question about the difference between toning shoes vs. a regular pair of running or walking shoes always comes up when I teach my Fantastic Feet Workshop!

Everybody’s looking for the best option to get the most bang for their buck for a workout. But lots of bucks it takes to buy these fancy “toning” shoes! Is the cost for the claims of burning more calories, solving joint pain, working your hamstrings, butt and calves harder really worth it?

According to the ACE study – there is no statistically significant increases or evidence to support the advertising claims. A regular pair of tennis shoes can provide the same benefits as your MBT’s or other Shape-Up shoes, based on the ACE research study which measured fitness and wellness benefits.

Do I own a pair of Toning Shoes – YES. Do I wear them often – NO.

Why did I buy them? Because I had so many clients asking if they should buy a pair that I wanted to experience what it felt like to wear them so I could give a more educated opinion on what these shoes felt like during a workout and how they affected my gait and stride.

What’s my opinion?
Since so many people are running around in flip-flops and other strapless or backless shoes – in general, for most of the population – stride length has been compromised. If you watch people walk, the legs swing more to the front of the body than behind the body. (We’ve made this adaptation to keep our flip-flops from falling off our feet!) Because of this the hips, hamstrings, and glutes don’t get a chance to work like they should because the legs are never in extension (behind the body) far enough for these muscles to fire.

Our strength to propel the body forward when we walk and run comes from the back of the legs – hamstrings, glutes, ankle and foot. Without a long enough stride, hip, knee, and ankle mechanics are compromised. And if you take a look at most of the cardio equipment on the market (with the exception of a treadmill) the stride/swing for the legs is primarily to the front of the body which continues to enhance the imbalance that has been created by our poor shoe choices and shortened stride!

So accepting by the research that you’re not going to burn more calories, or work harder by wearing toning shoes what might be the value of wearing toning shoes for a workout? For me, the rocker-bottom helps free up the swing of the leg and makes it a bit easier to increase stride length to feel what I should be doing all day long (in any pair of shoes) to get the legs behind the body for better stride length.

I wear my MBT’s every once in a blue moon! The rest of the time I prefer to focus my attention on making my body do things right (rather than rely on my shoes to do the work.)

What Do YOU Think About Toning Shoes?

• Do you own a pair of toning shoes?
• Why did you buy them?
• How much do you wear them?
• What’s your overall opinion of toning shoes?

If you want to read the research, click here for the ACE Fitness article.