Every woman has her weak points. Mine are shoes. Only my income prevents me from having tons of shoes. Even so, I have twice more shoes than my mother and my son together. Another point is that I love Skechers shoes. They fit the exact foot size, so there’s no problem to order them on line. Unlike other shoes that you have to try and walk to see if they fit you, Skechers shoes are ready to wear, so to say. No rubbing points, no blisters.

I was not going to buy any more shoes for a while, as I have enough (really, enough) for several years to wear. But the last commercial of Skechers Shape-Ups in my e-mail caught my eye. It said “Shape up while you walk”. And also “Get in shape without setting foot in a gym”. Also it said “Designed to:

*promote weight loss,

*tone muscles,

*improve posture”.

Would you get interested? I did. I followed the link. I watched, I looked, I read, I checked, I thought, I thought, I thought. And I knew that I wanted those shoes. They were somewhat expensive for me, so I made some extra part-time work at a local business and ordered the shoes! The only suspicious thing about Shape-Ups was that they look weird. Of course, not as weird as those shoes. But still, the look was dorky-one, as my son said. My mother said that they look like orthopedic shoes. Here they are.

The brochure says “Designed to improve your life by changing the way you walk, Shape Ups feature a unique soft kinetic wedge insert and dynamic rolling bottom to stimulate walking barefoot on a yielding surface such as sand”. Though not a bingo, but very close. The feeling is somewhat like you walk on sand, when your heel sinks and you have to make an effort and roll your sole to move your body to a next step. The Shape-Ups give you smoother sensation under your sole than sand and also, you don’t have that toe-grasping feeling of a bare foot on the sand. Still, both sand and Shape-Ups involve more effort and a natural search for balance, so there is correlation for sure. Believe me, I know. I lived on a sea shore and every morning walked for 40 minutes along a beach line.

Basically the shoes put you slightly off balance and your muscles are constantly working to keep you balanced and centered. Staying balanced while wearing the shoes requires the use of muscles in the legs, abs and buttocks not used with standard walking shoes. It took me a couple of days to get used to it. My first day frustration turned into wonder when after twenty minutes of a moderate walk my muscles felt like after an hour of vigorous gym work out.

P.S. At the end of the hub I added a note after using my Shape-ups for this summer.

The makers of Shape Ups say that Shape-Ups are designed to…..

*Promote weight loss- It’s yet to be seen, but with the right eating habits it may happen for sure, as you burn more calories with this type of walking.

*Strengthen the back, Firm calf and buttock muscles, Reduce cellulite and tone your thighs- Well, I definitely could feel my muscles working, while walking in Shape-Ups, from my calves all the way up to my back. When you make an effort to keep your balance, it requires core strength, so naturally doing a lot of balancing on these shoes should strengthen your core. Balancing is also supposed to improve circulation in the legs and feet, reducing swelling.

*Increase cardiovascular health.- With all mentioned above it makes sense!

*Improve posture- Yes, I can testify to this. I use to stoop and have to constantly keep in mind to keep my shoulders straight. With Shape-Ups it comes naturally. My reflections in shop windows testify it. You naturally have to maintain good posture to stay balanced on unstable surfaces (and the bottoms of these shoes are not flat!).

*Reduce stress on knee and ankle joints- Smooth and rolling-like movements relieve pressure on joints and tendons. I used to have some knee discomfort, but my knees don’t bother me when I walk in Shape-Ups.

P.S. At the end of the hub I added a note after using my Shape-ups for this summer.

Shoes come with a detailed exercise guide and a CD to get the most out of your Shape-Ups!

Though more expensive than standard walking shoes, ($110 at Sketchers.com) but less costly than comparable exercise footwear brands. Besides, this is the case when more expensive means more quality. I tried other like-made shoes of another company (never heard of), that my neighbor bought at Big Kmart for $34.99, and they were not giving half of Skechers Shape-Ups work out. Also didn’t look as cool as mine.

Shape-Ups can be worn any time, any place, at home, at work (even when you don’t walk outside, you can shape up in Shape-Ups. The brochure will tell you how)

Skechers.com didn’t ask me for this review, I didn’t get any discounts from them and at all, it was all my initiative, as I really loved my Shape-Ups. Now when I am writing these lines, my muscles ache in a nice, soft way, reminding me that I did a good job for my body today and it took me only 30 minutes of pleasure walk along the river trail.

I decided to add this note here after using Shape-Ups (walking in them) every day for 30-50 minutes through this summer. I feel great, toned, motivated. But! I would strongly advise you to alternate walking in Shape-Ups with going for a long walk in other, regular, sport shoes from time to time.

After walking in Shape-Ups I noticed that some of my toes of both feet became stiff and somewhat painful. I analyzed the way the toes were receiving the pressure and felt that you put the most pressure on the front of toe’s cushion (directly under the nail front edge). Next time I went for a walk I used my regular (also Sketchers) walking sport shoes to give some rest to my toes. It solved the problem.

Now once or twice a week I walk in my regular Sketchers sport shoes! Rest of my walks I am doing in Sketchers Shape-Ups! It gives a nice alternation for different muscles to work.