Review: Skechers Women's Shape Ups Fitness Walking Shoe

Athletic Shoes, dynamic, Fitness Shoes, Rocker Bottom Shoes, Skechers Shape Ups, Toning Shoes - By Chris Tarvey on Friday, January 29, 2010 - 10:17

I wouldn't consider myself to be a shoe junkie. I don't absolutely have to have a particular pair of shoes in order to make my life more complete. In fact, I'm probably the most practical judge of shoes that I know. With that in mind, I will admit to a tinge of curiosity over the new walking shoes that  I've been hearing about. As far as I knew, the buzz regarding these new walking shoes resides in the claims that they are designed specifically to help firm up your thighs and rear while you go about your everyday activities. Thinking back to my teenage Dr. Scholl days, I must admit that I was a bit skeptical about the true benefit of these shoes.
 
The Dr. Scholl sandal, which claimed to work your legs by forcing your toes to grip the small wooden raised area left a bit to be desired in my opinion.  Wearing a walking shoe that I was forced to grip in order to prevent my foot from sliding out just didn't seem to be practical for daily wear. But of course, like all of my girlfriends, I bought them, wore them, and quickly cast them aside.
 
Of course, I wasn't without hope. The Skechers Shape Ups Walking Shoe are obviously in a whole different league than my discarded shoes of the past.  It looked great upon first examination and it's rocker bottom style and slightly lower heel made sense to me. I could actually see how this type of shoe could work muscles that don't generally get that much attention.
 
Here are the manufacturer claims of the Skecher Women's Shape Up Walking Shoe:

Strengthen Your Abdominals: Sounds right. In order to balance on these babies, you'll need to develop a bit of core strength, which does indeed involve ab muscles.
 
Improve Your Posture: Also makes sense. Balancing requires standing straight and tall and the rounded bottoms of these shoes will definitely keep you aware of your balancing abilities.
 
Tone Your Legs and Firm Your Glutes:  Sounds like heaven and also makes sense. I lift weights and bike in order to stay in shape. If I could also wear a shoe that would step up my exercise routine, that is like music to my ears.
 
Okay, so let's get down to business. Those are Skecher's claims. My personal findings are as follows:

Appearance:  This particular shoe is a pretty stylish in my book. As far as fitness shoes go, I sort of missed that chunky style from about a decade ago. Being just 5'5, putting on these shoes made me feel immediately taller, and I like that.  Also, these shoes can easily be worn with shorts or work-out gear, although I probably would not wear them with jeans. They definitely have the "I'm in work-out mode" written all over them because of their blinding white color. The silver accents make them look sort of like astronaut shoes, but overall, I'm a fan.
 
Fit: I generally wear a size 8 shoe and when I tried these on they seemed a bit narrow to me. The 8.5 was actually a much better fit. This is possibly due to the extra cushion of this shoe. Once I found the correct size, these shoes were definitely unlike any others I have ever worn. The rounded bottom causes you to immediately become aware of your posture and although there is no risk of falling down, you actually do feel a bit like you are performing a balancing act while wearing them.
 
Walking: These are walking shoes, there is no doubt. I can't see anyone trying to use them as running shoes and there really is no need to step up the pace because while wearing these I could actually feel my calf muscles stretching and working differently than normal. After about fifteen minutes I could feel the slight burn all the way up to my glutes. My guess would be that after three weeks of full time wear, you could probably notice an improvement in muscle tone.
 
Immediate Effect: Improved posture. Walking on these springy, cushiony numbers not only improved my posture, but I could really see how they could improve my overall mood as well. They are kind of the Zen of shoes, since they make you very aware of your posture and breathing.
 
Concerns: I have a two story house and actually was concerned about walking up and down the stairs in these shoes. My concerns proved to be unfounded. Although they do take a bit of getting used to, there really isn't anything that you can't do in them that you would in flat bottomed shoes.
 
Overall, I give these shoes a high five. They delivered more than I expected them to, are very comfortable, and deliver on the claims they make. The price is lower than other brands that are similar and upon examination they appear to be well made. Try a pair for yourself. I think you may find yourself with an increased pep in your step if you do.