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Archive for the ‘Health and Wellness’ Category

Find the Best Food, Restaurants and Chefs at the Tasting Table!

Posted in Health and Wellness, Nutrition, tagged , , , , on July 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Want to find out about Chicago area restaurants, the best food is, reviews, recipes  and more? Check out  the Tasting Table here. I can’t say that all of their recipes and recommendation are healthy, but reading about food options in your city can give you more options for healthy eating.

What is Tasting Table?

According to their website, it is a free daily email that brings the best of food and drink culture to adventurous eaters in major U.S. Cities. Each weekday, Tasting Table send their subscribers a delicious idea about dining, wine, cocktails, cooking or restaurant personalities. Tasting Table  feeds you only first-hand recommendations that they have tested thoroughly themselves—one bite at a time.

In their local editions in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington D.C., they’ll alert you to a must-try dish at a forgotten restaurant, a hot new bar, under-appreciated shops for cooks and neighborhood food stores.

The national edition, Tasting Table National,  keeps you up to date about the most interesting dining trends  and the best new wines, spirits and cocktails around the country. They’ll direct you to essential new websites, kitchen tools and ingredients. And if you like to travel Tasting Table will cover that, too, with weekly updates about where to eat on the road and how to plan your next food-driven vacation.

Twice a week, their other national edition, Tasting Table Chefs’ Recipes, serves up an exclusive recipe adapted and tested for you to cook at home. These recipes offer a behind-the-scenes bonus from the kitchens of America’s hottest new restaurants and a preview of recipes from the latest essential cookbooks.

Read this months offerings to find out what happened to Ukrainian Village eatery Dodo. Also read more about Joeys Shrimp House, Ruxbim and a slew of international restaurants.

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Golf For A Lifetime of Good Health

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, tagged , on July 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Today I have a guest post about golf from, you guessed it, an actual golfer. I am not a golfer, but many of my clients and friends golf. Today’s post is about the health benefits of the game. Read on…. Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Article By Brian Bujdos – Editorial Manager of accessrx.com

Image by Wikipedia

Golf is not only enjoyable for many people–it’s also intensely healthy. It provides sustained exercise for the body and focus to strengthen the mind, helps develop the muscles of the back and upper body, and—best of all—can still be played into your sixties, seventies, and even eighties in some cases.

Walking

The trick to getting the most out of golf for your health is to walk the links. The United States Golf Association argues that golf can offer major health benefits, but that these are greatly diminished with the use of a golf cart.

On the other hand, by walking all eighteen links, you will have the benefit of getting through several miles of good solid walking. However, since these miles are walked with leisure, and in between strokes, they will not feel like as much work. This makes golfing a very healthy addiction. By golfing every weekend—and walking the links—you can lose weight, improve your heart health, and develop an overall healthier stamina.

Burning Calories

Studies have shown that golfing burns calories. However, you will burn the most calories if you walk the links yourself, and even more if you carry your own bag rather than if you use a caddy. You could burn as many as 700 calories in a nine-hole course.  If you find walking every hole to be a bit strenuous, get a cart and take turns walking every other hole with your golfing partner. You’ll still get a great work out! Don’t forget to drink plenty of water so that you stay hydrated and your muscles don’t begin to cramp up and get strained.

Cardiovascular Workout

Both the energetic use of long distance strokes and the long walking distances will benefit your cardiovascular health. Also, the more calories you burn every week, the lower your chances of developing heart problems later on in life. In fact, it is said that burning around 2,500 calories each week can heavily reduce your risk of developing heart problems. By playing just one eighteen hole course and carrying your own bag every week, you can get more than half way to this goal.

Sunshine

Getting a workout outdoors is far more beneficial than working out in a gym, simply because this allows you to get access to the sunlight, and therefore your body’s own stores of vitamin D. And this means strong bones and healthy blood and skin. Of course, always wear proper protection against the sun, which usually entails an SPF of at least 30.

What better way to get in shape and stay healthy into your later years than by playing a sport that is so easy to love and enjoy?

Who is Brian Bujdos and Why Should We Listen to Him?

Brian Bujdos is a professional writer with 15 years of experience in newspaper and magazine journalism, public relations and marketing. He is a former award-winning sports reporter, has worked for professional sports teams and also served as a public relations professional in the tourism industry for five years. His latest duties include serving as the lead contributor and editor of medical-related content for numerous websites. Brian is a native of Pittsburgh, Penn., a graduate of Syracuse University and a resident of Scottsdale, Ariz. He is a former staff writer for the Albuquerque Tribune, Phoenix Suns, and Arizona Diamondbacks. He has written freelance golf articles and course reviews for numerous publications. He professes to be familiar with every player who has a PGA Tour card, yet his swing resembles none of them.

Brain works for the eDrugstore.MD writing team. They write and blogs hundreds of articles published online and in print, covering everything from sexual health to parenting to beauty, fashion, entertainment and more. eDrugstore.MD, provides safe medications online, prescribing medications such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra.

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Rate Your Yoga Teachers and Studios, Chicago!

Posted in Yoga, tagged , , , , on July 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

First came Ratemyprofessor for students to rate college professors.. Then there was Yelp for consumers to rate just about everything. Now there are  a number of websites offering reviews on all kinds of things. One of the latest review websites to catch my eye is the new Rate my yoga.

On this new website, you can rate your yoga teacher, rate your yoga studio or look up a variety of products offered such as yoga videos and props.

Listings for studios and teachers that want to promote themselves are on the site are FREE. (Don’t you love Free in this day and age.) And the cost to write a review: your time and effort only.

So, if you are looking for a yoga studio, or are a yoga teacher or studio owner that wants to get yourself listed, check out Rate my yoga.

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Runners, Save Your Joints!

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, tagged , , , , on July 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Knee Joint Xray. Image from rbatina's photostream on Flickr

Summer is here and many of my clients are preparing for the Half Marathon September 12, 2010 and the Chicago Marathon, October 10, 2010. Training is a good time to think about proper joint care. Recent research indicates that running can help maintain the health of your joints by providing your body with proper blood flow, oxygen and stimulation of healthy bone and connective tissue. However, over the years, many runners sustain injuries that can lead to arthritis. And if a runner has poor form or a gait imbalance (runs on a pronated foot, for example) this can also lead to uneven wear and tear on joints.

Tips for Runners to Help Avoid Excessive Joint Wear

• Limit your running to soft surfaces like grass, cinder and sand. Running on concrete and asphalt is a great way to wear down your joints. The pounding can help accelerate the degenerative process. It always amazes me that Marathons are run on concrete and asphalt.  Sure running is great cardiovascular workout and many people love to run. But running pounds your joints much like the ocean wears away rock by pounding over and over as waves hit the shoreline.

• Cross train. Fitness experts don’t tell you to cross train simply to sell new Balance Cross Trainers. Cross training gives your body the chance to work muscles differently and wear your body in different areas. For example, if you run and swim, running pounds on your hip, ankle and knee joints (and yes it can also tighten your low back). But running does little for your upper body. Swimming, on the other hand, allows you to get great cardio, work your upper body and core muscles differently and take some of the strain off your joints. BY alternating between the two, you get better recovery from one exercise and less wear on your joints A the same time, if you swim all the time, you may be more prone to rotator cuff and shoulder injuries. So alternating between the two (and throwing in some bicycling) can help extend the life of your joints.

* Wear proper footwear! Wear Proper Footwear! I am going to say it one more time: Wear Proper footwear. If your shoes are old or they give you blisters or your knees hurt after you run in a new pair of shoes, go get fitted for a better pair of new shoes. You should not have to “break in” a pair of shoes. They should fit properly and be comfortable from day 1.

• Do NOT run when you are injured. If you feel a sharp pain in your knee, ankle, hip or muscle when you run, stop and rest.  And get it checked out by your doctor to avoid further injury or complications.

See Running Times Magazine for joint care tips for runners here.

Check out the book “The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook”, here for tips on self-treatment of trigger points that cause pain in joints.

MSN has a great article here on running and your joints.

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Take Steps to Reduce Your Joint & Arthitus Pain

Posted in Health and Wellness, tagged , , , on July 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

I often see in clients with joint and bone ailments as they hit the late 60’s and 70’s age range. Arthritis, joint deterioration, disk herniation, and other degenerative conditions are common age-related conditionss. But there are ways to reduce this wear and tear on your joints and reduce complications from degeneration.

Image from Jointcarereviews.com

Our modern lifestyles contribute to joint wear. People are living longer than ever these days.  In 2010, our life spans are about twice as long as our ancestors in the 1900’s (from approx. 40 years of age to about 80 nowadays). We have much less active lifestyles than those ancestors as well. Many of us have desk jobs, drive to work and come home too exhausted to do much more than sit in front of the television. Sitting at work, sitting for your commute and then sitting at home–not a great prescription for bone and joint health. At the other end of the spectrum I see clients that run marathons, pound their joints into concrete sidewalks  in long runs, bash their bodies about snowboarding,  rip ligaments and tendons in water skiing accidents and other active endeavors. From my perspective, while I applaud the energy and enthusiasm,  I wish for their joint health later in life! As much as I natter on about health and wellness, I don’t think there is any wrong way to live your life. It’s all about understanding the consequences of your actions and doing what you can to make the best use of your body and protect your joints so that you can remain mobile in your later years.

As health care reform continues to evolve, it seems there is a movement towards reduced fees for medicare reimbursement, likely reduced payment for medical procedures overall. Surgery is expensive. As the overall health of the U.S. population continues to decline (evidenced by obesity rates, increased numbers of patients with Type II Diabetes, and heart disease), health care is likely to become even more costly. Ever looking for that silver lining, I say, How can this benefit you?

First off, if you are already a senior with joint problems or other age-related ailments, you may end up turning to less expensive, alternative health care, such as massage and/or mindfulness for pain management. And this may not be such a bad thing. Obviously, if you need a knee replacement, massage therapy and being mindful is not going to give you a new knee. However, regular massage of the muscles in your leg, and around your knee, can help reduce the pressure on your joints. How? By relaxing the muscles that hold your knee in place, the tension of the bones in your leg is relaxed and this can help reduce the pain in the joint. If the joint degeneration is so bad you can’t walk, then massage may be too little too late. Massage can help with the pain, just not cure the problem.

Alternative Methods of Easing Joint Pain

• Massage can help with pain relief. Massage is a short-term temporary fixes. But if you have a chronic condition with no cure in sight, short-term pain relief, that is not as addictive as prescription pain meds, may be much appreciated.

• Get into the pool!  Swimming is great exercise and does less wear and tear on your joints. Even water aerobics or just walking in the water can be helpful because it allows you to exercise without putting a lot of weight on your joints. In the water, someone with arthritis in their hips, back or knees may be able to move with far less pain and more comfort than on dry land.

• Wear well padded shoes and shoes with good arch supports. If you have joint pain, your shoes can either be a help or a hindrance.

If you are not a senior and want to prevent or slow joint deterioration, make informed choices about how you use your body and wear on your joints. Choices you make today will impact the health of your joints tomorrow!

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Confused About the Affordable Care Act? You’re Not Alone. Healthcare.gov Explains It All.

Posted in Health and Wellness, tagged , , , , on July 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

When I first left corporate America to pursue my own wellness business, one of the concerns I had was about providing my own benefits. As an employee of  a large corporate firm, I had received company paid health care, dental care, disability insurance, 401K, paid sick days, paid vacation days and paid holidays. In return I was required to plant my body in front of a computer for 8+ hours a day between the hours of 8:30am and 5pm or thereabouts.  However, I felt like a caged animal in cubelife–my body needed more movement, my soul needed more meaningful work and my mind craved more variety. After completing massage school, I took the plunge to be my own boss, set my hours AND pay for my own benefits. Which meant I had to learn how to find and understand those benefits. (Something big companies pay a full-time HR specialist to do!)

I found my own health insurance plan through an insurance “broker.” U.S. Benefits  group is the broker I currently use and recommend in Chicago. But now you can also find out about health care plans through a government website.  I am usually fairly skeptical when it comes to government-sponsored anything. But I admit, I am impressed by the new government sponsored website “healthcare.gov.”  It’s a web portal that explains the new Affordable Health Care initiative and simplifies the insurance purchasing process for those that may not be familiar with purchasing their own healthcare plans. I took a test drive and I have to say, it is super easy to navigate.

Navigating the Healthcare.gov website

1. Want to find a health care plan that fits you/you and your family, click here.

2. Want to read about illness prevention? Click here.

3. Not sure how your hospital compares with others in the area? Check it out here.

4. Confused about the new Affordable Care Act? You’re not alone. That’s why this new site gives you plenty of info about the new law and how it impacts you here.

5. Are you looking for specific info for your particular situation? Click here if you are a healthy individual, someone with a health condition or if you are pregnant. Senior citizens can learn how the new law impacts you here.

6. If you run a small business, there is great info here to help you make good health care decisions for you and your staff.

7. Hard working Human Resource professionals of companies with more than 50 employees can learn how the Affordable health Care act effects you and your company here.

8. Have tons of time on your hands and love wading through government regulations? The new site even has a page for you! The Implementation pages gives you access to the actual regulations, authorities and requests for comments here.

Check out the new website and let us know what you think in the comments section of this post!

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Avoid Summer Pain on July 4th with Sunscreen Tips and Sunburn Remedies

Posted in Health and Wellness, tagged , , , , on July 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

Last week I took a nice long bicycle ride through Tinley Park Forest Preserves with a friend. Before we left, I slathered on sun screen all over my arms and neck and face.  Unfortunately, I wore a tank top and did not get enough sunscreen on the back of my shoulders. Of course, I got a nice red sunburn on my shoulders that looks like cap sleeves! Avoid sunburn this July 4th with ample sunscreen. However, if you do get sunburn, follow the tips below to help ease the pain and aid the healing.

My number one treatment for sunburn (aside from getting out of the sun!) is Aloe Vera. I use a brand that is 99% aloe but the aloe from an actual plant is even better. (Perhaps it’s time to add an Aloe Vera plant to my urban porch garden.)  Yahoo Health has some other home remedy ideas like vinegar compresses, backing soda compresses, and whole milk compresses here. The article also mentions foods, creams and vitamins to help you heal the sunburned skin.

Remember that sunburn is an actual burn of your outer skin. Skin is your bodies first line of defense in avoiding infections, repelling harmful substances and protecting your muscle tissue. Therefore, drinking enough water, keeping the burned skin hydrated, and keeping your immune system strong all helps you to heal from sunburn.

Sun Screen Tips

Once you heal from your sunburn, the next time you go outdoors, make sure your sunscreen is applied  EVERYWHERE your skin may be exposed: hands, back of your neck above your collar, back of your arms and shoulders, on the tops of your feet if you wear sandals. It’s those places that are most often exposed to the sun, but are easiest to forget when applying sunscreen. Use a spray on suns screen if you have a tough time getting to your back and neck or if you  don’t have anyone nearby to help you apply it. (Just apply in well ventilated areas and don’t breath the spray-it’s only for external use not inhalation!) And if you sweat, even with “sweat proof” sunscreen, make sure you reapply sunscreen every few hours. Your skin will thank you by not getting red, painful and itchy from sunburn!

MyBodyZone has a list of 33 tips on buying and applying sunscreen here. The article explains UVR and SPF in-depth and also provide much health information about the ingredients in sunscreens. In addition to avoiding sunburn pain, being safe in the sun is a good way to reduce your risk for skin cancer, natch!

And finally, when it comes to prevention of melanoma, who better to advise you than the American Melanoma Foundation. They have an easy to read set of tips about SPF and sunscreen here.

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The Best Massage School in Chicago: The Soma Institute

Posted in Health and Wellness, Massage Therapy, tagged , , , , on July 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

The other day I stopped by one of the Working Well Massage booths to get a much needed massage. As a massage therapist myself, I try to get regular massages including chair massages. As manager of the WWM massage stations, I also like to get massages from my staff. Why, because I know how good they are. In this case, I got a fantastic massage from Mysti Cobb. Mysti has been with WWM for the past few months and she is a whiz at finding knots and working them out. Mysti is also a  personal trainer and just finished training in Pilates. But best of all, Mysti is a SOMA Institute graduate.

Over the past ten years, I’ve had the great fortune to interview a lot of massage therapists. And field questions from people wondering which massage school to attend. I used to tell them, go to WMTI, my alma mater, the Wellness Massage Training Institute. I was very lucky to have attended WMTI in the late 1990’s. I had some of the best teachers and learned a lot about going beyond Swedish massage to really help people feel better and releases chronic muscle tension areas. I’ve also taught workshops and classes at WMTI. Now, sadly, my old school has been sold to another company and it’s curriculum has been gutted. Most of the best teachers at WMTI have long gone. WMTI turned out some fantastic massage therapists while it was in operation, but now in Chicago, my top pick for people looking to go to massage school is the SOMA Institute.

Why SOMA?

SOMA’s curriculum is geared toward therapeutic massage, not spa massage. Spa massage is great for relaxation. And stress relief is an important benefit of massage therapy. But I am so glad I learned  in depth techniques for helping people with chronic muscular pain. When I interview students from SOMA, I tend to see this same attention to chronic areas of muscle tension. SOMA graduates tend to have greater clinical skills than recent graduates of the other schools in the area. SOMA’s continuing education classes also tend to be a cut above the others I see offered in the Chicago area.

With teachers like Mike Hovi and Michael Jones, SOMA provides students with a wide range of massage training by working professionals that are top in their field.

SOMA also has a great career placement office. As a business owner, I regularly get emails from SOMA”s Career Services Department asking if I have any openings. SOMA has a 98% placement rate! And SOMA’s been expanding their Professional Services Division, offering high quality classes to graduates and other professional massage therapists looking for continuing education credits. (The state of Illinois requires us to obtain at least 24 CE credits every 2 years to maintain a masage therapy license).

SOMA isn’t the only massage school in town. And I have a number of fantastic massage therapists that did not attend SOMA. But if you are looking for  a massage school to attend or know someone that is, I recommend the SOMA Institute above all others at this time.

Note: Neither Working Well Massage nor Sue Shekut is affiliated with the SOMA Institute in any way. We do not receive any fee for this post nor do we benefit financially in any way from our endorsement. SOMA is simply a great school and we want to tell our local readers about it and about SOMA graduates.

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Meet Mysti Cobb-WWM Massage Therapist, Personal Trainer and Pilates Instructor

Posted in Health and Wellness, Massage Therapy, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 30, 2010| 1 Comment »

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

I recently had a fantastic massage from Mysti Cobb at our Working Well Massage station inside Whole Foods Lincoln Park. One of the reason I like getting massage from Mysti is that she knows her anatomy and kineseology. When I told her I was having pain in my wrist and my pecs were tight, she knew exactly where to work and how to position me on the massage chair to get maximum exposure of my pectoral muscles. (She sat me facing away from the chair as opposed to how you would normally sit, facing the chair.) I have had experience both receiving and giving massage for chronic tension and injury rehab, and Mysti has had similar experiences as both a patient and a massage therapist.

Mysti Cobb-smiling and providng pain relief at Working Well Massage. Image by Sue Shekut

A personal trainer and Pilates instructor as well as a massage therapists, I think Mysti brings more to the massage session than your average massage therapist. (Or course, we don’t have any average massage therapists in our booths!) Since Mysti is female and has a fantastic smile,  some people think Mysti is a lightweight massage therapist. Those people would be sadly incorrect! Mysti is STRONG and can give super deep tissue massages or she can back off the pressure and give a more gentle relaxation massage. For me, I go to Mysti for deep work though!

Mysti hard at work, concentrating on releasing muscle tension. Image by Sue Shekut

Mysti Cobb’s Bio

Tall and lean, it’s no surprise that Mysti’s passion for movement began in her ballet classes at age 4.  Her years of practice and love of dance led  to a full dance scholarship with the Joseph Holmes Dance Company in 1993. Unfortunately for Mystia, she later tore her ACL while studying at Millikin University and that put an end to a full-time dance career. After six months of physical therapy and rehabilitation, Mysti realized strength training was a new way for her to incorporate movement into her daily life and career.  In 2003, Mysti began studying at the Personal Training Institute in Chicago. In 2004, Mysti completed her personal training (NSCA) certification. Between her dance injury and experience as a personal train, Mysti decided to  add a therapeutic and healing dimension to her work by becoming a licensed massage therapist in 2005 through the Soma Institute of Clinical Massage Therapy.

While rehabbing, dancing and strength training,  Pilates had been an core element of Mysti’s personal fitness routine. In2009, Mysti became certified through the Body Arts and Science program as a comprehensively certified Pilates Instructor. For Mysti, the Pilates certification has added analytical and intuitive tools to help her clients gain strength, eliminate pain, and fine tune body alignment, finding focus in their sessions which carries over into their daily lives.

You can try out a massage session with Mysti at Whole Foods Lincoln Park every Tuesday from 4pm to 8pm. But come in soon because with skills like these, Mysti tends to book up fast!

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Work Lower Leg Muscles You Forgot You Had With Toning Shoes

Posted in Fitness, Health and Wellness, tagged , , , , , , , on June 29, 2010| 5 Comments »

Reebok EASY TONE(2009)
Bottom of Reebok Easy Tone Shows. Image via Wikipedia

By Sue Shekut, Owner, Working Well Massage, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Wellness Coach, ACSM Personal Trainer

While on our recent trip, we stopped in Tennessee at an outlet mall. I shopped at a Reebok store and bought a pair of the new “toning shoes” that are supposed to work your gluts, hamstrings and lower legs to help better tone your muscles and help improve your fitness levels.

Conceptually I applaud the new trend in walking shoes. Why? Because nowadays too many people walk on concrete-a flat unyielding surface that does not give or provide any instability for your lower legs and feet.  What’s so great about instability? It allows your lower leg muscles to work harder and get stronger. This in turn can help your feet grow stronger, prevent potential lower leg/foot issues like sore heels or heel spurs and also gives your muscles a new way to work. Walking barefoot in sand or grass is also great but impractical in our times for many people.

Note: As usual I am going to post my derriere-covering disclaimer here: I am not a doctor. Any info I post is either my own opinion or a summary of other articles written by medical personal with a link to the original article.

WebMD weighs in on the toner shoes here. From a podiatrist point of view, the new shoes take pressure off the heel and give better support to the ankle. A Chicago doc says the shoes are not great for arthritis sufferers (which makes sense because arthritis is about joint inflammation, not about muscle tone). And most experts agree that the shoes should be broken in slowly. As in, don’t wear them for a 4 mile walk the first day you try them out!

My Reebok Easy Tone shoes are super comfortable. They felt great from the moment I put them on until the moment I took them off. The Reebok brand is not as rounded and high as the other toner type shoes I’ve seen which was a plus to me. From afar they look like regular running or walking shoes. It’s only when you turn them over that you see the round “balls” underneath the pad of the foot and heel. These balls cause your foot to be slightly unstable. (Not “I am going to fall off my shoes” unstable, but more “I feel myself rocking a slight bit as I walk” unstable.) After a day of walking int he Easy Tones on concrete, my legs do feel different and I do feel more muscle “soreness” (slight) in my hams and gluts but also my lower legs. To me, this is  a good sign of the shoes making me use my leg muscles differently!

My Easy Tone Shoes by Reebok. Image by Sue Shekut

There’s an excellent You Tube video segment of the Today Show that shows three woman trying out the MBT’s, Skechers and Reebok versions of the shoes with a great explanation of how the shoes work along with a short segment on the former NASA engineer at Reebok that created their version of the shoe based on how a Bosu ball works. Check it out here.

CNN’s experts don’t think much of the manufacturer’s claims that the shoes will be a substitute for the gym or regular workouts. on this I agree. Like any other immediate gratification fix, such claims are too good to be true. Plus you would likely have to significantly increase your walking time to get a real benefit from the shoes. For me, though, having the shoes in my “fitness arsenal” aka my shoe rack, gives me a way to work my lower legs and gluts as I walk around the city.

The Associated Press gives a short rundown on the top toner shoes by brand here. The article is short but gives the basics abotu the top five selling brands of toning shoes.

HubPages gives us this article about how Dr. Scholl got the toner idea first with his wooden sandals. I don’t know about you, but I had a few pair and I loved them way back when.

The only way to lose weight is to exercise and reduce your caloric intake. But if wearing these shoes makes you walk more, then it’s a great tool in your fitness toolbox. If wearing these shoes makes you fall and twist your ankle or lose balance and fall or causes any foot or ankle pain, then don’t wear them!

Do you have a pair of toning shoes? Tell us about your experience in the comment section!

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