Can your shoes really get you fit?
My favourite example of the marketing in functional footwear has to be FitFlops. Probably because of the long, tanned legs on the poster but I digress. From an fitness science perspective my first concern is where's the evidence?

The marketing slogan is "It's the flip flop with the gym built in. Put a pair on and get a workout while you walk" - unfortunately, in my opinion, it fails to do that on several levels.

First issue is how exactly are you getting a workout? You're not going to be increasing cardiovascular capacity, strength, endurance, mobility/flexibility or your body composition just from wearing a different pair of shoes. Your heart rate is going up, your muscles aren't put under an appreciable resistance, not many factors that influence fitness are get taxed here.

Second issue is using the "wobbleboard" principle in a pair of shoes. Unstable surface training came about from physiotherapy and rehab work and is typically used to retrain muscle activation. It's unlikely to "tone and trim" your legs.

So already, I do have my doubts about FitFlops. They have a lot of testimonials which is great but I suspect that the results seen have been influenced by other factors and can't be solely attributed to the shoes!

However, like most things, the best test is how they work and feel in the real world and here our volunteers were quite positive about them.

Those aren't my feet, honest.

They're comfortable, which is always a good start, and our volunteers did find that some deep calf muscles were getting activated whilst walking. Also, the general consensus was, and I quote "they look cute"

Did they help with posture at all? We didn't get too scientific but, coupled with a stretching and corrective exercise regime, posture was improved and FitFlops appeared to reinforce the coaching points used for that.

Would we recommend them? The main criticism we have is that the marketing surrounding them, to us anyway, implies that these will get you fit and by implication, give you a great pair of legs. That's the untrue bit.

However, our volunteers did find them very comfortable and after wearing them for most of the day, there were no aching feet or swollen ankles so overall, once you get past the hype, they're a decent pair of shoes.

So if you'd like a pair, Get Your FitFlops here