You can be sure that winter is well and truly on the way when the clocks go back. The days get shorter and the temperature starts to fall. It won’t be long before there’s snow on the ground. On the bright side, it’s time to treat yourself to a new pair of winter boots.

Clearly there’s no shortage of styles to choose from. Leather boots and fur boots are always popular choices. When it gets really wet and windy you can still look good in a pair of colourful Hunter boots – wellies with style. After all, if they’re good enough for royalty, then they’re always going to enjoy a certain cachet.

But why not ask for a little extra from your winter boots this year? What if your new boots didn’t just look good but helped you to look good as well ?

The latest development in the footwear market is toning shoes. They are specially designed to help you to tone and trim your lower body just by walking about as normal. Many of them look like fitness shoes – but winter boots are now available as well.Most of them work by using a special design of sole which encourages the muscles in the lower body to do a little extra work.

Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) Shoes and Skechers Shape Ups both feature specially shaped soles which are intended to reproduce the mechanics of walking on soft sand. Reebok Easy Tones and Fit Flops sandals, on the other hand, have soles which are designed to produce very small imbalance whilst walking. The leg and butt muscles attempt to restore the body’s natural balance – doing a little extra work in the process.

It’s easy to see why a free lower body workout just by walking around in a different pair of shoes would be an attractive prospect for many peole. After a busy day at work – possibly with a commute at either end – running around after kids, or just doing general daily chores, it can be extremely difficult to find either the energy or the time to visit the gym. For many busy women, toning shoes must seem like a dream come true .

A number of independent tests seem to back up the claims of increased muscle activity as a result of wearing toning shoes. There’s also plenty of extremely positive feedback from satisfied users. However, there are those who question the claimed results. The fact that many of the “independent” tests were financed by the footwear manufacturers is enough to raise doubts in many people’s minds. Small samples sizes are also cited as a problem. Clearly, there are two sides to the argument. Nevertheless, if toning shoes do nothing more than encourage wearers to walk more often, then that’s a good thing in itself.

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