Do you wear "toning shoes", like the Reebok EasyTone, Skechers Shape-Ups, or New Balance Toning shoes, in hopes that you'll get a great looking bum? If you do, or if you're thinking about buying a pair, you may want to think again after reading this, especially if you're planning on wearing them hiking in the Colorado High Country during our beautiful Fall season.

Reebok has recently agreed to pay $25 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit charging that Reebok's EasyTone shoes do not deliver as advertised.

The toning shoe business, which includes Reebok and other companies, has grown to a $1.1 Billion industry in just a few years. And it's a market made exclusively for women -- do you notice that men aren't buying these shoes?

Perhaps you've seen the ads claiming that wearing toning shoes will increase buttock strength by 28%, and improve hamstring and calf strength by more than 11%. Sounds good, right? Maybe too good to be true?

Well, if you've been skeptical about these claims, you're right! An ACE study, released in July 2010, confirms that toning shoes are no better for improving your butt and leg strength than good, old fashioned, exercise.

Not only that, there are now dozens of class action lawsuits like this one being filed against the companies making these shoes, claiming injuries from wearing them. The most common injuries are sprains, strains, tendonitis, slips and falls which result in fractures and other problems, and stress fractures.

Why would these shoes, which promise to deliver a great looking bum, be causing injuries?

First, they're designed to be unstable... meaning that you can lose your balance easily. This is supposed to work different muscles in you legs. But in order to remain stable, you need a system of structural support [bones aligned correctly], muscular and connective tissue balance [everything working harmoniously together, in symphony], a highly developed brain-nervous system to monitor and control your body, and the ability to constantly adapt to the changing environment beneath your feet as you move.

If any of these necessary components is out of whack -- you lose!

Additoinally, toning shoes are stiff. And your foot is designed to be flexible and resilient so it can constantly absorb and release energy. If you lock the foot into a stiff, unstable shoe, you're asking other structures -- like your ankle, knee, hip, and low back -- to do work that they weren't designed for. They overwork and under-perform... resulting in fatigue and injury.

If you suspect that your toning shoes may be the cause of aches, pains, or injury, give yourself a break from them for at least a month, and assess how you feel.

My best advice to you if you own a pair [or more] of these shoes? Throw them away immediately, and consider wearing a more natural shoe, designed to move with your foot. Pilates is a great way to learn how to get in touch with the enormous potential of your feet. And go without shoes all together as often as you can. Your feet are designed to be FREE!