happygobrokey
Dormant account
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2006
- Location
- canada
hi everyone!
i had a question and didn't know where to turn for regular folks' advice. and as this is one of the only online forums i belong to, and since i've been away for so long and because in a minor way there are elements of probability involved, i decided casinomeister is a good bet.
so by the topic title you can see my post is about the new trend of fitness footwear brands such as reebok and skechers are peddling. i have done a little research and have heard anecdotally some things, and i have come partway to some conclusions. so i'm hoping by writing it out and putting it out there for you all, that i can get closer to the answers i seek, and whether it's ultimately a good investment.
1. the very first thing is do they actually do as they claim? do the shoes actually engage more muscles and help to strengthen and stabilize them? and how noticeable are these effects, internally and externally?
2. provided the questions in 1. are satisfied and there is a beneficial reason to use them, now i ask whether the effect wears off over time? that is once you get used to using them every day, does it continue to strengthen you or does the familiarity cause the muscles not to have to work like they did in the beginning? also there is a question of dependence and permanent negative effects when the shoes are not being worn after a long period of regular use. do the shoes cause you more discomfort in the long run than the usual muscle ache associated with burning cals and working out, does it cause pain, or make you walk funny, or cause you to become weak when not using the shoes?
3. assuming 1. and if 2. is in any way confirmed, would it help to alternate (daily, weekly, monthly?) between regular shoes and these fitness shoes, to refresh the muscle memory (so it feels like the first time again), and stave off potential chronic negative effects of long-term continued use? or would the alternating approach actually be more likely to cause injury by constantly deliberately confusing yourself while performing a routine task?
4. assuming i can reconcile the above premises to where it's a generally good idea to use these shoes, which brand is most effective? are some of these brands just capitalizing on a trend using fitness buzzwords to line their pockets while leaving the consumers out the hundred-ish bucks and with the sore feet that they naively believe is a healthy pain?
so the brands i've heard of are mbt and fitflops, both of whom sort of designed the concepts, and then skechers and reebok, two large name brands who popularized (the name brand is actually the knock-off in this case lol) the trend with a recognizable trusted logo. does anyone have stories, especially about the aforementioned originator brands? i've seen lots of good reviews on boards for the well-known brands, but many of those could be shills, and of course some complaints, but mostly in principle and only a handful about truly disliking the product having tried it.
and i know one person first-hand who has a pair of one of these and been wearing them for two weeks while working full time (they produce a slip-resistant-soled all-black pair) and swears by them as remarkably effective in terms of feeling a good burn/stretch during use and producing measurable results (in a very short time and this person was of thin to medium build and strength, to start with). who's to know if any ill effects are caused with prolonged or extended use, but also being the early adopter, ahead of the curve, the guinea pig, the risk taker can definitely have its advantages.
so which brand actually has the best products and which seem to have the least side effects, or might it be better to wait a year for the technology to be proven and improved upon, or see if it's exposed as not working or harming users?
5. unrelated to all of the above, do any particular brands and models make you appear and feel significantly taller, as in make your height increase noticeably while wearing them because of the layers of different cushioning and curvature in the thick soles, and additionally by improving posture and making you truly stand up to your full height? while i'd welcome a subtle boost in my humble stature, i would not want to feel like being on stilts especially when added to the deliberate unbalanced feeling the shoes are meant to induce.
6. harking back to everything else i've brought up, to what degree is the placebo effect causing the benefits, if any? not only does the gimmicky, buzzwordy, celebrity endorsed advertising and radical styling create an expectation of results, so does the muscle activation/ burn feeling which may be genuine or ultimately malicious.
so you buy it already "knowing" it works, so does the sheer belief make it happen or the shoes and exercise, and are the shoes producing a measurable effect independently, or do they just cause you to exercise/walk more frequently, that is by buying the fitness product, even if it's a piece of junk, it just makes you become more active because you bought it. or is it entirely mental, either the mistaken perception or exaggeration of results being achieved, or eerily can your mental state even alter the magnitude of the results (believing in it makes it have greater effect, which i have read evidence of, from what appeared to be a legit harvard study/article online)?
and does being aware of the placebo negate it at all, like if you know your attitude affects the results but you're philosophically skeptical of this or you deliberately attempt to max out the results by diving headlong into fanaticism, would this adversely affect the outcome you expect to see?
wow that was longer than i expected. it's a simple question of are they worth buying and which are the best to buy, but the mental process and potential real health downsides and the lack of useful research of it all makes it difficult to prematurely decide. make up my mind for me. and by the way it is me and my fiancee both interested in trying them, in case gender might influence anything, for instance if men's styles are quite limited etc.
sorry if this post was way too long, so please answer whatever you can and even just casually mention your experience or even hearsay with any of these, or just say hi because it's been a while for me and i've missed out on this gang and what you all have to share. thanks for your time and contributions folks
-hGb
i had a question and didn't know where to turn for regular folks' advice. and as this is one of the only online forums i belong to, and since i've been away for so long and because in a minor way there are elements of probability involved, i decided casinomeister is a good bet.
so by the topic title you can see my post is about the new trend of fitness footwear brands such as reebok and skechers are peddling. i have done a little research and have heard anecdotally some things, and i have come partway to some conclusions. so i'm hoping by writing it out and putting it out there for you all, that i can get closer to the answers i seek, and whether it's ultimately a good investment.
1. the very first thing is do they actually do as they claim? do the shoes actually engage more muscles and help to strengthen and stabilize them? and how noticeable are these effects, internally and externally?
2. provided the questions in 1. are satisfied and there is a beneficial reason to use them, now i ask whether the effect wears off over time? that is once you get used to using them every day, does it continue to strengthen you or does the familiarity cause the muscles not to have to work like they did in the beginning? also there is a question of dependence and permanent negative effects when the shoes are not being worn after a long period of regular use. do the shoes cause you more discomfort in the long run than the usual muscle ache associated with burning cals and working out, does it cause pain, or make you walk funny, or cause you to become weak when not using the shoes?
3. assuming 1. and if 2. is in any way confirmed, would it help to alternate (daily, weekly, monthly?) between regular shoes and these fitness shoes, to refresh the muscle memory (so it feels like the first time again), and stave off potential chronic negative effects of long-term continued use? or would the alternating approach actually be more likely to cause injury by constantly deliberately confusing yourself while performing a routine task?
4. assuming i can reconcile the above premises to where it's a generally good idea to use these shoes, which brand is most effective? are some of these brands just capitalizing on a trend using fitness buzzwords to line their pockets while leaving the consumers out the hundred-ish bucks and with the sore feet that they naively believe is a healthy pain?
so the brands i've heard of are mbt and fitflops, both of whom sort of designed the concepts, and then skechers and reebok, two large name brands who popularized (the name brand is actually the knock-off in this case lol) the trend with a recognizable trusted logo. does anyone have stories, especially about the aforementioned originator brands? i've seen lots of good reviews on boards for the well-known brands, but many of those could be shills, and of course some complaints, but mostly in principle and only a handful about truly disliking the product having tried it.
and i know one person first-hand who has a pair of one of these and been wearing them for two weeks while working full time (they produce a slip-resistant-soled all-black pair) and swears by them as remarkably effective in terms of feeling a good burn/stretch during use and producing measurable results (in a very short time and this person was of thin to medium build and strength, to start with). who's to know if any ill effects are caused with prolonged or extended use, but also being the early adopter, ahead of the curve, the guinea pig, the risk taker can definitely have its advantages.
so which brand actually has the best products and which seem to have the least side effects, or might it be better to wait a year for the technology to be proven and improved upon, or see if it's exposed as not working or harming users?
5. unrelated to all of the above, do any particular brands and models make you appear and feel significantly taller, as in make your height increase noticeably while wearing them because of the layers of different cushioning and curvature in the thick soles, and additionally by improving posture and making you truly stand up to your full height? while i'd welcome a subtle boost in my humble stature, i would not want to feel like being on stilts especially when added to the deliberate unbalanced feeling the shoes are meant to induce.
6. harking back to everything else i've brought up, to what degree is the placebo effect causing the benefits, if any? not only does the gimmicky, buzzwordy, celebrity endorsed advertising and radical styling create an expectation of results, so does the muscle activation/ burn feeling which may be genuine or ultimately malicious.
so you buy it already "knowing" it works, so does the sheer belief make it happen or the shoes and exercise, and are the shoes producing a measurable effect independently, or do they just cause you to exercise/walk more frequently, that is by buying the fitness product, even if it's a piece of junk, it just makes you become more active because you bought it. or is it entirely mental, either the mistaken perception or exaggeration of results being achieved, or eerily can your mental state even alter the magnitude of the results (believing in it makes it have greater effect, which i have read evidence of, from what appeared to be a legit harvard study/article online)?
and does being aware of the placebo negate it at all, like if you know your attitude affects the results but you're philosophically skeptical of this or you deliberately attempt to max out the results by diving headlong into fanaticism, would this adversely affect the outcome you expect to see?
wow that was longer than i expected. it's a simple question of are they worth buying and which are the best to buy, but the mental process and potential real health downsides and the lack of useful research of it all makes it difficult to prematurely decide. make up my mind for me. and by the way it is me and my fiancee both interested in trying them, in case gender might influence anything, for instance if men's styles are quite limited etc.
sorry if this post was way too long, so please answer whatever you can and even just casually mention your experience or even hearsay with any of these, or just say hi because it's been a while for me and i've missed out on this gang and what you all have to share. thanks for your time and contributions folks
-hGb
