Can shoes help tone your tush?

HOUSTON The Fit Flop is a flip flop style shoe, designed to tone and strengthen your legs while you walk. The company says the shoe does the working out for you. Slide them on, and tighter buns and thighs are just a walk away.

The company says the instability in the shoe's midfoot forces the muscles to 'switch on,' so they're working harder, becoming tight and toned. The company says the shoe is so effective it needs a warning label, cautioning first time users to gradually increase their use to avoid extreme soreness.

The Walkstar jelly model costs $60 and the Walkstar classic is $50. But if you shop online you can save. The best online price we found was at Bath and Body Works. The Walkstar was on sale for just under $40. Ordering from the shoe parlor at Amazon.com, you'll pay $45. Victoria's Secret carries them online, only at full price.

But we wondered could these funny looking Fit Flops really help? Or are they just hype? So we asked two local women to slip them on and try them out.

Yvonne Cosgrove is a busy mother of two, who says flip flops are her shoe of choice for summer.

She said, "It's so easy to throw them on and run out the door."

So when she saw a newspaper ad for the Fit Flop she was curious and agreed to try them for a week of running around.

Yvonne said, "The idea of wearing a flip flop and getting a work out doing it, you know, that's great!"

Cassandra Fowles is a single woman on the move with a full time administrative assistant's job and a very active lifestyle. She spends most days on her feet.

"I always wear flip flops, especially in the summer time," she said.

So Cassandra also agreed to put them to the test. Fast forward one week, and here's what they said.

Yvonne told Eyewitness News, "I think they're OK."

Yvonne says she wore the shoes consistently, but says they did not stimulate any major muscle work.

She explained, I'm not sure if I really at the end of the day felt like I had really gotten this great workout."

Cassandra had a bit better luck.

"I had to wear them for a substantial amount of time," she said. "My calves felt a little like they'd been worked out a little bit."

Certified personal trainer Noya Zucker echoed some old wisdom we have heard so many times before.

She said, "Unless you have some athletic shoe on and you are doing some serious movements, you're not going to firm up anything."

There is one way Zucker suggests the shoes might help you reach your fitness goals.

"If it motivated you to eat right because you were like, 'Well, I spent the money on the flip flops so I'm going to eat right,' then it might," she said.

We contacted Fit Flops for a statement. So far, they have not responded to our request.
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Fit Flops available at:

  • FitFlop.com

  • In stores:
  • Macy's
  • Nordstrom
  • Bed Bath and Beyond

  • Online:
  • BathandBodyWorks.com
  • Amazon.com
  • VictoriasSecret.com
  • Personal trainer featured in this story:
    Noya Zucker
    Contact her at Hank's Gym
    5320 Elm St
    Houston, TX 77081
    713-668-6219

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