Manila Bulletin
Well Being
Admit it; you are one of the girls who want to have well-toned legs and perfect bums that can land to Billabong shorts endorsement deal. Going to the gym is the best way to achieve it.
But with all the demands women has to accomplished in the daily grind of life, its almost impossible to keep up with a regular exercise routine. The easiest way then is to practice regular walking, the daily recommended is 30 minutes brisk walk a day, five times a week.
Why Should We Walk?
Generally, working is the most natural form of exercise that doesn't entail so much physical exertion but comes with numerous health benefits. Walking is proven to help in weight control and management. A 30-minute brisk walk can make you 150 calories sexier and if you do it in a faster pace, you'll burn more calories.
Walking control blood pressure and decrease the rate of heart attach for 30% because it boosts the production of high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol while helping you avoid stroke, diabetes and breast cancer at the same time.
Walking away from depression takes on a literal meaning after a study of 156 patients with major depressive disorder conducted at Duke University revealed that regular walking is as effective and sometimes better than taking medication.
Moreover, it protects our bones from osteoporosis and fractures and helps alleviate the burden of arthritis.
Stride in Style
If that's not enough reason for you to "start walking", then FitFlops, the latest craze in footwear that promises the comfort of wearing slippers while acting as a regular athletic shoes will probably entice you more.
Marcia Kilgore, cosmetic and skin care mogul, developed FitFlops for women "who wanted to have shapely legs while attending to a multitude of tasks" including going to the office, taking care of the family and doing household chores.
The founder of Bliss Spa, a wellness center that produces its own line of beauty products in uptown New York, set our to make initial research with UK-based universities, podiatrists, reflexologists and footwear manufacturer in an attempt to find the most logical approach to firming up through the feet.
"Marcia knows what she wants but doesn't know how to do it," says David Goulding, FitFlops' vice president for international sales.
She sought the help of Dr. David Cook of the Academy of Sport and Well-being at the London Southbank University and Scott Thomson of shoe design and manufacturing company PDFootwear/Law Trading to engineer a type of footwear that will enhance the effect of walking by working out the muscles even more. They experiments on the impact of multi-layered and multi-density sole to the leg muscles.
The collaboration resulted in a hybrid shoes based on a micro-wobbled board technology that extends that amount of time that the slow twitched muscles are engages during a step by approximately 10-12%. Slow twitch muscles produce energy by converting fats into energy aerobically.
"FitFlops are incredibly soft do it destabilizes your foot a bit, making you feel slightly unstable," explained Goulding.
According to Goulding, wearing FitFlops gives a feeling of "walking barefoot in the sand" because of its multi-density mid-sole that slows the eversion rate and requires the wearer 15% more energy while walking.
FitFlops absorbs 36% more shock that normal footwear while the firmer toe areas promotes faster toe push-off to maintain speed walking. This means that while walking on it, you also get a sort of a workout for the gluteal, hamstring and calf muscles which tones your legs and make your bums firmer.
Wearers also reported that Fitflops helps ease their back pain and prevents swelling and aching legs after standing and walking all day. It also promises to improve posture.
Kilgore's company began manufacturing FitFlops in January 2007 and in less than two years, worked its way to become the number one footwear choice in the United States and United Kingdom.
Hollywood is raving about it with no less than talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, along with film luminaries Jessica Alba, Hilary Swank, Heidi Klum, Jennifer Garner, Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel strutting on FitFlops.
Jade Johnson, the Olympic long jumper who suffers from a painful foot condition was also spotted wearing them and said that she gained the same benefit from wearing them as exercises recommended by her physiotherapist.
According to Kilgore, FitFlops were orginally intended as vanity shoes, designed for shaping the legs but the overall impact on the body suggested that it significantly improves chronic back pain.
"If you look at how we stand in terms of our product, it's a category which mixed well being and footwear, the two biggest industries where women spend their money. We are not a fashion brand but we are very fashionable and very affordable if you consider it's well being effects," Goulding further adds on.
Fitflops comes in a variety of colors and style including gladiator shoes and winter boots. Sadly, either those are only available for celebrities or is not being sold in the Philippines. Because of the tropical climate, Filipinos can only avail of the regular design.
Wearing Fitflops takes getting used to. My feet had small bruises from the first time of walking on it because of the nylon strap but overall it is way more comfortable than walking in a regular shoes or slippers. Also surprisingly, I didn't get muscle sores after a full day of walking and even running with it.
FitFlop is available in Res|Toe|Run (Trinoma, Ayala Cebu, Gateway and Robinson's Galleria), Shoe Salon, The Spa, ROX and selected Bratpack stores.
