Reebok Easytone Trainers: Do They Actually Work?
Major sports brand Reebok have claimed that their new line of Easytone trainers can tone your hamstrings, calves and bum nearly 30% more than regular trainers just by walking in them. They claim the trainers can “train muscles your trainers never knew you had.”
The concept seems too good to be true; you exercise the same amount or simply walk around and your legs and behind get a workout that would usually take hours a day at the gym. But is this all just some marketing campaign or do they actually work? A team of scientists with expertise in exercise, sport and physiology at the University of Wisconsin conducted a study to test the claims on each of the shoes.
John Porcari PhD, who led the tests, agrees that the trainers should work in theory as they make the muscles work harder by creating instability that the body attempts to counteract. The shoes are based on a curved sole which creates an unstable surface which forces the wearer’s body to constantly struggle to find equilibrium.
The team tested the Reetone range on a group of females aged between 19 and 24. The subjects were tested through exercise trials and measured by muscle activation, heart rate and caloric expenditure.
The trials were conducted with a second, older group and both groups were tested with regular trainers to compare. The instant results were not greatly significant, using the Reetone trainers did not increase caloric expenditure or heart rate and only produced aching of the muscles.
The scientists also surveyed users of the shoes over a period of several months and found that they experienced a degree of toning of the legs and bum. But the team struggled to determine whether the toning was entirely due to the imbalance the shoes created or the motivation to walk more.
The Reebok Easytone campaign has promoted the Easytone trainers by emphasising the positive effects on the toning and shaping of women’s legs and bums.
Distinguishing Between Pilates And Yoga
Body fitness is on everyone’s mind. While some people go jogging or engage in outdoor activities to burn calories and maintain fitness, many have found pilates and yoga route to be the best methods to maintain mind and body fitness. Are these two similar concepts?
Pilates and Yoga, both are effective in building body strength and fitness and improve overall body health. Yoga works not only on the body but on the mind also.
Yoga unlike other methods of fitness training does not involve any vigorous physical movements. It teaches the art of moving the body parts with controlled movement and tension. Doing yoga has the same effect on the body as working out such as Sweating and burning up calories.
Pilates on the other hand is a activity routed in fast physical movements which requires more energy and speed. It provides exercise to all body p arts making them bend, stretch and contract constantly to build flexibility.
Pilates provides overall body balance with co-coordinated movements of all parts of the body. This method is a favorite amongst the professional sports persons and artists.
Both options of yoga and pilates are available to one and all. Depending upon what you wish to aspire for, you can choose either option. Pilates will give you great physical fitness and well-toned body and increase your stamina and overall body metabolism. Yoga will give you body and mind control and fitness with a holistic approach.
Do not make a choice between yoga and pilates right away, for you do not know what you need and which one suits you the most. Try them both for a while and see how you feel before you choose to proceed with one.
Why not learn both the methods and follow a routine that combines both methods? That way one can avoid monotony that can creep into your routine and make it interesting.
The author additionally frequently blogs on subject like teacher rubber stamps and home popcorn machines.
categories: yoga,pilates,fitness,fitness equipment,health,lifestyle,hobbies,indoors,body,exercise,relaxation,self help,self improvement,education
Exhale: Core Fusion Body Sculpt (2008)
Amazon.com
Stills from Exhale: Core Fusion Body Sculpt (Click for larger image)
“Lose the jiggle without the gym” –Marie Claire A quarter of a million people have transformed their bodies at the exclusive Exhale Spa–now you can get these same results at home. Build a strong core, develop washboard abs, improve posture, and create a tighter, firmer physique with Core Fusion Body Sculpt. This total-body program employs exercises that tone (more…)
The Pilates Body: The Ultimate At-Home Guide to Strengthening, Lengthening, and Toning Your Body–Without Machines (Paperback)
Amazon.com Review
Thin-but-fit supermodels like Amber Valletta and Shalom Harlow and actresses like Ally McBeal’s Courtney Thorne-Smith and Liv Tyler swear by Pilates workouts to keep their figures toned and flexible. The Pilates Body is the latest in a string of books dedicated to this fitness program, which is now soaring in popularity nearly 100 years after it was first developed by Joseph Pilates in Germany in the early 1900s. While today’s Pilates studios take advant (more…)
Tom Doerr






