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A girl can never have too many shoes

Posted on Thursday, August 27, 2009 By Glowstars.

A couple of years back, some of the girls at work got new trainers. They were black (always a plus when you’re wearing them with your suit on the way to the office) and had this amazing claim that they would shape and tone your body as you walked, no extra effort required on your part.

The only problem was they cost a small fortune. The sort of fortune you might otherwise spend on a pair of diamond encrusted very cheap designer shoes. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my shoes as much as the next girl, but I also like to keep my bank balance in the black. So I gave up on the idea of the wonder shoes.

Then the other day I was walking along Oxford Street. The official line was I was looking for maternity clothes. But a girl can’t help but look for flat sandals with backs so they can be worn at the office. And I wandered in to the Skechers shop. I do that from time to time, wondering if they’ll ever bring back a version of my very first pair of Skechers – a rather wedge heeled, flat sandal that was quite possibly one of the most comfy things I’ve ever put on my feet. But alas, there was no matching pair of sandals.

I did notice a rather interesting new line of trainersthough. Rather similar to those my colleagues had bought for an extortionate sum a few years back. Of course they looked like Skechers (in other words, rather funky) but they had that miracle heel. The one designed to shape your body as you walk. The main difference I noted though, was the price tag. These babies come with a much more affordable price. Like a less than £100 price. The sort of price that I could afford and would consider. But, being the good girl I was (no comments from the husband please!) I walked away and carried on looking for clothes.

But I wanted those trainers. I lusted after those trainers. I even considered spending my stash of emergency money on those trainers.

Then the other week, the lovely Sylvie from Fuel My Blog shouted out for women to try out a new pair of trainers I jumped at the chance. After all, a girl can never have too many pairs of shoes. When she sent me the link for just what I’d be testing, I nearly died and went to heaven. A pair of Skechers Shape Ups!

On Friday I gave Sylvie my shoe size and all weekend I desperately hoped those Shape Ups would arrive on Monday morning. But they didn’t. On Tuesday they were dispatched and on Wednesday morning, when K told me the Shape Ups had landed on my desk, you’d never seen me move so fast, or with such a big grin on my face. I ripped the package open to reveal my lovely new Shape Ups; they were everything I’d hoped for.

Look at that baby. Doesn’t it just make you want to fall in love? And, in case you’re particularly fussy about the colour of your trainers, they come in quite a few different styles.

When bought through ShapeUps.eu you can get a pair of Skechers Shape Ups for only £80.95 including delivery. Of course you can pay more. Other places both online and in the high street have been seen selling them at closer to £100. But Sylvie told me my pair had been dispatched on Tuesday, and they arrived on Wednesday. I reckon that’s worth paying less for!

Of course, what you really want to know is what they’re like. And I’ve already gone over 600 words without telling you that.

My first impression is that they’re rather weird. I shoved my feet into the Shape Upsand bent over to tie the laces, pulling my toes up towards me as I went. There’s no edge to the heel; your foot just keeps rolling back. I get up and walk and within only a few steps, I realise these shoes have to be done up very, incredibly tightly. And they bounce. With every step my foot feels like it’s sprining back upwards. Once I’m down in the lobby I sit back down and re-tie the laces, tight this time. It feels much better now they’re not slipping.

My first real challenge is stairs. I feel really unstable as I’m descending, like I’m going to go tumbling over and fall flat on my face as I reach the bottom. Once I’m on flat ground, things feel a lot better. I don’t feel wobbly like the instruction manual warned, but neither can I notice any difference as I walk. It’s not like I can feel any different muscles working. Walking down the next step of stairs doesn’t feel any different to the first, and just to be on the safe side, I don’t walk down the escalator on the tube. That said, standing on it felt really unstable anyway, so I might have been better off walking.

Of course, the tube is packed and I can’t get anywhere near a seat, let alone get my bum on one. But standing in the Shape Upsis strangely ok. Because of the curved heel, my feet rock as the tube does and I feel much less likely to try and knock the passenger next to me over as I fly away with the movement of the train.

Once I’m home at the other end, I take the Shape Ups off and spend some time with the husband admiring them (isn’t that what a girl’s supposed to do with shoes?) and get around to changing the white laces for the black set that was provided. But really I’m unable to tell much difference between them and what a regular pair of trainers does. Same thing the next morning when I wear them on my way to work but at least I’m a lot less wobbly going down the stairs now!

The next day, realising that I’ll never get to really try the Shape Ups in the five minutes it takes me to get from the tube station to either work or home, I decide to get off the tube a stop early on the way home, turning my 5 minute walk into a 20 minute one.

I don’t notice any new feelings as I begin the walk, but by ten minutes in I can feel muscles working in my legs that I never realised worked when I walk. By 15 minutes I can feel my bum as I walk. It’s a strange sensation.

By the time I get home, I realise my back should be hurting. That long on my feet walking is bound to hurt either my lower or mid and upper back and normally would do. I’m busted, but I put it down to the muggy heat more than the walking. It’s stifling both inside and out of the house. My feet feel sweaty, a good reason why I don’t wear trainers all the time anymore, so I take the Shape Ups off and wander into the kitchen. Within less than five minutes my lower back is absolutely killing. So I sit down. I have to go out to the supermarket so I put the Shape Ups back on again and almost instantly after standing up, my back doesn’t feel so bad anymore. They’re no longer getting called Shape Ups, they’ve got a new name: The Wonder Shoes.

I’ve been wearing the Shape Ups for two weeks now and walking in them seems completely natural, so much so that I don’t notice those extra muscles working. If I’d been really clever, I’d have measured various points on my body to see what a difference the Shape Ups had made. I’m not really clever though, I measure my bump nearly every day but it never occurred to me to measure anywhere else. That said, someone I’ve not seen since I started wearing the Shape Ups said it looks like I’ve lost weight (and gained more bump), so maybe that’s all I need to know.

I reckon the Shape Ups are great, but with one proviso: you have to already walk a lot or be prepared to start walking. If you’re looking for a quick fix to incorporate into your daily life without putting in the extra effort, you’re probably not going to find it. Since I’ve had the Shape Ups I’ve been making more of an effort to get off the tube a stop early and walk back from Tooting. I’m only doing a 20 minute very brisk walk, but it all helps.

That said, if you already do a lot of walking or running, or are spending all day on your feet anyway, a pair of Shape Ups is a great investment. Either way, they’re a pretty funky pair of trainers.