Today the government is urging families to go for a walk on Christmas day to burn off all the calories cosumed as part of their annual turkey roast dinner.

This comes as a surprise to someone like myself who always goes for a walk after a hearty Christmas dinner. I suppose it’s just as well that its a family tradition in my house to walk off a large dinner when apparently the typical Christmas dinner adds up to 1,500 calories which is a half of a man’s recommended daily intake and three quarters of a woman’s.

Even without a Christmas dinner to walk off, it’s an especially beautiful time of year to go for a stroll with friends, family or a furry companion. With so much of the country ground to a halt by the snow, there’s never been a better time to take some time out and stretch your legs.

All you need is a good pair of walking boots and some warm winter clothing.

There’s nothing quite like the thrill of walking in winter with its clear skies, crisp air and stunning scenery that’s blanketted in snow and sparkling with frost.

While it’s tempting to stay cosy and warm inside at this time of year, staying physically active during the cold winter months can make a very big difference to your health, especially when we’re tempted to eat and drink a bit more than we normally would around Christmas.

If you’re in the habit of falling asleep in front of the television after your Christmas dinner, get up and take the family for a traditional festive walk. You’ll all feel thoroughly better for it and enjoy the exercise, especially is someone starts a snowball fight!

So stay active this Christmas, even if it’s just a casual stroll after your annual Yuletide feast.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Walking.org

Outdoors enthusiasts will be turning their noses up at the mention of Fit Flops, but here at walking.org, we may love a walk in the country, but our real focus is on leading a healthy and active lifestyle through the benefits of walking.

So for people with an incredibly busy lifestyle, products such as Fit Flops can help them to stay in shape by burning calories and getting an extra amount of daily exercise.

What are Fit Flops?

Fit Flops started life as a range of colourful sandals, then as they became more popular and fashion orientated, Fit Flops slippers and even Fit Flops winter boots came into being. However, all of these product are designed to do the same thing, which is give you an extra workout while you walk.

They were originally designed in 2007 by a personal trainer named Marcia Kilgore who created Fit Flops to meet her own needs.

Despite being a personal trainer, she didn’t have much time to go to the gym herself, so to burn extra calories, she would wear fit flop sandals whilst walking to work.

So in many ways, Fit Flops are the quick and convenient exercise solution to the busy modern lifestyle where people don’t have time to go for a walk. Or perhaps they prioritise other things instead?

In order to capture the everyday person who’d like to stay in shape but doesn’t have the time, Fit Flops have been fashionably styled to resemble a range of everyday products that can be worn for walking around the shops, picking the kids up from school, walking to work or even getting the most exercise out of a gentle stroll. So there’s a broad appeal for this kind of product.

How do they work?

Fit Flops are designed to give you an extra workout while you walk. They achieve this using a unique wobble board midsole which works by slightly destabilising your footing. This then stimulates the fast twitching muscles in the glutes, hamstrings, calves and thighs, making your legs and bum work harder when walking, which helps to tone these areas, whilst helping you to stand straighter and improve your posture.

These benefits make weapring Fit Flops an excellent addition to a healthy exercise plan by burning extra calories while working, toning and strengthening your muscles with every step.

Originally, Fit Flops targetted the vanity market, stating that wearing their product regularly will make your legs look more slender and your bum look smaller while displaying countless lifestyle shots of well toned women in their product -and in all honesty, who can blame them?

More recently however, they have focussed on the health benefits of their products, having comissioned a study from biomechanics experts at Salford University, Manchester and the London South Bank University.

The most recent study was performed using the original FitFlop sandals over a 36 month period by Dr David Cook, Senior Lecturer in Biomechanics, and Darren James at The Centre for Human Performance at London South Bank University.

The diagram on the right shows the muscle benefits from the case studies in red, which include increased leg, calf and gluteal muscle activity, improved posture, mimickery of a barefoot walking gait but with more muscle load and improved muscle tone.

Meanwhile the blue points are feedback from people who have been wearing Fit Flops and reported relief from plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, chronic back pain, sciatica, osteoarthritis, RLS, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease and all sorts of other conditions due to the soft cushioning and posture improving characteristics of the Fit Flop midsole.

Summary

Unfortunately, because of the way in which they’ve been initially marketed to the masses, many people will think that Fit Flops are a bit of a fitness gimmick, which is understandable.

But having undergone clinical case studies, scrutiny from the press and critques from everyday people as well as scientific experts, Fit Flops have emerged as an excellent addition to leading a healthy lifestyle.

It’s important to note that they certainly won’t work wonders on their own. A healthy diet and actually walking is essential. Wearing a pair of Fit Flops just gives you that extra bit of exercise whilst walking.

If you’d like to add a pair of Fit Flops to your daily routine to increase your cardiovascular health, you can find a wide range of the best selling styles at www.fitnessfootwear.com

Normally at walking.org we talk about traditional walking boots and taking in the rolling hills of the beautiful British countryside while highlighting the benefits of a well balanced diet as part of your walking fitness.

So it feels rather strange to talk about something as commercial and colourful as Skechers Shape Ups, especially when it’s for people who don’t normally embrace the outdoors.

But, using a soft insole, soft midsole and a ‘dynamic rolling bottom’, Shape Ups combined all the benefits of barefoot walking with the soft cushioning needed for safely walking the concrete paths and high streets of our urban environment.

Mother nature intended for us to walk in bare feet on soft surfaces. But after we flattened the earth and covered it in concrete, the ground was suddenly too hard for our feet to take, which is why we wear shoes. Since then, our urban environment has increased, causing the need for soft, cushioned shoes to lessen the impact on our feet and joints as we walk.

While we love the look and feel of Vibram Five Fingers, which are like a grippy rubber glove for your feet, they’re not ideally suited to walking on hard surfaces and are far better for country walks and water sports.

Skechers Shape Ups on the other hand combine the benefits of barefoot walking with the soft cushioning and protection needed for walking in the ‘concrete jungle’.

There are already Skechers Shape Ups advice sites springing up all over the web, but ff we can forget for a moment that Skechers is a colourful, American, marketing machine with a shiny new shoe with one foot in fashion and the other foot in fitness and focus purely on the technology behind it; then we have something very special for anyone interested in the health benefits of walking.

So while Skechers have marketed their Shape Ups shoes for people with hectic lifestyles who are far too busy to take a leisurely stroll, there are many benefits to be had by all.

Because Shape Ups are essentially a Skechers trainer, they’re soft and cushioned to reduce the impact on your feet and joints when walking. But with their soft insole, dual density midsole and ‘dynamic rolling bottom’, they perfect mimic the effects of barefoot walking on soft sand.

So as you step in your Shape Ups, your heel sinks into the soft insole in the same way you would walk on soft sand. The dynamic rolling bottom then helps your foot to smoothly roll across the midfoot and onto the forefoot, before pushing off with your toes to take another step. By walking in this way, Shape Ups utilise the full flexibility of the foot while employing more muscles in the legs, buttocks, back and core to not only provide mobility, but to help stabilise your steps.

So if we compared someone walking in a pair of regular trainers to someone walking in a pair of Skechers Shape Ups, the person wearing Shape Ups would get better exercise because their shoes are mimicking the effects of barefoot walking.

To substantiate their marketing statements, Skechers have commissioned an independent study for their Shape Ups shoe to monitor the health and fitness benefits of their new product.

The case study was to evaluate the weight loss, body composition, glutei strength and lower back strength of 10 women taking part who would wear Skechers Shape Ups in increasing amounts over the course of 6 weeks.

The end results were quite impressive with all participants seeing a loss in weight and body composition while gaining glutei strength, lower back endurance and a noticeable improvement in posture.

You can read the clinical case study here.

So if you’re looking to increase your health and fitness through diet and walking, why not give a pair of Skechers Shape Ups a try when walking to work? If you’re spending 10 minutes walking to walk from the train station or going for a stroll at lunchtime, imagine how much extra exercise you could be getting by effectively walking barefoot in a pair of Shape Ups instead of your usual shoes.

There are now Skechers Shape Ups for men in a number of shoe like styles. So any men who are interested in harnessing the benefits of barefoot walking as a quick and convenient exercise, can also where Shape Ups. Fortunately the designs are quite discrete too.

However, Skechers advise that you taking things slowly at first. Even for someone who may be used to walking long distances, using your feet properly and walking barefoot will still take some practice. We’ve been walking in cushioned trainers and hiking boots for generations, so going back to nature could come as quite a shock.

You’ve heard the saying ‘Walk Tall’ – well, we’re going to show you how to become aware of your posture and how to develop a natural walking technique.

The key to a natural technique is to be alert, yet relaxed. Think tall. Imagine a piece of string running upwards through your body and out of the top of your head, reaching for the sky. Then imagine the string pulling you upwards like a puppet. If you think tall – you’ll walk tall.

As you walk, keep your back straight, with the weight of your body slightly in front of your ankles. Pull in your stomach and flatten the small of your back by tucking in your buttocks under your spine. Now walk with your head level and eyes focused straight ahead, keeping your shoulders back and down and relaxed. Pulling in your stomach (gently contracting and pressing the abdominal muscles back towards your spine) provides support for your lower back and will help you maintain your most comfortable walking posture.

Health benefits
• Improved heart health
• Lower blood pressure
• Lower cholesterol – increases ‘good cholesterol’
• Strengthens bones – helps to prevent osteoporosis
• Reduces stress
• Improves mood and increases sense of well-being
through release of endorphins

Weight loss
• First class calorie burning – depletes fat, not muscle
• Metabolic rate increased 1- 4 hrs after walk,
assisting further weight loss
• May raise resting metabolism – assisting weight loss
• Successful long term weight maintenance

Fitness
• Increased cardiovascular conditioning
• Improved muscle tone and strength

Lifestyle
• Easiest and safest way for all the family to keep fit
• Easiest long term exercise

If you are unfit, pregnant, or have a diagnosed medical problem which will affect your
ability to exercise, you should check with your doctor before commencing with a
vigorous fitness walking program.