Are FitFlops a Farce? The Lab Rat

I must admit that when it comes to fitness trends, I am highly skeptical. I’m skeptical about most claims made by most products, but fitness seems to fall into a special category, since companies love to prey on the many people desperate to slim down and tone up. Although I’ve watched a lot of late-night infomercials advertising products that promise to tone my buns ‘n’ thighs for only five minutes a day without dieting, not once have I believed a word of it. So when I was presented with a spiffy looking pair of FitFlops, I didn’t exactly rush out and start buying hot pants.

FitFlops are the sandals that claim to be “the flip flop with the gym built in,” according to the Web site. They claim that the specially designed footbed on the sandal will more fully engage your leg and core muscles, resulting in longer, leaner legs and a tighter, more toned butt. The Web site also claims, “FitFlop sandals wearers have also reported relief from plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, chronic back pain, sciatica, osteoarthritis, RLS (restless leg syndrome), scoliosis, and degenerative disc disease.”

Curing sciatica and making my legs leaner? That’s a tall order for a simple pair of shoes. I started wearing the sandals to see what all the fuss was about, and almost every time I wear them, someone stops me to ask, “Are you wearing those new fitness sandals? Do they work?”

The Skinny? Not So Much
It seems like there’s a lot of interest in get-fit-quick schemes. As I say to the people who ask me on the street—as shoes, they perform admirably, but as a magical fitness miracle, they fail miserably. Alas, my legs are no skinnier, and my buns no tighter than when I began wearing the FitFlops many months ago. Surprise, surprise. My dad always told me that things that seem too good to be true usually are, and the FitFlops haven’t absolved me from my daily squats and lunges in the gym.

Yet I continue to wear the FitFlops, because they’re by far the most comfortable pair of sandals I’ve ever worn. I’m usually anti-flip flop, because the thin, flimsy ones are not good for your feet or back, and wearing them in the city subjects your feet to all kinds of pavement nastiness. The FitFlops, however, are a different story. They have a thickly constructed bottom that elevates your foot from the street, and they have solid arch support. I can’t confirm whether they can actually cure foot ailments, but I do feel like my gait is more efficient in them. I could walk miles in these things.