“Burn more calories, tone muscles, improve posture, reduce joint stress.”

—Well, who wouldn’t want all that?

“Train muscles your trainers never knew you had.”

—Sign me up.

“It’s the shoe proven to work your hamstrings and calves up to 11 percent harder. And tones your butt up to 28 percent more than regular sneakers just by walking.”

—A better body without putting in any extra effort? That sounds good.

Or maybe too good to be true? All of the above are publicized claims marketing the latest toning shoes from Skechers Shape-Ups, MBT (Masai Barefoot Technology) and Reebok EasyTone. The shoes, each of which uses uniquely shaped rounded soles and extra cushioning to alter the wearer’s normal walking gait, are currently all the rage in footwear. A quick Web search reveals many blogs touting the shoes and NFL great Joe Montana has even been hired as a pitchman for one of the brands.

With all this buzz about toning shoes, it was time to put their claims to the test. So we enlisted a team

If increasing muscle mass is one of your goals, then think twice before you go out for a night of heavy drinking. Consuming alcohol in large quantities has a direct effect on your metabolism, causing fat to be stored instead of being utilized as an energy source. Alcohol contains seven “empty” calories per gram, meaning that these calories don’t provide you with any of the essential nutrients you need to build that muscle mass you desire.

 

Effects of Excessive Alcohol Consumption on Your Body:

• Muscles—Reduces blood flow to the muscles, causing weakness and deterioration

• Hormones—Reduces testosterone in your blood and increases conversion of testosterone to estrogen, causing increased fat depositing and fluid retention

• Liver—Creates imbalances that can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), fatty liver and hyperlipidemia (build-up of fats in the bloodstream)

• Brain—Cuts off the supply of oxygen to the brain, resulting in a “blackout” caused by a lack of oxygen supply to the brain that can kill tens of thousands of brain cells