Tag: Skechers

Olympic Medalist Signs With Skechers

Shoe maker SKECHERS, currently the number two athletic footwear brand in the United States, is looking to take it up a notch. The company announced this week that it has signed an agreement with distance runner Meb Keflezighi to endorse SKECHERS Fitness performance footwear and appearl.

The former New York City Marathon winner and Olympic medalist will be running in the World Marathon Majors (including the 2011 ING New York City Marathon), road races, and Olympic Trials through August 2012 exclusively in SKECHERS Fitness performance footwear featuring the Company’s innovative SmartShoe mid-foot strike technology for serious athletes and active enthusiasts. Keflezighi will also be consulting on the development of performance product and SKECHERS expects to coordinate the launches of exciting new competition-ready running lines with his professional racing appearances.

“SKECHERS’ new performance shoes change the way I run for the better,” said Keflezighi. “I’ve been a heel strike runner my entire life, but I am now wearing SKECHERS to maximize the efficiency of my foot strike. My shoes are my most essential piece of equipment and right now SKECHERS has the footwear I need to succeed. I’m excited to be partnering with this groundbreaking company.”

SKECHERS Fitness’ campaign with Meb Keflezighi is planned for a Holiday 2011 launch, and will include print, television, outdoor, in-store and online marketing as well as event appearances for SKECHERS fitness footwear and apparel.

SKECHERS Official Site

Debate Rages on “Toning Shoes”

One of the latest rages this year has been the so-called “toning” shoes, such as those from Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT), Skechers Shape-Ups and Reebook Easy Tones – but now the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the largest non-profit fitness certification, education and training organization in the world has given those shoes a thumbs down. This week ACE released the findings of an independent research study, which suggests that there is no evidence that the shoes help wearers exercise more intensely or burn more calories.

The study, which is reportedly one of the first from an independent organization further enlisted a team of researchers from the Exercise and Health Programs at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse.

“Toning shoes appear to promise a quick-and-easy fitness solution, which we realize people are always looking for,” says ACE’s Chief Science Officer Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D.  “Unfortunately, these shoes do not deliver the fitness or muscle toning benefits they claim.  Our findings demonstrate that toning shoes are not the magic solution consumers were hoping they would be, and simply do not offer any benefits that people cannot reap through walking, running or exercising in traditional athletic shoes.”

However, Katherine Hobson, who contributes to the Health Blog for The Wall Street Journal offered a bit of commentary on this release:

“It should be noted that ACE is a nonprofit that certifies a lot of fitness pros who would be out of a job if we could all get fit without working out. ACE says it commissioned the study but that it was independently designed and conducted.”

Skechers also disagrees and has posted a website that includes results from four clinical case studies. In other words, the debate will rage on.

American Council on Exercise (ACE) Research Study Finds Toning Shoes Fail to Deliver on Fitness Claims  Via PR Newswire

Wall Street Journal: American Council on Exercise: Study Finds Toning Shoes Don’t Work

Skechers: Shape Ups Clinical Case Study

Skechers Says Resistance is Not Futile

The promise to train harder in a shorter period of time is one that many of us seek today. There is only so much time in the day, and the ability to run a shorter distance but still get a full workout is a dream. This is part of the concept behind the Skechers Resistance Runner line of shoes, which also has the promise to provide the corrective benefits of running barefoot.

To this end the Skechers shoes utilize the “shape-ups” technology. The idea here is that the shoes can make it so your heart rate is faster, and you actually activate your muscles quicker. The company believes the shoes will increase back muscle activation by up to 85 percent, hip muscle activation by 71 percent, calf muscle activation by 68 percent and that users can actually burn more than 10 percent more calories when compare to traditional running shoes.

So how is this done? Part of it is the “rocker bottom,” where the shoe has a rounded appearance, which the company suggests should make for a more natural running position. This is what is believed to be the key to barefoot running. The shoe’s Kinetic Wedge thus simulates running on sand.

The Skechers Resistance Runners are now arriving in stores, and should be available to go the distance later this summer.

Skechers Official Site

Skechers Resistance Runner