Living in San Francisco, with it’s limited parking and exorbitant parking fees {$200-$300/month for a parking spot}, I walk everywhere. Living at the top of an extremely steep hill means I am always hiking mini mountains to get back to my apartment. At times it can be frustrating. There are days that I wake up and really don’t want to trek the two blocks to get coffee {yes, I really can be that lazy} and sometimes I want to throw on my new gorgeous, five-inch heels without wincing at the thought of teetering precariously on the SF slopes. However, walking is the extent of my cardio exercise {unless Power Yoga counts as cardio which I don’t think it does} and what I attribute as the source of my extremely small frame.
Since walking around is my main source of exercise, I recently began contemplating how to get more out of it. Yes, I know many of us are skeptics on the notion that shoes might help you get a Beyonce booty {ok, maybe not that extreme} or grimaced at the fashion statement {trying to better your appearance by wearing funky footwear that looks like something your grandma would wear is just slightly ironic}, but I surrendered to the temptation of a sexy backside and decided to give fitness footwear a shot.
And I actually surprised myself and loved them! I got a pair of the Skechers Resistance Runners, which are supposed to be super intense for running. When they arrived, I was a little wary of the fashion statement I was going to make. But the fact that they were pink and gray {my favorite two colors together} gave them a couple of points in my book, and I got around the ugly, huge wedge factor that the shoes have by wearing longer yoga pants when walking which resulted in my looking a couple inches taller {never a bad thing for me!}.
When I first put them on, I was thrown off balance, wavering on the ball of my foot. Instantly, my stomach muscles tightened to hold my balance. I cautiously clambered down the hill, thinking that I was going to fall on my face at any minute. By the time I got back to my house, I was more confident walking in the shoes, but I was sweating and my legs were sore.
I wear them on every morning and evening dog walk, and I swear they have made a difference! After a few months of traipsing around San Francisco hills in my fitness footwear, I think I may now be able to compete with Cameron Diaz for best legs. Okay, maybe not…but the hubby’s recent habit of grabbing my butt and saying it looks “plumper” is proof enough for me that they work.
~Lauren Isobel
