mbt opinions pls

RobAMerc

hi mrs AMerc is looking at buying a pair of mbt trainers for a walking program.

Has anyone on here any experience and would you recommend them ?

thanks
mrsRobAMerc

Tan Princess

I have them and I think they are fantastic, they were a nightmare for blisters at the start but I just wore scholl heel guards for the first few months. They are so comfy and I do feel they have toned by legs and decreased cellulite considerably. You do need to wear them a fair bit though I'd wear mine 3-4 times a week.

EileenG

I've got a pair, and if nothing else, I'm getting great value out of them. I normally wear out a pair of shoes in a couple of months. I've had these over a year and they are still perfect.

Don't know about all the benefits they are supposed to have for reducing fat, but they are great shoes for wearing for long periods. Last time I was in London, I wore them and walked 35,000 steps without a single blister or problem.

They feel odd at first, and you will feel them making the backs of your legs work. I'm told I stand a little straighter in them than I do normally. However, my chiropractor warned me that if you have bad posture to start with, it will be worse with the MBTs.

littlefriend

I bought them as I have a back problem. I wear them every day and they really are very comfortable and I think they do help with my back pain a bit. Unfortunately however, I haven't noticed that they have toned my legs or anything like that.
I will definitely buy them again but mostly because they are so comfortable.

thirtyfoot

The ole Masai Barefoot Technology. They may work but I was in Tanzania a few years back and met a few Masai and I noticed some of them had homemade shoes from old car tyres that had a curve that resembled the MBT very similarly, you could save yourself a couple of hundred euros if you were creative. I also got great entertainment hearing from our Tanzanian based Irish friends who on a visit home came across the MBT shoes and sucked in the MBT rep and got the spiel on the masai blah blah blah only to retort with "well we have lived and worked with the masai for 20 odd years and have rarely seen a masai with a shoe like that". But then again, its replicating their barefoot technology and not the fact that they wear car tyres for shoes so maybe they do work. If they work for you and you are willing to pay for them, fair play. I think MBT should bring out the whole range - spears, shields, headpieces, five foot vertical jump kit etc etc. I've never worn them so ignore my cynicism.

Captain Scarlet

They're overpriced. I don't like their using the name "Masai" without paying a large copyright fee to an entire ethnic group. (Don't know if they do support any projects in the Masai Mara, maybe they do). But as shoes, they are IMHO brilliant, for me anyway. I don't get taken in easily by marketing hype, but I splashed out and tried them. For me, they do exactly what they say on the tin, I now wear nothing else and have saved a fortune in a) physio and b) other shoes. Lower Back Pain and Knee Pain gone, walking required at first a bit more conscious effort but works out all the bits a lot more (abdomen, bum, etc.). On formal occasions when I have to wear "normal" shoes, I am conscious of the fact that my entire gait and stance is all out of schwock...even with my beloved old Dr. Marten's!!! Just my 2 cents worth, although I know some folk who hate the MBT's. They work great for me, I can't guarantee they will for you. Oh yeah...they look like crap, so if you're a youngster who's concerned about the fashion stuff, they're not for you.....

g'em

Tingle wrote: »

The ole Masai Barefoot Technology. They may work but I was in Tanzania a few years back and met a few Masai and I noticed some of them had homemade shoes from old car tyres that had a curve that resembled the MBT very similarly, you could save yourself a couple of hundred euros if you were creative.

I tried to buy a pair of tyre-shoes from one of the Masai last summer and they wouldn't part with them for love nor money!!!

bwardrop

I supervised a thesis student who looked at energy expenditure during walking while wearing MBT's vs normal trainers (i.e. to test their weight loss claims).

We had the volunteers walk on a treadmill for 15mins 4 times:

- while wearing MBT's at self chosen walking pace
- while wearing trainers at self chosen walking pace
- while wearing MBT's at 6km/h (brisk walk)
- while wearing trainers at 6km/h

We had the volunteers hooked up to an analyzer that tells us very accurately how much energy you are using during a given activity - long story short - there were no difference in energy expenditure between any of the trials.

This indicates that it is highly unlikely that MBT's will help you loose weight / tone up / work more muscles. If you were recruiting all these muscles while wearing MBT's, you would be using more energy to fuel them.

DéiseGirl

I'm on my third pair of MBTs at this stage, so yes I like them I was getting about a year out of each pair but I was walking nearly 2 hours a day in total when I lived in Dublin (not to mention I'd sometimes "forget" to take them off when I was in work). I don't know about the cellulite busting or toning properties but I get niggly knee and hip pain sometimes with normal shoes/runners, but much less so with the MBTs.

EileenG

No idea whether they burn calories (though I did find that when I started wearing them that I could feel it up the back of my legs) but I find I can walk for miles in them with no soreness or blisters. For that alone, they are worth the money.

Captain Scarlet

EileenG wrote: »

No idea whether they burn calories (though I did find that when I started wearing them that I could feel it up the back of my legs) but I find I can walk for miles in them with no soreness or blisters. For that alone, they are worth the money.

I don't actually remember any claim in the marketing that they "burn more calories" than normal shoes....I can't imagine that would be possible, because the energy (i.e. calories) involved in moving a certain mass (i.e. your body) over a certain distance would surely be the same no matter what shoes you wear, no? The only way they could make you burn more calories is if they make you walk further....and as you suggest, Eileen, if you can walk for miles without discomfort, and therefore walk further, that would obviously burn more energy. One thing I find is that I walk slower in MBT's than in my old Doc's or runners....more comfortably and more relaxed, but not as fast. Does anyone else find this?

mrsberries

Im wearing MBTs a year now and find them fantastic. I do feel a difference in my legs (they needed a lot of toning!) and in the way that I walk when wearing them.

They are quite pricey, so I got measured for them in a shop and bought them on Ebay for 150euro. They are great value though as I wear them walking to work and on my lunch break walk.

quigley

I remember, on first meeting a friend who was wearing MBTs and I have to say that I thought he was hyper-active what with all the back and forwards rocking while standing still

EileenG

quigley wrote: »

I remember, on first meeting a friend who was wearing MBTs and I have to say that I thought he was hyper-active what with all the back and forwards rocking while standing still

If you are standing around (kid's football match or something) all the rocking back and forward is great for keeping you feeling human and not getting sore feet.

Captain Scarlet

quigley wrote: »

I remember, on first meeting a friend who was wearing MBTs and I have to say that I thought he was hyper-active what with all the back and forwards rocking while standing still

Yeah, it gets kind of addictive, like a nervous tic....really comfortable/comforting to do, actually. I heard a debate on some radio station two days ago in which physios were trying to debunk the MBT's and some guy from MBT Ireland (I think) was defending them. All a bit pointless, really, because no-one but yourself can say whether they're right for "you" or not. The cynic in me can see why physios might dislike them....they cost about two physio sessions....

Johnny Storm

FWIW a physio advised my wife to give them up as they were making her hip joints sore. It worked. Your mileage may vary.

Hanley

Captain Scarlet wrote: »

Yeah, it gets kind of addictive, like a nervous tic....really comfortable/comforting to do, actually. I heard a debate on some radio station two days ago in which physios were trying to debunk the MBT's and some guy from MBT Ireland (I think) was defending them. All a bit pointless, really, because no-one but yourself can say whether they're right for "you" or not. The cynic in me can see why physios might dislike them....they cost about two physio sessions....

I REALLY hate that line of argument. It makes no sense.

figs86

bwardrop wrote: »

I supervised a thesis student who looked at energy expenditure during walking while wearing MBT's vs normal trainers (i.e. to test their weight loss claims).

We had the volunteers walk on a treadmill for 15mins 4 times:

- while wearing MBT's at self chosen walking pace
- while wearing trainers at self chosen walking pace
- while wearing MBT's at 6km/h (brisk walk)
- while wearing trainers at 6km/h

We had the volunteers hooked up to an analyzer that tells us very accurately how much energy you are using during a given activity - long story short - there were no difference in energy expenditure between any of the trials.

This indicates that it is highly unlikely that MBT's will help you loose weight / tone up / work more muscles. If you were recruiting all these muscles while wearing MBT's, you would be using more energy to fuel them.

might be the same energy expenditure but with higher percentage of the work done by certain muscles - leading to them working harder, growing and appearing more ''toned''

i think people use infrared in these situations to identify specific heat expenditure from muscles so you could tell if one area was working significantly harder than another by the heat of that area

LegacyUser

Clearly these shoes are a gimmick for people who don't want to lose weight the conventionay way...hard work and excercise and a good diet.

Or am i wrong!?

mrsberries

cheesedude wrote: »

Clearly these shoes are a gimmick for people who don't want to lose weight the conventionay way...hard work and excercise and a good diet.

Or am i wrong!?

I dont know, possibly if you buy a pair and think they are going to do all the work for you. BUT I bought a pair last year when I needed to lose a stone and by incorporating them into my weightloss plan (gym and weight watchers) I do believe they helped me achieve my goals quicker. Possibly because I had spent decent money on them so made an effort to go walking in them. But I did feel more of a burn when walkin than I would do with my normal trainers/shoes.

thirtyfoot

mrsberries wrote: »

. But I did feel more of a burn when walkin than I would do with my normal trainers/shoes.

I converted our bathroom sinks (our bedroom ensuite & the spare room ensuite) into a pair of running shoes. They were hard work and I felt a burn after about 2 metres. I did some bounds over hurdles with them on too and really felt a burn here too. Still wear them most of the time and when I walk to work I wear them. Took a while to get used to but recently the ceramic is starting to crack. I got a gait analysis and its because I pronate so the guy in the shop reckons I should use a kitchen sink to convert to running shoes as they are more durable.