Those Heels are Meant for Hopping

Still working out in sneakers and scurrying onto the floor?  Come on, that’s so 2012.  High heels are booming, and the shoes are getting taller, thinner, and scarier.  It’s time you changed and learn how to strut your strutters.   

Besides it’s sexy.  In the journal of Evolution and Behavior, a study found that women who wear high heels are perceived as more feminine than woman who wore flatter shoes.

 

Okay, I believe that men like women a little off balance, but in the meantime do we have to break our necks?

Maybe, unless you take one of the state-of-the-art classes—to strengthen your feet and tone up your calves.  You see, remaining upright doesn't come easy.

Yet women are tossing off their Nikes and slipping into something drastic, like three or four inch heels, before stretching their legs and kicking up a storm.   According to Kamilah Barrett, who teaches a heel hop workout in Beverly Hills, there’s a need to target the muscles that support a “relaxed” stance and fluid movement in high heels.

 

Her students squeeze into their tallest shoes, then "teeter back on their feet," she says.   Oy.

But to many women, high heels are a natural.  They’ve been 
dancing in them for years and love the feeling of height.   Of course, most experts agree that one cannot remain in heels for extended periods without risk of injury.

Dr. Emily Spilchal, podiatrist, NYC

Emily Spilchal, a New York podiatrist and high heel enthusiast, created a program called “Catwalk Confidence.”  She describes her class as “vertical Pilates,” but is adamant that her classes must be taught in bare feet.                           

That's what Sarah Jessica Parker chooses.  This week the actress announced that they've injured her feet, and she’s switching to flats for the rest of her life.
 

Her whole life?  Congratulations girl, but I’m not as brave as you.

 It’s not because I worry about my showbiz career.  No, I’m frantic about the dumpy factor—looking shrimpy, disgustingly short, more grounded than a fat furry groundhog. 

And face it, heels have been around forever.   Over a millennium ago, Chinese women, in an attempt to land a husband, had their feet pressed and bound to fit into three-inch long slippers.  That sounds worse than being stranded in a desert wearing five-inch stilettos.  Kill me now, Lord, because I ain’t walking back.

Nope, I’d rather sign up for a class.