No time to work out? Just slip into a pair of fitness shoes -- they'll do the work for you, or so they claim. It's no longer enough that shoes protect your feet.

Now, they're designed to put your feet, legs, buttocks and abdomen to work as you go about your daily activities. The manufacturers use different ways to achieve their goals, but in general most designs keep you slightly off balance, which means your body's muscles work harder to keep you stabilized as you move about. Here's a look at four of the shoes we found, plus what a couple of Wichita wearers have to say about how they work: "The first time I wore them, my muscles were sore," says Kathryn Thiessen, who got her black MBTs for Christmas.

Now, she loves them and would wear them every day if she had a second pair in another color. MBT stands for Masai Barefoot Technology. The shoe was designed by a Swiss engineer to make wearers' bodies behave as if they were walking on soft, uneven ground, as the Masai people of East Africa do.

The top of the shoe looks like any running shoe -- or sandal or wingtip, depending on the style chosen. The company says the shoe "activates the whole body." Thiessen got hers as a gift -- she says she'd never spend the $245 they cost.

The shoes come with a video on how to wear them, making Thiessen think, "I hope these aren't too complicated." They weren't, and "my feet are never tired." She also thinks she stands up straighter.

They're available at Fair Shoes Stores, 2407 W. 21st St.; and Heads Village Shoe Store, 4723 E.

Douglas in Wichita; and at Brown's Shoe Fit, 410 E. 30th in Hutchinson. No time to work out?

Just slip into a pair of fitness shoes -- they'll do the work for you, or so they claim.