For some reason, I thought these were running shoes.  I was a little surprised when I saw "toning" on the box.  They are certainly not like many of the other toning shoes I had seen on the market: they do not have huge soles and aren't heavy at all.  I will probably still wear them to work out in, because they do not throw you off balance like some of the other toning shoes do. I haven't really noticed a difference in "toning" but they are definitely comfortable, lightweight and seem to be well made.