Integrally weighted athletic shoe

An athletic shoe comprising:

• a bottom portion;
• an upper portion secured to said bottom portion;
• a lace closure which is attached to said upper portion at the front of said shoe;
• and
• a top collar shaped portion which is attached to said upper portion and which is used to fasten around the ankle;
• said bottom portion comprising:
• an outer sole extending the length of the shoe, including the heel;
• a weight-retaining matrix means molded to the inside surface of said outer sole, said matrix means including a flexible grid structure forming a multiple number of approximately equal area enclosures covering the entire area of the sole and heel;
• an inner sole fastened to the top of said flexible grid structure;
• and a multiplicity of small metal spheres of less than 1 mm diameter acting as flexible integral weights, said metal spheres being placed inside the boxes formed by said flexible grid structure prior to fastening said inner sole in place, and leaving a substantial space between said metal spheres and the top of said grid structure;
• said grid structure being for the purpose of retaining said metal spheres distributed uniformly in place, preventing them from shifting over the sole area and bunching;
• said small metal spheres and said space between them and said inner sole being for the purpose of enhancing shoe comfort to the wearer and providing running flexibility;
• said weight-retaining matrix means being formed integrally inside said bottom portion, and said small metal spheres weight material being contained inside said matrix means, uniformly distributed over the entire area of the sole and heel of said shoe;
• said weight-retaining matrix and said small metal spheres providing a hidden, flexible increased weight for the shoe wearer to use when exercising.