Kangoo Jumps

Have you ever seen a fat kangaroo? Didn’t think so. Because jumping is simply fantastic for your physique.

Ok, so seriously, just about anyone in the fitness world will tell you that jumping is a great workout. It builds strength, endurance, gets your heart rate up, and helps pump your lymphatic system, which of course is good for weight loss. Think jump rope, rebounder, power jumps. You name it: if you jump it you’ll get better results.

So how about jumping an entire aerobics class? When I first heard of Kangoo Jumps classes, held at in  Dillingham Square, I couldn’t believe it. You actually put on rebounder shoes and bounce in them the entire class. And it promised to actually be low-impact, so as not to stress your joints. This I had to check out.

I must admit the first draw was simply the name. Who doesn’t love kangaroos? When the classroom doors opened, the room quickly filled up with about 20 ladies, ready to jump away. Several had their own Kangoo shoes, but there was also a rack with dozens of pairs of various size shoes available for class use. The shoes themselves looked and felt like rollerblade shoes, with a spring underneath that gave you the bounce.

I was a little afraid of being able to keep my balance at first. I had to sit on the floor to put the shoes on, and getting up didn’t look like an easy feat. But after a little help from a chair and the wall, I walked around and bounced a little and got a feel for the balance. In a matter of minutes I was no longer afraid of falling over.

One other lady in the class offered to let me borrow an extra pair of high socks she’d brought. I hadn’t even considered that, but the shoes go high and would rub against your calf (like rollerblades or ice-skates do) if you don’t have protection. I was quickly very grateful for this added protection.

It took about 15 minutes for everyone to get their shoes on and ready for class. Part of this, though, was because a handful of us were new and the instructor took time to make sure we all had comfortable shoes.

 Once we were set, our instructor bounced to the front of the class and gleefully announced that this was going to be a hard routine. “It’s going to be great, I’m going to kill you!” he laughed. “Just kidding, just kidding.”

And we were off. With some upbeat music and an even more-upbeat instructor, we leapt, kicked, jumped, stomped, and danced our way through the routine. Each song had three or four different moves that repeated. Most of the steps were things you might see in a class or other aerobics class, only with the added aspect of the jump shoes. So you didn’t do anything low key. But the good news was, if you ever found the steps hard to follow or keep up with, you could just bounce and you were getting a workout.

One aspect I hadn’t even considered beforehand but quickly became apparent was that you not only were jumping but you were jumping with weights on your feet! Each shoe weighs three pounds. This may not sound like much, but if you add an extra three pounds to each foot and then do high jumps or knee raises, you start to feel it.

One of the hardest steps, I found, was when we jumped several times in a row and then purposefully held down a beat—not allowing ourselves to jump. Forcing that stop of momentum when your shoes were ready to throw you back heavenward took more concentration and muscle work then just going for the air.

The class was very quick-paced, one of those that passes in a blur. There was jogging, high jumps, high skips, pounding low jumps that bounced your right back up, side-kicks, leaps, etc. Everything was this strange mix of high intensity as far as your heart-rate and muscle work, but low intensity as far as impact. My knees and ankles didn’t feel a thing and were not the slightest bit sore later.

Everyone was sweating it, but having a blast. After doing half a dozen songs worth, we maneuvered our way down to floor mats and did some abs work, all with the shoes still on so adding that extra weight to the moves. Leg raises up and down, bicycle twists, stretches, all made more intense with the extra weight of the shoes on our feet.

Finally we took the shoes off and finished stretching. The class had certainly fulfilled its promises of being a fun bouncy, yet low impact workout. Not only are Kangoo Jumps a great workout, but they say that the shoes reduce impact by up to 80%—making them great for injury prevention/recovery and joint protection. The shoes were originally developed for joggers, to reduce the impact stress on joints.

You can check out the Gold’s Gym class schedule on their website. Classes are included in membership or there is a drop-in fee of $10.

Remember:

• Bring water. You don’t want to hop out to the drinking fountain in between every song.
• Wear tall socks. Most ladies were wearing two layers just to give the added padding.
• Make sure your Kangoo shoes are comfortable. You’re going to be moving around in them a lot, you don’t want to be stuck with a shoe that pinches.