Kangoo Jumps: The Latest Fitness Craze

Looking for a fun, new way to get in shape? Then bounce on board the latest fitness craze: Kangoo Jumps.

Kangoo Jumps are a type of fitness boot attached to a spring system and designed for rebound exercise. Rebound exercise is usually performed on a trampoline.  The buoyancy and low-impact bounce provided by rebounding is a fun, vigorous and generally safe way to get a total body workout without damaging bones and joints. With Kangoo Jumps, you're not limited to the trampoline.  You can strap them on and enjoy rebound exercise anywhere you can run, jog, do aerobics, and dance.  In fact, Kangoo Jumps are popular all over the world.

Kangoo Jumps; instructors lead high-energy choreographed routines that are similar to something you might see in a Jazzercise, Zumba, or dance-aerobics class.  With music pumping out fast-paced beats, participants bounce through vigorous routines while performing leg lifts, dance moves, upper and lower body exercises, all without pounding the pavement.  Kangoo Jump classes are fun, which might be the biggest benefit Kangoo Jumps provides—a way to keep people engaged and enjoying exercising. 

These spring-loaded boots originally appealed to people looking to bounce some fun back into their fitness routines. Fans quickly discovered however, they reduced the high-impact, joint and bone-jarring effects of running and exercising on hard surfaces. The official Kangoo Jumps website claims that exercising with Kangoo Jumps reduces impact by as much as 80 percent compared with high-impact activities like running and jogging on hard surfaces. Several small universities conducted these studies, and most don't appear to be published in peer-reviewed journals.

One study however, conducted by the University of British Columbia appeared in the British Columbia Medical Journal.  Researchers investigated which footwear provided the greatest cardiovascular fitness improvement with the fewest injuries: Kangoo Jump or conventional running shoes.  They studied 13 people in a 12-week program of running three times per week as compared to a separate group of 12 people who did the same program, while wearing Kangoo Jumps.  Several subjects who wore conventional shoes reported injuries that made them stop exercising.  Several subjects in the Kangoo Jumps group experienced arch pain and discomfort around the boot top. These complaints did not require they stop exercising and went away once they became accustomed to the boots.  Tests to compare cardiovascular benefits between the two groups were similar. The researchers therefore determined that Kangoo Jumps provided similar cardiovascular exercise benefits as running, but with fewer injuries.

Some fitness experts have voiced concerns about safety issues associated with balance, gait alteration, and the potential to get injured if the Kangoo Jumps wearer lands improperly. With practice, however, Kangoo Jumps may provide a great way for people of all fitness levels (including those with a history of sports injuries or joint tenderness) to get a good workout. 

Kangoo Jumps retail at approximately $230 per pair and come in a wide variety of styles and sizes (including for children six and older and people who are overweight). Classes are available around the world and a variety of workout routines are available on DVD for home workouts. 

 

Sources:

Kangoo Jumps
http://kangoojumps.com/doc1.htm

British Columbia Medical Journal; Kangoo Jumps: An innovative training device; Issue: BCMJ, Vol. 45, No. 9, November 2003, page(s) 444-448 Articles; N. Miller, BSc/BPHE, J.E. Taunton, MD, S. Fraser, BSc Rehab, E. Rhodes, PhD, B. Zumbo, PhD

http://www.bcmj.org/article/kangoo-jumps-innovative-training-device