Boing! The incredible bouncing boots that transform you into… a human kangaroo
Featuring a spring-loaded sole, the mini-trampolines for your feet were initially invented to help people recover from sports injuries
As well as gaining popularity in Britain, Kangoo Jumps are becoming a hit in America, South Africa and Australia
BOING! Boing! Boing! It’s the exercise regime that puts a smile on your face and a spring in your step – literally.
A new pair of bouncing boots cost £166 which turn you into a human kangaroo.
Featuring a spring-loaded sole, the mini-trampolines for your feet were initially invented to help people recover from sports injuries by taking away the impact of running on their joints.
Now they are being sold as a fun way of enjoying all the benefits of a tough gym or aerobics workout – without anyone bawling ‘no pain, no gain’ in your face.
Last week the boots, called Kangoo Jumps, featured in the hit reality TV show Made In Chelsea when two of the glossy young stars, Binky Felstead and Cheska Hull, were filmed jogging in them beside the River Thames.
The boots are also being used for aerobics and dance classes in a growing number of gyms, although – if you aren’t afraid of attracting the odd snigger – you could wear them while walking the dog.
The product is designed to protect your knees and other joints by taking away up to 80 per cent of the impact, and increase endurance, improve weight loss and help sculpture your thighs and buttocks.
They also claim that the act of bouncing for 30 to 40 minutes twice a week boosts your lymphatic system by encouraging the removal of toxins from your body.
Kangoo Jumps are fastened like roller blades or ski boots, with quick-release buckles and sturdy straps. Once they’re on, you heed need some time to get used with them which fell rather like jogging on a trampoline.
But after a few moments, you’re ready to start running on the spot, moving off – or bouncing up to 3ft in the air.
‘The Swiss are not known for doing things fast,’ he says. ‘Ultimately every household will have a good reason to own at least one pair. Everybody thinks, oh, they’re going to fall. Nobody ever falls.
You have to be extraordinarily clumsy to fall.’
And Nasa has used them to help astronauts get used to terra firma after a spell in outer space. Paul Clarkson, 42, is the head of Kangoo Jumps in the UK. He started working with them by accident
five years ago, after seeing them on a fitness DVD and realising they could help with his own health problems. He says: ‘I was born with spina bifida and have had health complications
all my life. My left leg is three-quarters of an inch smaller than the right and I have only half the ligament in my left knee.
‘I can now use Kangoo Jumps as part of my rehabilitation and for keeping my general health in order.
‘I use them three or four times a week for 45 to 60 minutes a time. I just put my iPod on and bounce and gently jog. They help with my posture, spinal and leg-strengthening.’ Paul is campaigning for the child’s version of Kangoo Jumps – the Power Shoe – to be used in schools to tackle obesity. ‘In secondary schools, the boys want to run on them and see who can bounce the highest but also
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