****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Kangoo Jumps are easy to use overall, and these shoes are excellent quality...but I think the idea of them is misleading if you don't do more research. I thought I would be bouncing around for an hour with little trouble because they're springy, right? WRONG (but in a good way--just keep reading). What Kangoo Jumps shoes do is reduce the impact when you LAND, but there is very little extra help when you jump UP. However, this is what makes them an excellent tool for exercise because you put just as much effort into jumping as you would without them (or...nearly--seriously, you're using your muscles to jump, not the bounce in the shoes). The reduced impact enables people who aren't, you know, six years old to bounce around without injury. I've had knee troubles for a year or two, and I have so far felt zero strain on my knees since I started using my Kangoo Jumps.What this not-making-you-fly-up characteristic also means is that...you're JUMPING for the duration of your workout, which is very challenging unless it's something you've done a lot before. I'm in my third year dancing Scottish, so I do a lot of jumping...and my Kangoo workouts just about kill me. I can do maximum two songs before stopping for breath. Yes, I'm currently out of shape and nearly two weeks into a healthy nutrition and exercise regimen, but this is way harder than other workout programs I've just been able to slide into. Seriously, when you see videos of groups of women bouncing to song after song, take a moment to have some mad respect for them because they have ENDURANCE.A couple things to consider if you really want to get these excellent shoes:1. Aside from muscular and cardiovascular health, jumping improves the function of your lymphatic system (the "stuff" between cells), which doesn't have a natural pump and needs you to move your body to flush out toxins. Jumping has been found to be the absolute best way to do that.2. I learned #1 from Becky Overbeck, which brings me to this point: get hooked up a fitness community for good workouts and good stuff to learn! I have ZERO affiliation with Becky Overbeck and have never spoken to her, but she has the best and most plentiful choreography on YouTube and absolutely knows her fitness. I've learned so much just by watching her on YouTube and reading her posts on Instagram. Tuning in with her content is way better going it alone, FOR SURE. So...use her, use anybody, just access the information out there!3. I've seen many people recommend long socks to prevent chafing, but I think if you tighten your Jumps well enough, there isn't much wiggle to allow for chafing. Maybe if I ever last more than 20 minutes, I'll be singing a different tune.4. I'm six days into actively using my Kangoo Jumps, but I've already seen HUGE improvement in my endurance in other areas, as well as in my balance and ability to jump. I take tap classes, and I was dragging and sweating my face off during classes for a couple out-of-shape months. Time steps hurt me, and I couldn't lift myself to jump by the end of our warm-up. We just started new choreography that involves some jumping, and I had no trouble at all, finding that I had plenty of energy for the duration of class and could lift myself off the floor just fine (I was really dragging before, y'all...seriously, treat your bodies well). That's the amount of improvement I've made in less than a week! These shoes are EFFECTIVE.5. Don't be surprised by a little squeaky sound when you jump in new shoes--I always feel and sound like the Pixar lamp.6. Kangoo Jumps are also hugely challenging for balance, since the bottom is rounded. I've always been heel-heavy, never really mastering the skill of standing on my center. My first couple attempts at using my Kangoos had me flying backwards and forwards because I just couldn't balance myself properly! Now (again, less than a week later), I'm bouncing on my center, which is improving my ability to execute moves properly and will over time refine my overall balance. Again, during my most recent tap class, I had a way better time with balance than usual.That's a lot to say for less than a week of usage, but I've learned a lot! I hope this helps somebody make their purchase decision.
