I tried KTroo

It’s fair to say people were pretty sceptical when I told them I was trying a KTroo class for an article.

“KTroo? Never heard of it.”

“Kangaroo boots – are you serious?”

“How hard can it be?”

Approaching the INTO building on a nippy March evening, my housemates and I were sure this was going to be a breeze.

While we’re hardly BUCS material, we’ve been known to drag ourselves to the gym on occasion and sometimes a salad has even been found in our kitchen.

Oh how wrong we were.

Waiting for the rest of the class to arrive, we peered with wonder at the box of kangaroo-style rebound boots.

Magic boots

A shoe-like contraption with an arc of plastic on the bottom, it suddenly dawned on us an element of poise and balance may be necessary for this class. Two characteristics famously lacking in our house.

As we teetered around the room like Bambi on ice, we watched, fascinated, as the other girls strode confidently into place.

Looking nonchalant but holding on to the chair for dear life.

There was no time to feel self-conscious, however – the class leader Kate quickly called the group to order.

Kate, who studied International Development at UEA, founded KTroo in 2014 after discovering the rebound boots in Spain and Mexico during her year abroad.

She now runs classes at a number of locations across Norwich, as well as leading UEA’s own KTroo society. She’s enthusiastic about the benefits of the exercise regime.

She explained: “Your muscles are working harder to press the boots down against gravity, so you burn more and get your heart rate up much higher than you could doing the same exercise without the boots.

“It’s also great for toning and your posture since you have to stand straight to balance!

“The most amazing thing is that it’s low impact as the boots absorb up to 80 per cent of the impact, so you don’t ache the next day!”

A medium-intensity cardio workout, the class basically involves a series of zumba-like routines set to a brilliant soundtrack of cheesy pop.

Kate and the class

While the rest of the group followed Kate’s lead like a well-oiled machine, we discovered our dancing abilities on nights out are probably a Jägerbomb-fuelled illusion.

It admittedly took us a few songs to learn how to balance and follow Kate’s instructions simultaneously but we got there in the end.

We all noticed a marked improvement in our coordination as the class progressed and the routines really do get your heart rate going.

But for exercise or not, how often do you get to spend an hour dancing along to a Grease medley?