A catchy mash-up of Lady Gaga and Rihanna booms through the room as an instructor directs the Kangoo Jumps class participants to bounce across the room in long, powerful strides. After an hour of profuse sweating and intense calorie-burning, the participants take off their low-impact boots and leave the class feeling rejuvenated.

Kangoo Jumps features rigorous plyometrics to provide a fun, knee-friendly form of cardiovascular exercise. The class is offered at the Bethesda Naval Center Gym, which is only available to federal employees.

All participants are supplied with impact-protection boots, which were originally created in the 1920s for rehabilitation of athletes with leg injuries. Swiss engineer Denis Naville redesigned them in 1980 to improve comfort, design and performance, according to the Kangoo Jumps website.

Amanda Kozay, who is the fitness assistant manager at the Naval Center, said that a family member of a Naval Center employee, who’s a Kangoo instuctor, came in to do a demonstration in August and teach instructors at the gym how to lead the class.

Due to limited pairs of boots and a confined space, the class size is restricted to about 15 people, Kozay said.

NIH employee Claire McCann, who attended the class for the first time recently, said that there are many unique factors that contribute to the intensity of Kangoo.

“The boots, the bouncing and the balancing make Kangoo difficult at first, but effective nonetheless,” she said. “Even if you can’t keep up, you can go at your own pace and still have fun.”

A study conducted by the Biochemical Division of NASA’s Research Center confirmed that rebound exercise, like running in Kangoo boots or jumping on a trampoline, equalizes the gravitational forces on different body parts. It explains how one can strengthen the whole body without applying too much pressure to the feet, ankles or legs.

Instructor Alee Cavanagh said that the cardio-oriented moves activate many different muscle groups without inducing fatigue or injury.

“All the pounding and jumping require you to use your core and bigger leg muscles to keep your balance,” Cavanagh said. “Even though you’re constantly moving with a three-pound boot on each foot, your legs don’t experience excessive fatigue because the boots absorb 80% of the impact.”

McCann said that Kangoo is an exciting experience that everyone can benefit from, regardless of athletic ability.

“I would choose this over a boring run any day because that always puts pressure on the knees and ankles,” she said. “Nothing can replace the fun and almost guarenteed security of jumping as high as you can and burning so many calories in these bouncy boots.”