STRAPPING on the boots, I looked down at my feet and wondered how on earth I would ever be able to stand up and walk on them.

These weren’t just any boots, these were what are known as Kangoo jump boots.

Featured before on celebrities such as Made in Chelsea stars Binky Felstead and Cheska Hull, the boots look like ski boots connected to oval shaped springs.

Kangoo jump boots are becoming more and more popular as a fitness craze, and exercise classes such as Bounce Fit are a new craze that is trending all over South Wales.

The classes include a 45-minute workout session, combining cardio, stretching and floor exercises, all in the boots.

Even though they are quite heavy (around 2.5lbs each), once strapped on they add a lightness to your step.

I eventually managed to pull myself up in the boots and after a few tentative steps it actually felt like a mini trampoline was attached to each foot.

With a little hand from one of the instructors, it was soon easy to walk around and bounce.

The instructors, Emma Gould and Sammy Norman, grew up in the same area of Cwmbran, but never really knew each other until fitness brought them together.

They both attended classes in Cardiff around six years ago, after thinking Bounce Fit looked interesting, but it was difficult for them to travel back and forth for the evening classes.

The girls managed to get their instructor to launch a few classes in Cwmbran, but after they were brought closer to home, the numbers began to dwindle, and eventually stopped.

With the difficulty of travelling back and forth to St Davids in the evening, the girls decided it was too much and stopped attending.

Miss Gould, 31, says she always nagged to bring the class back, but the number of trainers meant no one was available to travel to Cwmbran.

After the idea of the class was proposed to go onto Dragon's Den, a member of another class in Hereford decided to invest in the business to help expand it.

When the company asked for trainers, both Miss Norman and Miss Gould jumped at the chance.

“I think it’s just the love of it really that has kept us doing it,” said Miss Norman.

“It was the perfect opportunity to go actually we love doing this so let’s go for it.”

Both the girls bought into the business and after that trained as instructors before starting to set things up.

However, what they thought was going to be a six week wait for the boots to be delivered, turned into two weeks, so the girls decided to start from then.

“We went all hands on deck to publicise it,” Miss Gould said.

“We set up a Facebook page and got the logo up, and just drummed up the interest.”

The group has been running for about four weeks now, and the girls run a few classes in and around Cwmbran, with another instructor having launched a Newport class in Lysaght Institute on Fridays.

“We also hold boot camp classes outside where we take everyone outside if the weather is nice and go running.

“Our Facebook page is the main way of advertising at the moment, we post all our updates on there and get feedback as well”, said Miss Norman.

“It’s a really good way to keep in touch with our regulars and we use it to tell them how they’ve improved.”

Both the girls work full time, so the classes are done after work.

But Miss Norman, aged 30, says they find it pretty easy to balance their work life and hobbies.

“I don’t class this as work really because I’m coming to exercise and I enjoy exercise and enjoy this, basically I’m just going out to exercise,” she said.

Getting involved with the class is a pretty simple system, as anyone who wants to join in can message the Facebook page with their shoe size, and are automatically booked in.

The girls both work together to sort out booking and during the sessions.

“It’s easy to do it together as we can cover both things.

“So Sammy does a lot of the booking in and Facebook activity, while I do the paperwork and that sort of stuff," she added.

Bounce Fit is open to all ages and all fitness levels, and everyone is encourage to join in.

By wearing the boots, the impact on the joints is a lot less, which means anyone who has had issues with their joints or have had arthritis, can do Bounce Fit classes.

“There was a woman in our Cardiff class who was in her 80s,” exclaims Miss Gould.

“We encourage people who come to take it at their own pace.”

She says that even though you have to compensate for the weight of the boots, you literally get an extra spring in your step.

“We’ve gone out running at 6am and it just feels a lot easier to run in them, there’s a lot less of an impact on your joints and you aren’t in agony afterwards.”

After trying and failing to keep up with the moves and pace of the class, I would say that first timers may want to spend their first class practising wearing the boots more than anything else.

And no, before you ask, I didn’t fall over.