Just when you start to think you’ve seen the end of hot, new fitness trends, another one comes along.
This time it’s trampoline-park aerobics.
Absolute Air Park, a new 17,000-square-foot indoor trampoline park in Arlington, started offering group fitness classes shortly after it opened in June.
In fact, Absolute Air Park appears to be turning exercise quite literally on its head.
Large backyard trampolines and even small, individual trampolines called rebounders have been around for decades, but guided trampoline-park aerobics classes are relatively new.
Absolute Air Park owner Kam Bradley said there are about 30 trampoline parks in the United States, so most instructors are breaking new ground in crafting aerobics routines for would-be jumpers.
Aerobics students at the Arlington park each stand on their own 6-by-6-foot or 8-by-8-foot square sections of trampoline.
Each square bounces independently. Steel grids covered in thick, green padding separate jumpers and make the structure strong enough for all sizes and jumping intensities.
During a recent class at the park, 25-year-old instructor Maegan Carlson guided 20 students through a variety of trampoline aerobics moves and drills.
Everyone was sweating heavily after the first 10 minutes of class.
Carlson’s repertoire of moves included jumping jacks and other jumps interspersed with midair hip twists.
There was no music to unite the group in a choreographed series of repetitive movements, just directions over a wireless headset microphone from Carlson.
That’s because each student bounces with a different level of force in trampoline aerobics.
During Carlson’s class, some students soared as much as 3 feet off the ground for certain moves. Others kept their bodies low, but jumped and landed more frequently.
In one drill, Carlson asked students to get into groups of four and play catch with foam balls while jumping, a challenge of core muscle strength and coordination.
In another, she asked them to jump across a series of the large trampoline squares at their own pace.
Some students did it in single bounds. Others, not as sure of themselves or less experienced, walked through the exercise. All of them seemed to have great fun.
Many exercises relied not on the bouncy squares, but on the stationary green grids, including pushups, stretches and moves similar to those used in step-aerobics classes.
Deep lunges, squats, leg lifts, situps and calisthenics are performed on the squares.
Karla Klein, 37, of Arlington, said she gets a great workout in the classes, which have helped her improve her balance and core strength.
“I think it’s harder than zumba,” Klein said, referring to the notoriously challenging Latin dance class offered at many gyms. “It’s intense.”
And, yet, it’s not too much for Klein, who recently completed physical therapy to rehabilitate a displaced knee cap.
Klein also likes doing what would normally be called floor exercises on the pliable surface because it’s easier on her knees and back.
“Your spine isn’t grinding into the floor,” she said of trampoline situps. “It’s like doing crunches on (an exercise) ball. You have that stability.”
Klein’s mother, 55-year-old Karen LeBarron of Arlington, said she likes the classes because she works hard the entire time, but barely has time to think about it because she’s concentrating so hard and having so much fun.
“It’s kind of like water aerobics, where you don’t really realize you’re doing anything,” she said.
Klein takes classes in the jumping area while her two teenagers play in the foam pit and dodgeball areas of the indoor park.
“My kids turned off the Xbox today. They said, ‘It’s time to go. It’s aerobics time,’ ” Klein said.
While some of the patrons at the park look like extreme sports stars, doing flips and jumps more than 12 feet into the air, classes here aren’t about stunts.
You can do those afterward during an open jump session if you like, but everyone here is cautioned to jump at their own ability.
Bradley, noting the warning signs posted on every wall, said jumpers need to avoid landing on the green grids, which don’t bounce and can cause injuries.
One reads: “Landing on the head or neck can cause paralysis.”
LeBarron said she feels completely safe in trampoline aerobics.
“They’re really on top of the safety,” she said of the staff, who stand around the park areas, like lifeguards at a swimming pool.
Bradley said students should start slow and soft and gradually work up to more intense jumping.
“You don’t have to bounce that hard,” Bradley said. “You can do your own thing.”
Take a class
Trampoline aerobics classes are offered at Absolute Air Park, 18802 67th Ave. NE, Arlington; 855-788-5867; absoluteairpark.com.
Hours: 8 and 9 a.m. Saturdays and 6 and 7 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Children’s aerobics classes for age 12 and younger will start this fall.
Cost: $8 per class or $70 for 10 classes purchased in advance for ages 13 and older; $6 per class or $50 for 10 classes for ages 12 and younger.
Note: Every adult visitor to the facility must sign a waiver. Ages 17 and younger must have a parent or guardian sign a waiver.
During open jump times, children must be 7 years old to jump independently. Ages 2 to 6 may jump in main area with a jumping adult during certain hours.
Wild Child Alley: Children age 2 to 6 can be dropped off at a supervised area with toys and enclosed trampolines so parents can jump on their own. It costs $5 per hour and is open during aerobics classes.
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