#360fit: Jump your way to fitness with Bounce Fit

Kara Martin 20:54 06/07/2016
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  • The fun never stops: Bounce Fit group exercise class in progress.

    This place isn’t just where you send restless kids in an attempt to thoroughly bounce the “bounciness” out of them over the summer holidays; it has actually proved a hit with adults too as a stress-relieving sanctuary.

    Sure, us bigger kids can just come in during a lunch break or after work to stamp and tramp out any frustrations of the day during an hour’s free-jumping session.

    But, if you are as determined as we are to keep all your hard summer body work in check before jetting off, take things up a notch with Bounce Fit, their beastly, signature trampoline-based workout.

    Mixed and ladies-only Bounce Fit classes run every day here, except Fridays, and they are very often sold out and full of regulars, so trainer Ediger Scott likes to mix it up a lot. We were “lucky” enough to come on ‘Bounce Camp’ day of his Bounce Fit series.

    “Ah, what a day to come!” the energetic Ugandan chuckles. We tie our hair up a bit tighter and think probably the most cliché thing during the bouncy warmup: what’s the worst that could happen in a fun place like this?

    Probably by now you have tried your hand at circuit or high intensity interval training, right? Well, Bounce Fit is that but done on an incredibly unforgiving, wobbly surface that is trying as hard as the instructor is to keep you from any form of standing still whatsoever – even in between exercises where, normally in other classes, you would be awarded at least a half-a-minute break.

    But because of said wobbly surface, it makes the class a really great low-impact option too for older folk or the injured. The trampoline bed absorbs the majority of the impact, and bones and joints are protected whilst exercising, improving posture and general muscle health and core strength.

    Just take it easy when it comes to the intensity. All the usual suspects are there, from jumping lunges and mountain climbers to donkey kicks and tons of squatting, bouncing legwork, as well as tucks, airplane and pike jumps.

    Just add to the repertoire a shocking inability to prevent yourself from falling over. Still, fear not, Scott can weed out the inexperienced and provide them with less daunting alternatives.

    Speaking of age, children would absolutely annihilate this class – and we’re certain because some buzzing kids did stream in afterwards and made easy work of many of the moves we were staggering through – including bear crawl or monkey-style runs across the springs, odd shimmying jumps, as well as a variety of strange yet strangely effective landings on our back and sides in an attempt to get airborne in ways the body had never before… therefore triggering that many more muscles into action.

    Yeah, a trampoline exercise class does take you back to a slice of your childish self, just not in the way that you were expecting.

    That being said, it does get easier. One of the ladies who has been taking the class ever since it launched last year, could not stop whooping throughout all of it, even the bad; and there were many times in between moans that we caught ourselves cracking up.

    In between the hurting, trampolining really gets the endorphins flowing to put you in an ecstatic mental state and torching calories, boosting heart health and promoting weight loss can all be ticked off during Bounce Fit sessions, too.

    Scott, who won the 2015 FIT Awards’ ‘Group Instructor of the Year’, says: “This class is so fun, it’s nearly always sold out.

    “We get and welcome all fitness levels for Bounce Fit, it’s just a matter of changing the structure of the class slightly for those people who are not very fit. But believe me, if they came just three times a week, they will become very fit.

    The fun never stops: Bounce Fit group exercise class in progress.

    The fun never stops: Bounce Fit group exercise class in progress.

    “You might say you’re fit and regularly do other things like Spin class, CrossFit, whatever… but these people are surprised to come in and find it completely different, a different challenge.

    “We get athletes doing CrossFit, rugby, football, especially coming to do leg work. On the other end of the spectrum, I get a lot of women and mums coming and losing a lot of weight – I mean, trampolining for 30 minutes is like running for an one hour,” says Scott.

    He says the lady having fun during the class, looked a completely different person when she started a year ago.

    “She was fairly big when I met her. Bounce Fit has certainly transformed her, especially her lower body. That said, having to use your body weight to do everything in this class means you get a full body workout. She looks great and her energy is very high.”

    About how he keeps his classes sold out, Scott says: “I think it’s because Bounce Fit classes are a different experience all the time, nobody knows what’s on the menu before they come, I won’t let them! I keep it a surprise – to surprise the body and make sure it doesn’t reach plateau – and this keeps people interested, as well as seeing results.”

    What: Bounce Fit
    Where: Bounce Middle East, Al Quoz, Dubai
    Price: Dh80 (packages are available that lower the individual class price)
    Contact & Info: www.bounce.ae |04 3211400

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