Many of us see January as a time to take up a new fitness routine, especially when we’re battling a few extra pounds from holiday indulgences. With potentially rainy days ahead, it may be time to move our workouts indoors.
For those seeking a way to burn lots of calories fast, look no further than a trampoline fitness class. Not only is jumping on a trampoline a great way to increase heart rate and use core strength, but it’s just downright fun. And you can find your bouncing fix right down at House of Air in the Presidio. Yes, it’s a great place for kids’ birthday parties. But this full-service facility offers instructor-led, adult-only trampoline workout classes along with private coaching and sports-specific training. House of Air also has locker rooms, showers, and a cafe playfully named House of Snacks.
Jumping, or rebounding, on a trampoline, whether it’s a mini-tramp in your home, or one of the full-sized trampolines at House of Air, offers exceptional aerobic benefits, burning calories and strengthening leg muscles. Hopping on one foot, doing jumping jacks or jogging (only on a larger trampoline) can add variety to your workout and increase its intensity. Exercising on a trampoline can also help you develop better balance, and because it’s a weight-bearing exercise, it can also help build bone density. Athletes including gymnasts, snow boarders and ski jumpers have long used trampoline workouts as part of their training programs.
Various studies have shown that working out on a trampoline uses more energy than running. According to Kacie Marshall, marketing manager at House of Air, 10 minutes of jumping on one of the facility’s giant trampolines is equal to 30 minutes of running. “It’s a great way to get sweaty fast, ” she says, “and what other workout leaves you grinning when you’re finished?” House of Air currently offers its Air Conditioning classes several times a week; they’re a combination of traditional exercises such as push-ups and crunches done on the trampoline along with cardio exercises like moving sideways across the trampoline surface with rubber tubing around your ankles to add resistance. “It’s basically circuit training,” says Marshall, “and what’s great about our classes is that they work for any level of fitness.”
Beginning this month, House of Air is adding boot-camp-style classes to its roster, combining outdoor workouts at Crissy Field with indoor workouts on the trampolines. But, adds Marshall, “If it’s pouring, the whole class just moves inside.” All of the trainers at House of Air are trained on the trampolines, and most of them, including the conditioning class instructors, have backgrounds in gymnastics.
But you don’t have to be a gymnast to take up trampoline training. As with any new exercise program, take it slowly and listen to the instructors, and you’ll soon be bounding into a new level of fitness and fun.
House of Air: 926 (Old) Mason Street, the Presidio, 415-345-9675, www.houseofair.com, Sunday–Monday 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Tuesday–Thursday 2 p.m.–9 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.–10 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.–10 p.m.
