lifestyle

The epic new fitness trend that's so much fun, it's hard to believe it's actually exercise.

I have no introduction to this video. No words that will do it justice.

Just watch.

Put away whatever you’re doing, pause your life, and watch watch watch:

 

Okay, how are you feeling? Confused? Intrigued? Instantly obsessed? All of the above?

I felt all of the above. I needed that bouncy, trampoline-y contraption and I needed it in my life.

But I had no idea what it was. And this concerned me. I am the fitness editor! I am supposed to be aware of all fitnessy trends. Especially fitness trends that are on CRACK, like this one.

I started clicking on related videos. Related videos called things like “BIG JUMPING PARTY”, with random people yelling random European things and going absolutely crazy on trampolines and wearing glow sticks and devil horns:

 

So. What is this jumpy magic? And how can we get involved?

It’s called, mysteriously enough, Jumping Fitness. And it’s a trampoline revolution that was launched in the Czech Republic in the year 2001. 17-year-old Jana and 21-year-old Tomas were bored of the same old fitness and aerobics classes and decided to invent something EPIC instead.

As Jana says on the website:

“I remember it quite well. Once, our friend came to me and Tom. She wanted an advice; how to lose weight; and she mentioned that she has a small trampoline at home. And in that moment, we knew we found what we need. We spent days and nights thinking about it, we fixed handlebars and other possible and impossible things on the trampoline. Finally, we developed the first model of our trampoline. That time it was 100 cm in diameter with covered metal springs, and was quite heavy.”

At first, they only held lessons for their family and friends. But soon, news of the trampolining madness spread throughout their little Czech town – and before long, everyone in town was taking part and also getting ridiculously fit and developing incredibly strong pelvic floors (trampolines are hard work, kids).

The founders of Jumping Fitness.

Alas, the Europeans like to keep the best things to themselves. And so it’s only now that jumping fitness videos are starting to go viral and we’re finally being made aware of the amazingness of the sport. Slowly, slowly, it’s filtering out of the Czech Republic and into other countries – Canada, Kuwait, Israel and the USA.

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The benefits? It’s an amazing cardio workout, with all your regular exercise benefits – it’ll work your muscles, help with your physical and mental health, and significantly benefit your motor activity, coordination and stability. Plus, it might just save you time – apparently, just 10 minutes of jumping on a trampoline is the equivalent of running 30 mins. Give me the jumping anyday.

Also? It looks so damn fun. After all, it involves trampolines and music and you can go to jumping trampoline DANCE PARTIES. It’s like Zumba, but with even less potential for uncoordination and therefore embarrassment. No complicated dance steps involved – just extreme jumping.

There’s one more bonus, in that anyone can do the workout – even those who have trouble with walking or jogging. While jumping does put some stress on the bones, which is good for building bone density, it’s super easy on your joints. Nothing will jar, as the bounce absorbs all the impact.

Please, Jumping Fitness, bring your eastern European goodness over to Australia and open a studio here. Or I’ll be forced to build my own version using my 15-year-old scooter and kiddie trampoline that are sitting in my garage. And invite all my friends over to use it. And someone will probably get seriously hurt… but that’s a minor detail.

What do you do to keep fit? Would you give trampolines a try? Does exercise have to be fun for you to keep at it?