Even though I have access to hundreds of different classes in New York City, it is easy to find classes with which I’m comfortable and schedule them on repeat. One of my goals for this year is to challenge my mind and body in new ways. In February, this meant taking four classes at Brooklyn Body Burn, a class which humbles me and leaves my entire body quivering as I do my best to complete the Mega Former class. During March and April, in partnership with the YMCA of Greater New York, I will take four different group fitness classes or workouts that I haven’t tried previously. With 24 locations throughout the boroughs of New York City, there is likely a YMCA location within a few blocks of any locals reading this post.
For many people, a YMCA membership can be a great fitness option as it often provides access to childcare, aquatic facilities, group fitness classes and cardio and weight machines. They have classes that are accessible for people with any ability ranging from children focused classes to senior citizen classes and everything in between. They also pride themselves on the sense of community within each YMCA location. Many of the staff members are locals, so they can become rooted in the community, helping ensure that the branch meets the neighborhood needs. Due to the pool access, Bo and I have discussed having a membership to our local YMCA, the Dodge YMCA location, in addition to ClassPass.
The first new to me class was Trampoline Fitness at the Dodge YMCA location. This 30-minute class, taught by Jennifer, one of their lead group fitness instructors, is offered six times each week. Each student uses a mini- trampoline and mat during the low impact aerobic workout. This trampoline may look innocent but believe me; it will help get your heart pumping and make you sweat in a shockingly short time.
Jennifer took us through a few moves before starting the class to make sure we each felt comfortable on the trampoline. She also told me to think about it as rebounding versus bouncing. It wasn’t as much of a downward movement as it was an upward movement, therefore engaging more of my calf and quad muscles. Most of the class would be spent doing compound movements, to get the most out of our 30 minutes. This meant that while I was focusing my lower body on the rebounding, I’d be boxing and punching with our arms to the beat of the music.
Que the laughter. As you guys know, coordination is not my strong suit. Therefore I was constantly off-beat or a step behind the entire class. Luckily, Jennifer reminded me just to have fun with it and smile. I loved her supportive nature as without it I probably would have spent the class feeling defeated and embarrassed.
We started with light jumping followed by rounds of intervals including jumping jacks, jump rope at different speeds, high kicks and sprinting. To control our bounce, we had to keep our cores engaged and focus on the small, tight, controlled movements. After the warm-up, we spent the next 15 minutes doing a series of boxing moves which included squats, punches, upper cuts and side kicks – quickly taking me back to the Tae Bo workouts I did in college. We ended the class with 5 minutes of ab work using our mat and trampoline to make common moves like planks and sit-ups more difficult.
The class was a great low-impact cardio workout that provided an effective workout without leaving me sore. Most of all, I loved the fun factor. Everyone in class, including the instructor, was smiling and laughing the entire time even during the most challenging moves.
Interested in trying this class out for yourself or visiting your local YMCA of Greater New York? Head to their website to try your local YMCA for free!
Have you ever taken a trampoline workout class?
Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored partnership with the YMCA of Greater New York.
