While scrolling on social media, I came across a video of a workout class with people jumping on mini trampolines to the beat of a song and knew I had to try it for myself.
Bounce and sculpt was added to The Vibe, a fitness studio in Wilmette, last year after rebounding was trending on social media.
Rebounding is a low-impact, cardio workout on a mini-trampoline that offers intense cardiovascular exercise with minimal joint stress, group fitness instructor Paige Wenk said.
Bounce and sculpt combines rebounding with strength training, referred to as sculpt, which involves using equipment such as weights, sliders and bands to build muscle.
“The actual bouncing is really good for lymphatic drainage and for increasing bone density,” said Wenk. “Moving and bouncing is actually good for us. It’s good for our joints.”
I took my first bounce and sculpt class at The Vibe last year. The great music, positive energy and enjoyable workout made me come back to try it again to share my experience. The studio offers single classes for $33 as well as a variety of class packages with different pricing. The class is 45 minutes long.
The class started with a quick warmup on a mat before we made our way onto the rebounder for five or six songs. Starting off confident and energized, I got into the groove of rebounding fairly quickly.
“Rebounding is very much like dancing,” said Wenk. “Every song is a different dance combo, and then we string it together, and we have a whole combination at the end, and it’s all based on eight counts, which is very similar to dancing.”
After five songs of rebounding, I was completely out of breath. My face and body were bright red and dripping with sweat, but the upbeat music and Wenk’s encouragement kept me motivated as we moved on to the 13 minute sculpt portion of the workout.
I velcroed on ankle weights, looped my resistance band above my knees and grabbed 8-pound weights. The sculpt portion consisted of a series of bicep curls, squats and crunches on the mat. I struggled to keep up with the pace of Wenk’s movement and had to modify my own pace.
Although my muscles and core felt burned out, it was time to get back on the rebounder for three final songs of rebounding. Wenk instructed us to jump with the resistance band still above our knees and also gave us the option to hold ankle weights in our hands. I started by holding the weights but ended up putting them down as I became progressively tired from rebounding.
The class concluded with a cooldown consisting of a few stretches and laying with our back on the rebounder and feet flat on the floor, which felt very refreshing after the challenging workout.
Although bounce and sculpt is difficult, I found it to be a fun alternative to a traditional workout and doable for beginners making it a workout worth trying for all fitness levels.