How I burned 1,000 calories jumping on a trampoline

I used to love jumping on my neighbor Julie’s trampoline when I was a kid. I could do flips, knee flips, twists. I was no gymnast, but I was a whole heck of a lot more fearless than I am now.

When Sky High in Pineville opened, offering a warehouse o’ fun filled wall to wall with trampolines, I was tempted to see if I could recreate the 10-year-old magic. Not wanting to look like a pedophile, I’ve been reluctant to just buy a ticket and jump among 7-year olds.

But then I learned about AIRobics. My path to glory was clear.

What it is

Think of Airobics as athletic conditioning on a trampoline. During the 50-minute class, we did squats, sit ups, jumping jacks, lunges. The difference: Everything was on wobbly ground and often you got to jump really high (well, sorta high — I’m not 10 and fearless).

Was it hard?

When we were really moving and jumping, yeah, it was hard. Everybody was sweating.

Did you really burn 1,000 calories?

I’m going to tell myself yes. I got a HUGE Chinese takeout dinner afterwards, so I’m counting on it. I will say, the next day, my abs were sore. And when I took a regular athletic conditioning class, I missed the buoyancy of the trampoline.

Toughest move of the day …. 

Not really. That was our instructor Jamel. He did this a bunch of times, just because he could.

The details

Sky High, 601 N. Polk, offers AIRobics every Tuesday and Thursday at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Cost is $7.50. You can just show up – no need to pre-register.

Sky Zone, 10200 Centrum Parkway in Pineville, offers SkyRobics Monday and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. Cost is $10. No pre-registration.

Jen Rothacker helps run Charlotte Five and is an editor at the Charlotte Observer who is always game for a new workout.

This story was originally published April 12, 2015 at 7:14 AM with the headline "How I burned 1,000 calories jumping on a trampoline."