Over the past 10 years ago we started to see the increase in home trampolines, however for us Londoners living in boxed sized flats we have had no space to buy one ourselves and reap the whole host of health benefits associated with bouncing! We shall miss out no more, thanks to Oxygen Freejumping, London’s first trampoline park which opened in West Acton in July.
“I challenge anyone to jump on a trampoline and not smile”
David Stalker, Oxygen Freejumping Co-Founder (Former CEO of UKActive)
I first came across Oxygen Freejumping online over the summer whilst looking for fitness venues with climbing ropes in preparation for my Spartan Beast race. So I was really excited when they invited me to preview two of their new fitness classes – Oxygen Rebound and Airborne.
With our jumping socks on, we made our way into the dedicated rebounding studio for Oxygen Rebound. We were introduced to Magic our instructor, stepped onto our individual rebounders and the music started pumping. After a quick warm up, consisting of simple jumps, we started to build on the simple warm up movements, adding turns, arm movements and repetition; before we knew it we had a short routine. Following instructions from Magic, we bounced away – squatting, high knees, cross country skiing and jogging. Rebounding is high intensity exercise, so has all the benefits of other cardiovascular activities such as running, but is low impact on the joints. Before we knew it we were approaching the end of our taster session, we hopped off the rebounders and finished with some toning exercises including tricep dips, bicycle crunches and push ups to finish.
Getting airbourne.
After a quick sip of water to re hydrate (not too much – we were advised against a full bladder and bouncing!) we made our way upstairs to the trampoline park floor for Airborne – this was the bit I was really looking forward to. We each took our places in the centre of our individual trampolines and started with some slow gentle bounces to get going, as we were all warm from the Rebound class we could get going straight away. Once we got into a rhythm we started to try out different moves – tuck jumps, circular arms movements, side to side and straddle jumps. We practised each of these moves individually before combining them in a short routine which we repeated a number of times. This taster session ended far too soon for my liking, I think I had just built up the confidence and found my rhythm, but then it was time to stop and finish with some more toning exercises – squats, planks and lunges (these were hard on a trampoline). I really built up a sweat in this taster class and would’ve burnt A LOT of calories if this had been a full session.
I went for a little explore of the rest of the park following the taster classes, the huge West London venue offers over 27,000 sq ft of wall to wall trampolines including a fantastic free running area, dodge ball courts, tumble tracks and a giant air bag – I can’t wait to go back and try them all out.
I think the pictures confirm David Stalker was right!
Stretching on a trampoline; harder than you’d imagine.
More Information
Who is it for? Anyone aged 16 and over looking for a fun way to exercise in London.
How much? Pay as you go, £10 per session (you will have to purchase special jumping socks for £2)
When? Open every day from 8am -10pm Monday to Saturday and 8am – 9pm on Sundays.
Airborne – Tuesdays: 7pm – 8pm / Thursdays: 7pm – 8pm and Oxygen Rebound – Monday: 6pm – 7pm, Tuesday: 10am – 11am, Wednesdays: 7pm – 8pm, Thursdays: 10am – 11am
Where? Oxygen Freejumping, Unit 15 Vision Industrial Park, Kendal Avenue, London W3 0AF
Find out more: www.oxygenfreejumping.co.uk
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