Ever since NASA research found trampoline workouts to be as effective as running for exercise in 1980, people around the world sprung into trampoline fitness programs, leading to a surge in mini-trampoline-based exercise classes. However, recent studies have found conflicting evidence on the ability of trampolines to elicit an effective workout.
The American Council on Exercise (ACE), a health and fitness nonprofit certification organization, decided to let science have the final say with a peer-reviewed research study measuring how many calories a standard trampoline workout burns and what effect it has on cardiorespiratory endurance.
The ACE-sponsored study recruited 24 recreationally active and apparently healthy college students. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse measured the fitness levels of the participants — in the form of maximal heart rate and oxygen uptake — on a treadmill before the study began.
Participants then completed a 19-minute full-body trampoline workout designed by JumpSport. Participants reported perceived levels of exertion every five minutes during the trampoline workout, while heart rate and oxygen uptake were collected every minute. Caloric expenditure was calculated from this data.
“This research found that mini-trampoline exercise enables a workout sufficient to improve endurance and expend calories,” said American Council on Exercise Chief Science Officer Cedric X. Bryant, Ph.D. “We also saw that participants consistently thought the workout was easier than the measured heart rates and oxygen uptake levels, which should likely have a positive impact on long-term exercise adherence.”
During the workout, men burned an average of 11.0 calories/minute, while women burned 8.3 calories/minute — a level of energy expenditure similar to running at a pace of six miles per hour on flat ground, biking at 14 miles per hour or playing American football, basketball or ultimate Frisbee. According to fitness industry guidelines, exercise intensities seen during this research approach moderate to vigorous intensity levels.
“When people perform other types of exercise within this intensity range, they usually report their perceived exertion as being significantly higher. This may be due in part to the fact that trampolines are a unique form of exercise and participants felt comfortable on them very quickly,” said Bryant. “We must not undervalue the ‘enjoyment factor’ — it’s the key to long-term fitness commitments and helping people sustain healthy life choices for the long term.”
The study can be found here.
ACE educates, certifies and represents more than 60,000 currently certified fitness professionals, health coaches and other allied health professionals. ACE advocates for a new intersection of fitness and healthcare, bringing the qualified professionals ACE represents into the healthcare continuum so they can contribute to the national solution to physical inactivity and obesity.
