My best friend is one of those fad diets, fad workout out girls, always attempting the latest trend in starving herself and doing some absurd cleanse or something. She’s been on this whole “30-day” thing for months! One month it was doing squats every day and adding some arbitrary amount every so often. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t listening because I knew she wouldn’t make it to day eight before she was on to the next one. She was always trying to get me to commit to doing it with her and I have always successfully resisted.

The other night, we went on a double date to an indoor trampoline park and it was a blast. The dates were lame and I won’t be calling mine back, but I almost bought my own trampoline on the way home! As we were jumping, my bestie says “I read somewhere that 10 minutes of jumping on a trampoline is equivalent to 30 minutes of running on the treadmill.” That was a workout I could get behind. Later, as we are leaving the trampoline park, I see that they have monthly membership passes and a lightbulb went off. I talked her into jumping every day for a month to see what happens! And I did it, all 31 days! Here’s what happened:

The second day was rough; I didn’t realize what a workout trampoline jumping was! On the double date, I didn’t pay attention to the time and we jumped for over two hours, and let’s just say, it felt like I had done a month’s worth of squats in those two hours! That second night, we only jumped for about a half hour before rewarding ourselves with ice cream at the snack bar. It must have loosened up stiff muscles because the third night I felt great. By the end of the first week, our hour at the trampoline park was the highlight of my day. I started going right from work and on Thursday I went on my lunch break. All that jumping got my endorphins pumping and I felt on top of the world afterward. I had so much energy and felt more positive.

By the end of the second week, I wasn’t losing my breath as quick and I felt less like a smoking office worker in my mid-30s and more like a 20 something Olympic athlete. Okay, so maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but I was feeling great. As a side effect I wasn’t expecting, my skin was looking better, and I read it was because of the increased blood flow and all the water I was drinking.

By the end of week three, I was hopping to and fro about the trampoline park, keeping up with the kids. I was showing THEM how to do flips! I was noticing less cellulite in my thighs and I could see some faint outline of muscles in my legs! It was then, I decided to stop rewarding my efforts with ice cream and start eating healthier. It was about this time that I realized I was much more regular, in the digestive department.

At the end of week four, I was jumping ferociously knowing that my month was nearly up. My bestie had moved on to daily jump roping in her loft instead, so I was solo at the indoor trampoline park. I felt more awake during the day and I didn’t need coffee. I slept much better at night too. I weighed in and was upset to see I had only lost 4 pounds, but I was fitting comfortably in my skinny jeans for the first time since, well, ever, so I wasn’t too upset.

I decided to continue with my monthly trampoline park membership. I don’t go every day now, and I try to make it more social by inviting friends, but I am thankful for that terrible double date and my best friend’s trend following that drove me to try this. If you are looking for a fun way to get your heart beating faster and get in the recommended daily cardio activity, I highly recommend working in some trampoline jumping!