Boing, boiiing, boiiiiiiiing… BOING BOING BOING!

Nope, this is not the sound of your kid’s cartoons. Dear, sweaty, Triber, this is the sound of the trampoline, reclaimed from suburban cul-de-sacs and restored to its fateful glory as the star of BariBOUNCE. (Aside from you, obviously.)

BariBOUNCE came to fruition as our founder solved for x in an equation that looked something like:

(buckets of sweat)(low-impact cardio)(high-calorie burn)=x

In brainstorming ways to get the heart rate up while minimizing impact on the joints, the trampoline stood out as our x-factor. A trampoline-based workout, one that could produce MACRO-like quantities of sweat (plus some!), could serve as a supplement to or substitute for the higher-impact floor cardio featured in MACRO. And so, drum roll pleaseandthankyou, BariBOUNCE was born. Being the hopeless adrenaline and sweat junkies we are, we immediately fell in love with this high-energy cardio workout, and it quickly became a core pillar of the Bari method.

BOUNCE features controlled, energy-charged movements downward. So if you come to class expecting the lazy-day, high-drifting upward bounces of your childhood, you’re in for a sore surprise (literally). When your instructor tells you to bounce or ground down, the intention is for your upper body to remain stable (“Pull your belly button to your spine!” will become too familiar a phrase) while your lower body moves quickly and dynamically against the resistance of the trampoline. Hint: this seemingly leg-centric movement is actually powered by your core. So when you’re told to contract your abs, just trust me and do it.

The goal here is to use the resistance of the trampoline to your advantage, working against it for the most demanding cardio and strengthening workout. As you decrease the air-time between bounces, you maximize the challenge. This gets really exhausting really quickly, but the rush that accompanies each jump never, ever gets old. The neighborhood kids may have actually been onto something.

Just like with MACRO, don’t expect BOUNCE to be all up-down-up-down-up-down. At even its most fundamental level, you can dissect this class into combinations and sequences.

This mostly-cardio class is broken up by a few songs dedicated to toning and strengthening. The trampoline is often used for balance while you do planks, squats or lunges. Trainers use all the same props in BOUNCE as the other classes (you didn’t really think you could escape Skimmers that easily, did you?). And if your trainer is really crazy (and they all are, lucky you!), she may even call on you to use three-pound weights or the resistance bands while you bounce.

This all just means that the moment of “ah, I get it!” is all the more sweet (and sweaty) in a BOUNCE class because when you get it, you get it. The trampoline is a beast that can be tamed, and when you figure out how to own that torture device, BOUNCE becomes your sweat-soaked playground.

BOUNCE veterans will know this “a ha” moment well: The skies open above you and light shines from the heavens as you find yourself in harmony with the trampoline. It gives exactly when it’s supposed to, and is perfectly taut right at the moment when you want to explode up. When your bounce is perfectly coordinated — on time, in rhythm and on beat — you swing fluidly from movement to movement, and you may just feel a full-toothed smile sneak out as you complete each perfect sequence. No, really. This happened to me this morning, and I got sweat in my mouth. So… yeah.

So that’s what it feels like to get it, but what about your very first time? My first BOUNCE class was nothing like I expected, but I instantly found myself at home on the trampoline. Though I spend little time outside of Bari hanging out on a trampoline, many of the movements are actually familiar. I found the movements which emphasized lateral hip and leg movements with a stable, centralized core amazingly similar to skiing. Just minus the killer frostbite. And the whole torn ACLs thing. (But also minus the hot chocolate… hint, hint Bari Food Society.) So even if you’ve never tried BOUNCE before (and even if you’ve never skied), you’ll quickly realize that you’re more prepared than you thought.

Still, BOUNCE hails from a whole different workout universe than anything else I’ve tried. Namely, it doesn’t leave me crippled by an all-consuming desire to get the heck out from the moment I start. (Um, hi there, treadmill. I’m definitely not talking about you). I relish the moments when I’m totally on point and in the groove, and I love learning the steps that work up to the longer sequences and building the muscle memory to internalize the movements. Then it’s time to play.

My favorite moment of class is the last song, which is usually a final spurt of cardio following a quick toning portion. At this point, I’ve got some sequences fresh in my brain, have taken a moment to cheat on all the toning in order to regain my breath and am ready to throw down like only Channing Tatum in Step Up can truly do (don’t lie, you’re not too cool that you don’t know exactly what I’m talking about). The last-chance, this-is-it mentality is infectious and no matter how many sprints are thrown at me (do not take this as incentive, trainers), I am beyond stoked about them. I liken the feeling to a bottle of Red Radical; once all the best parts of me are shaken awake and all stirred up, I am so ready to go.

Then, I leave class with a literal bounce in my step (think sea legs, but awesome) and a desire to turn right back around into the studio for round 2. Even on a Monday morning. After I have already dragged myself out of bed early. Either I’ve finally lost it, or BOUNCE is a serious miracle-worker (I’m that girl who schedules all her college classes to start after noon). I’m not sure. Both are equally possible, but I’m kinda leaning towards the latter.

I’ll see you soon, Tribers, either in class or next time when we tackle the mysterious jack-of-all-trades, Hybrid.

Until then, stay sweaty.

New to our Class Digest series? Read Clare’s inspiration behind the series. And if you missed our previous Class Digests, catch up on her breakdowns of BariMACRO and BariMICRO. Ready to BOUNCE at home? We’re die-hard fans of our beloved (yes, really) Jumpsport trampolines, which you can buy on BariMARKET.