BENGALURU : There’s nothing like jumping off a high building to get your adrenaline going. And now, a fitness studio in the city will give Bengalureans a chance to experience this thrilling sensation with the added benefit of a workout along the way. The newly-launched Jumplo Fitness claims to be the first in the country to bring the concept of bungee workouts to India, making it the 17th country offering the Original BungeeWORKOUT as a new form of fitness.

“The original bungee workout was launched in March 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand. It has now become the trendiest form of exercise in Asia, the USA, Canada, Latin America and Europe. It has expanded by storm since then and spread over 16 countries,” explains Yashas Jaiveer, managing director of Jumplo Fitness.  

The studio, located at Koramangala, has 11 bungee cords that accommodates 10 students and one instructor. As we get our cord and harness fixed (which goes atop a thick pair of black shorts) in a way that provides adequate amount of tension, programme director Soumya Venkatesh explains that the cords and all related equipment are sourced from Europe.

Her next statement eased any (excited) nervousness we felt. “Each instructor is highly trained and even though they come from a fitness background, they go through a dynamic and intense training programme according to our global curriculum. A lot of time is spent on teaching them the safety standards and its implementation during the class.”

Like little steps leading up to the big leap, the class begins with some basic movements like squats and lunges before we learn how to ‘take off and fly’ – a feat we soon learned looked much easier in pictures than in person. Venkatesh and two other instructors – Pankti Desai and Chamrihiamliu R Panmei patiently guide us through the exercises and through reps of the same movement, we find ourselves learning to trust the cord more and more. Like Venkatesh says, “You just have to be one with the cord.” 

After learning some basic movements, she moves onto stitching them together to choreograph a routine to Maroon 5’s Girls Like You, steps that includes squats, lunges, hand extensions, a full spin, and of course, soaring jumps. The move that surprises us the most, however, is the push up and the ease with which we can do it. “The work out for adults is intense cardio, core strengthening and incredibly fun,” explains Venkatesh. 

We soon learn she isn’t wrong about the last part. The second after the pushup is followed by an extension of both the arms and the legs, leaving us suspended, before we’re back up on our feet. It’s a feat that takes time to master but is fun no matter how many times you try. It comes as no surprise then that the biggest benefits of regular bungee workouts are core strength and an improved sense of balance. Others include weight loss, muscle and body toning, improved hand-eye coordination for children and increased stamina thanks to the resistance from the cord. 

Jaiveer and Venkatesh tried the BungeeWORKOUT for the first time in Bangkok at their concept partners studio – Stories to Tales Theatre. And spreading word about this exhilarating way to workout and achieve one’s fitness goals in a fun way is exactly what forms the core of Jumplo Fitness, whose team was then trained in Bengaluru by a master trainer from Bangkok.

The idea has been well-accepted too, with the duo now planning to set up more studios in the city, along with Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi soon. A memory from a session conducted for children best sums up the response. “As the child was walking out with her mother I heard her say, ‘Mama, I finally fulfilled my dream of flying’,” says Venkatesh, with  a smile. 

fit & fun
What: Jumplo Fitness
Where: Koramangala 4th Block
Types of workouts: BungeeWORKOUT, 
BungeeFIT, BungeeKIDS 
Cost: Monthly membership starting from `5,500