SAN FRANCISCO, Ca., January 15 — Exercise for exercise’s sake has always been about as tempting to you as a barefoot walk on hot coals — and perhaps it’s starting to show, what with the holiday-season binging having settled down nicely (on your hips). But losing weight’s not enough of a motivation to apply yourself to sweaty drudgery, so you might as well invest in elastic waistbands and thumb your nose at health, right? Wrong.
How did an Iowan camp counselor and World War II put fun and fitness hand in hand? In the Beginning. George Nissen spent much of his Depression-era youth by tumbling, diving, and watching circus performances with his parents. This blend of doggone wholesome pastimes came to life in his parents’ garage when, at age 16, he stretched a piece of canvas across a rectangular frame with the intent of bouncing on it. By the time he hit the University of Iowa, he’d refined the idea enough to take it to his gig as a summer camp counselor and test it to great reviews. A few years, three national college gymnastics championships, and a traveling acrobatics tour later, Nissen began pitching his trampoline — named after el trampolin, the Spanish term for diving board — to the military for training purposes. He sold more than 100 trampolines, most of them with an improved design using nylon instead of canvas, founded the Nissen Trampoline Corporation after the war, and started traveling all over the world to market his brilliance.
Innovations
The world, of course, caught on quickly — Nissen got buyers, all right, but within a few years he also had dozens of competitors manufacturing the same product. As a result, the market grew to include trampolines of all shapes and sizes to accommodate everyone from workout warriors to gymnastics academies to waterside family resorts. Trampolines quickly got sturdier, bouncier, safer, and more affordable (not bad for a bunch of opportunistic copycats).
What’s In It For You?
Aerials. Like we said, trampolines were invented by an acrobat. While the smaller models are better used for joint-friendly exercising than for high-flying tumbling practice, the bigger guys were built to help the lofty likes of parachutists and pilots learn how to orient themselves in mid-air (and by "mid-air," we mean "thousands of feet above ground").
With great heights come great gravity issues — unless, of course, you do the wise thing and check out our selection of frame pads and safety enclosures to keep your little clumsypants from flying right off the mat.
Aerobics. The whole mini-trampoline market serves two purposes: it puts bouncing in a cute little package, and it gives the exercise crowd a cost-effective way to get hearts pumping and muscles working without the attendant joint pounding. (And they’re a lot quieter than treadmills.)
Meet your match:
You might just want a little aerobic number; you might prefer a model right out of a water park; you might be looking more for a centerpiece for your high school gymnastics program. Big mats or small mats, round or rectangular or — um — gator-shaped... you’d better just start with our favorites and go from there:
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