We live in a time where no one bats an eyelid at “Beer Yoga” or “Aqua Spinning”, so it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that you can now sign up for something called… the Bungee Workout. That’s right, Dancevault Studios now offers this unique fitness class, a first of its kind in Singapore.
Popular for its dance-related fitness classes such as Zumba, Dancevault Studios has two new studios in Katong and the Braddell/Serangoon districts. We headed to the beautiful Katong studio to check out the newly-launched Bungee Workout series.
There are several different classes under The Bungee Workout Series, but we tried the introductory class called the Bungee Workout.
Classes take place in a fully-equipped studio that’s flooded with natural light, and it looks like your average fitness studio, but with the addition of several bungee cords that dangle from the ceiling.
Intrigued, we got ourselves settled in and the class began with a warm-up. We were told that the Bungee Workout would force us to use muscles that we’d never usually strain, which is why the warm-up session is so important.
Just before we got suited and booted, we started feeling a little apprehensive but were told that the Bungee Workout is a combination of dance and fitness training, and is geared towards us, everyday people.
With that in mind, we put on the thick bicycle shorts provided and stepped into our hip harnesses. The friendly instructor hooked us up individually to a bungee cord and we were raring to go.
If you’re on the heavier side and worry about the support, don’t. Safety is of the utmost importance to Dancevault Studios, and only specially-designed equipment is used.
The Bungee Workout Series hails from Thailand, and the instructors at Dancevault Studios have been through an intensive course led by Thai instructors, so you know you’re in good hands!
We soon realised that the bungee cords actually serve as agility and resistance training tools. It definitely took a slight leap of faith for me to just fall to the ground, and actually make myself fall with as much force as possible to create tension in the cord.
We did this several times, and I started to get the hang of it and push myself further each time. We were only 10 minutes into the class and I was having fun, but I was definitely also starting to feel the effects of the workout on my waist.
The choreography is geared towards overall muscle toning, and while the accompanying dance music is a good distraction, I was being stretched out in places I didn’t even know existed. We spent about half the class learning the so-called “routine”, and practised with the music along the way.
I was very excited when we moved on to the jumps, but I can tell you that it’s a lot harder than it looks. It doesn’t simply involve bouncing around (as I stupidly thought), and actually includes cardio, strength, abs and balance.
If you thought the normal jump looked hard, feast your eyes on this star jump. Let’s just say that it took me a couple of tries to get this looking semi-graceful.
The further away you get from the anchor point, the more tension you create in the cord, thus increasingly working your core. So the effectiveness of the workout is really down to the individual and how far you push yourself.
When I first signed up for the class, I remember thinking that one hour sounded a little short for something that would probably be really fun; it was really fun, but by the end of it I was dripping with sweat, out of breath from all the jumping, and aching all over (in a good post-workout kind of way).
It was already tiring halfway through, but the bubbly instructor will keep you going and no one’s going to resist heart-pumping dance tunes.
The beginner-level Bungee Workout only scratches the surface of what you can accomplish in terms of exercising with a bungee cord. As you get more confident and skilful, move on to the Bungee HIIT Fit and Bungee Dance Workshop for more intense routines.
— —
I had a bouncy good time at the workout and I think it’s because — being generally averse to any form of exercise — somehow being attached to a bungee cord makes it seem like I’m at a theme park instead. It was a lot of fun, and something I think everyone should try at least once!
If you’re thinking of signing up, just remember to wear/bring thick pants or leggings for optimal comfort while in the harness, especially if you’re a newbie.
Dates: Refer here for class schedule
Prices: S$28 per class OR membership packages starting from S$112