Can You Really Burn 1,000 Calories Per Hour on a Trampoline?

It’s time to get bouncy—or at least, that’s what the fitness world is telling us. Trampoline workouts have been skyrocketing in popularity over the last few years. In fact, statistics from the International Association of Trampoline Parks show that while there were only 35 to 45 trampoline parks open for business in 2011, there are now over 550, with five or six new ones opening each month. Kids aren’t the only ones getting their jump on, either. With classes like SkyRobics available for adults at the popular Sky Zone franchise, along with mini trampoline classes at fitness studios like Bari Studio and trampoLEAN, it’s no wonder we all feel like we’re part of the Kriss Kross song “Jump.”

What’s the appeal? First of all, it doesn’t really feel like a workout. “Most people want to get in as much as they can for as little perceived effort as possible,” says Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise (ACE). “Trampolines lend themselves to that—you’re working out at a slightly higher intensity than what you perceive it to be, and you really enjoy yourself while trampolining. It taps into the free-flowing, rhythmic bouncing that is associated with enjoyment and a child-like feeling.”

Do Trampoline Workouts Blast More Fat?

Then, of course, there’s the high calorie burn. Some trampoline gyms, including Sky Zone, claim that you can burn more than 1,000 calories in about an hour of jumping. To put that in perspective, you’d have to run 10 six-minute miles to burn that many calories in the same amount of time.

Where does that number even come from, though? Emily Johnston, a media representative for SkyZone, says it’s based on a study conducted by NASA in 1980 that concluded that 10 minutes of trampolining is a better workout than a half-hour of running or jogging. “Because the SkyRobics classes are considered a HIIT workout [and] 30 minutes of such exercises can burn up to 500 calories, and since SkyRobics is an hour-long class, we calculated the 1,000 calorie burn from this statistic,” Johnston says. “Of course, the exact amount of calories burned is dependent on the person who participates.”

But are all those claims still accurate? ACE decided to find out. A recently released study from the organization found that, in a 19-minute trampoline workout designed by JumpSport, men burned an average of 11 calories per minute while women torched about 8.3. That’s about the same energy expenditure as running at about a 10-minute mile pace on flat ground or biking at 14 miles per hour, according to researchers. And if you do the math, sticking to that pace for an hour would put men at about a 660 calorie burn and women at 498 calories per hour…not 1,000. (Tone up, beat stress, and feel great with Rodale’s new With Yoga DVD.)

The Risks of Trampoline Workouts

There are also injuries to think about. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System reports that trampoline injuries in general lead to nearly 100,000 emergency room (ER) visits each year, and a recent studyin Pediatrics found that ER visits in the U.S. for trampoline park-related injuries have increased more than ten-fold from 2010 to 2014 (going from 580 to nearly 7,000). Another interesting finding: While the number of park-incurred injuries skyrocketed, the ones occurring on trampolines at home remained steady.