OZARK, Ala.

After strapping themselves into harnesses hooked up to bungee cords, a bunch of girls received able to sweat.

And sweat they did. For 45 minutes, the category at So Fly Bungee Health in Ozark labored their approach by way of a routine that concerned every part from toe faucets to leaping jacks to burpees. Harnessing the advantages of plyometric train — leaping or explosive actions — with a bungee wire not solely offered cardio exercise for the category, however the members didn’t pound their joints with each transfer. Plus, they appeared to have enjoyable.

“I’ve some knee issues,” Shalene Schmidt of Ariton mentioned after the category ended. “It’s decrease impression than doing common leaping jacks or lunges. The bungee takes a number of the stress off the place I can do these actions with out hurting in a while.”

Schmidt has been coming to So Fly because it opened final 12 months and mentioned she feels stronger now than she did earlier than.

“I undoubtedly have much more vitality than I used to,” Schmidt mentioned.

Paula Teeter opened So Fly Bungee Health in Could 2021. She stumbled throughout bungee health on TikTok and skim the story of Candace Williams, the creator of Sling Health in Edmond, Oklahoma. An athlete tormented by an autoimmune dysfunction, Williams turned to bungee health when different forms of exercises grew to become not possible for her on account of ache.

Teeter might relate.

A Pilates and aerobics teacher when she was youthful, Teeter’s life-style modified as she aged. Then, when she was 43, she was identified with breast most cancers and underwent a double mastectomy. The remedy she took for 10 years after that induced Teeter horrible joint ache.

So, at 54, Teeter made the journey to Oklahoma to grow to be licensed by Sling Health. On her second day there, she referred to as her husband, Terry, and informed him to start out searching for studio house.

“I might really train with out my hips and knees hurting,” Teeter mentioned.

Teeter received the OK from her physician earlier than she went all in on the bungee health studio. Not even a 12 months in enterprise, So Fly acquired the launch award for a brand new enterprise from the Ozark Space Chamber of Commerce, and Teeter has misplaced 50 kilos since she opened her studio.

“I’m in the most effective well being of my life and it’s due to plyometrics,” Teeter mentioned. “That’s what bungee health is; it’s plyometrics.”

She has seen shoppers who’ve had knee and hip replacements return to train.

In a category she not too long ago instructed, Teeter had members that ranged from 16 years outdated to 80 years outdated. The studio even has a children’ bungee class on Saturdays. Every bungee class can maintain 11 individuals plus the teacher. Followers positioned across the studio assist hold issues cool throughout lessons.

There are numerous ladies who take So Fly lessons, however there are a couple of males who commonly attend, Teeter mentioned. There are additionally numerous completely different physique shapes — brief, tall, spherical, skinny.

“Nearly all of the individuals we see listed below are over 150 kilos as a result of we do have an overweight nation,” Teeter mentioned. “I additionally weigh over 150, however once I began this I weighed 230 and now I weigh 180.”

The bungee cords are made to carry sure weight ranges and might help somebody effectively over 200 kilos. Prior to every class, members step on a scale and are assigned a bungee wire based mostly on that quantity. At So Fly, the bungee cords are hooked to cables which are hooked up to ceiling beams. The cables swivel to permit for full motion. Customers put on a harness that matches comfortable across the physique however unfastened across the legs. The harnesses are hooked up to the bungee by a hook on the again, though there may be the choice to be hooked on the edges.

Getting the correct wire and harness match is vital in order that customers can droop above the ground with out really touching it. Additionally, a harness that’s too tight throughout the legs will pinch and never permit for full motion.

Teeter begins everybody on a newbie stage class, however there are superior lessons with extra aerial actions and jumps.

Whereas one class could do Peter Pan leaps, one other could go full Superman.

Aerial health isn’t new — Pilates and yoga studios launched silks and yoga hammocks years in the past.

However the bungee health idea, in accordance with earlier media reviews, received its begin in Thailand in 2016 and arrived within the U.S. a couple of 12 months later. In the present day, there are corporations that present coaching certification, bungee gear, and franchise alternatives.

A number of months after Teeter opened So Fly in Ozark, a second bungee health studio — Fly By Bungee — opened in downtown Dothan however closed after the constructing was offered (the proprietor hopes to open in a brand new house quickly).

So Fly has extra than simply bungee health with a Bounce and Barre trampoline class, one other class that focuses on abs and arms, and a boot camp class. Then, there’s the Kangoo boot bounce class the place members train in spring bounce boots (though it’s a must to purchase your individual boots). Teeter even has plans to herald a Pound class that makes use of drumsticks to enliven a complete physique exercise.

You’ll find So Fly’s schedule of lessons on the MindBody app or by visiting the studio’s web site, soflybungeefitness.com.

Teeter mentioned she’s glad she introduced bungee health to Ozark. She’s even serving to prepare future studio homeowners out of North Alabama and Louisiana.

“You bought to have the drive to only consider in it,” Teeter mentioned. “And I do, and I like it. Does it make you scorching and sweaty? Yeah. Is it laborious? Yeah. However I’ve ladies which are near 80 that come right here three days per week. I’ve them as younger as 4… We provide one thing for everyone, and that was actually what I wished to do.”