Bouncing for Aerobic Joy

On my first trip on an airplane in the New Year I read an article about unusual workouts.  One man said that he uses a pogo stick for two to five minutes five times a day.

I remember pogo sticks from when I was a kid.  They were spring loaded and I could bounce about one foot high.  I had good balance and don’t remember ever hurting myself, but I never owned one so using a pogo stick was an infrequent treat.

You can imagine my surprise to read about the current state of the art.  Adult pogo sticks now operate with air pressure rather than a spring. One model was used to set the world record by bouncing to a height of more than eleven feet.  Yes, you can jump that high and hit your head on an overhanging branch if you’re not careful.  Or you could hit the ground pretty hard on your way down, if you’re not careful.

I am not a hard core exerciser, especially since my personal trainer of more than fifteen years moved to another state more than a year ago.  My exercise routine consists of weight training and a little yoga when I get around to it.  This morning was the first time I actually exercised in more than a month.

What the heck.  Aside from representing a return to the relatively carefree days of my youth, a pogo stick seems like a lot more fun than lifting weights or, say, using an elliptical machine for forty five minutes.

And so, I’ve ordered an adult pogo stick.  It should arrive this week.

Don’t worry.  I have also ordered a safety helmet and two ankle braces, and I do not intend to bounce more than one foot high.  Well, maybe a foot and a half high, unless I go berserk (rare, but not unknown in my life).

I’ll report back to you in a few weeks – hopefully not from a hospital bed.  By then I intend to be aerobically fit, with improved strength, and be even better looking than I am today.

I already thought of a slogan for the pogo stick company – “Put a bounce into your steps.”  No charge for that one.

Please note, this is not a New Year’s resolution.  It’s already too late for that.  But I do remember the notable quote from the Pogo comic strip (no known relationship to pogo sticks) of my youth – “We have met the enemy and he is us.”  This does not, of course, apply to you or me.

Have a great year.

Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy.

Alan