Photo Amber Estes Theineman
My fitness routine lacks pizzazz: I run lots of miles in cotton T-shirts sans Fitbit, do yoga on DVD, swim laps at the YMCA pool. One Wednesday morning I plunge into unknown territory at a St. Matthews fitness “boutique” called B.YOU, where about 20 very nice, very beautiful ladies in Lululemon stand on mini trampolines ready to bounce for an hour. Butterflies torment my gut. Will I bounce into the springs and tumble off in a heap of broken ankles and ribs? But mostly I am relieved that I opted to switch out my gray tee with holes in it for a more respectable workout top. And I’m really glad I recently had my chaotic eyebrows done. The eyebrows and muscle tone here are fierce. (A former contestant of the show Survivor is stationed two trampolines over.)
The class is called B.Bounce, the brainchild of Rashna Carmicle and her business partner, Stephanie Bristow. It’s a sweaty hour of choreographed moves — kickboxing, dancing, booty drops, scissor kicks, core strengthening — on a trampoline. (Empty your bladder before class, folks.) Carmicle, who stands petite and lean with a brunette bun that hovers like a bonnet, leads the class with a cheerleader’s verve. “Find your energy!” she calls out as the bounces fall flat and tired faces droop. She got the idea for this class on a two-day fitness bender in New York. “We took, like, eight classes in two days,” she says. Carmicle and Bristow’s goal was to find and share the latest fitness offerings to women in Louisville.
After class, Carmicle lists the many benefits to bouncing — increased oxygen capacity, increased metabolism, less stress on your joints. I can report my hind parts were fairly sore the next day. Thumbs up for that. And you can’t deny the joy of jumping, even when warped by a calorie-burning quest. Fair warning, though: Hot fitness trends aren’t cheap. You can purchase a package of five classes for $95. Or, if you’re ready to commit, a one-year membership to B.You (which has another location in Springhurst) will cost $138 per month.
This originally appeared in the July 2016 issue of Louisville Magazine. To subscribe to Louisville Magazine, click here. To find you very own copy of Louisville Magazine, click here.
