Choose Between Two Options
- $35.50 for four 55-minute kids fitness classes in one month ($85 value)
- $51 for eight 55-minute kids fitness classes in one month ($109 value)
Choose from Gymnastics, Ninja Zone, or Tumbling classes.
Click here to see a list of available classes.
Trampolining: Fitness Amid the Fun
Trampolines are not only fun—they also make for an effective workout. Read on to learn more about this cardio-burning contraption.
There’s nothing quite like the rush of your first time on a trampoline, propelling your body impossibly high for a rush of weightlessness even a bird would envy. But trampolines can be used for much more than recreation. NASA, for example, uses them to prepare astronauts to handle the in-air flips and turns of the Martians’ cruel human circus. Jumping on a trampoline also has a marked effect on health, serving as a vigorous cardiovascular workout with minimal impact on joints. The low impact also puts a light amount of positive stress on the bones, which helps them build up mineral deposits. Physicians even recommend trampolining as a way to enhance the performance of the heart and lungs among patients with cystic fibrosis.
Acrobats Collide
The modern trampoline owes its existence to a classic odd-couple encounter. In the 1930s, Larry Griswold, a charismatic acrobat known for his outlandish tricks, was working as an assistant gymnastics coach at the University of Iowa when he met another young gymnast with a curious mind. Since the age of 16, George Nissen had been tinkering in his parents’ garage on a project he called a “bouncing rig.” Together, the two developed Nissen’s idea into a more effective prototype, christening the new contraption the . . . bouncing rig. The name “trampoline” didn’t come to Nissen until 1937, when he and a group of fellow acrobats known as the Three Leonardos took their act to Mexico, where Nissen heard the Spanish word for “diving board”—trampolin.
Bonus Points
- A fitness discipline known as rebounding uses a smaller version of the trampoline to aid with a variety of aerobic workouts.
- Trampoline made its official Olympic debut at the 2000 games in Sydney; similar to gymnastics, each routine consists of 10 recognized skills.
- In 1960, Nissen rented a kangaroo named Victoria and bounced with her on a trampoline in Central Park.
A Chat with Gymnastics Elite
What services does your business offer and what makes your business stand out from the competition?
Gymnastics Elite hires and trains professionals to help our customers and teach our students. Coaches and staff members have a true passion for our sports and for helping kids achieve their dreams. We have the best class availibility in town, and the service. We really are...powered by kids!
Is your location strictly for adults, or can kids participate as well?
Classes are for children between the ages of 18 months and 18 years.
What was the inspiration to start or run this business?
As a gymnastics Mom, our owner, Debra Valverde, was inspired to purchase the gym after learning that the owners were on their way out of El Paso and were going to be closing the facility down. That was 15 yrs ago, and even though her child is no longer in the sport her passion grew along with Elite.
What do you love most about your job?
Our favorite part of the job has to be the impact that we have the opportunity to make in each child's life, and also the impact that they make in our lives. Seeing children complete their goals and knowing that we assisted them in making that happen means the world to us!