Bounce, Bounce, Bounce

No – it isn’t a football chant.  It is a word we are happily using in our house again!

Why?

We can use the trampoline again!

My children love our trampoline, it really does cover all ages and they’d be out there in all weathers given half the chance and it is good exercise too!  The big problem was the local squirrel population decided the net safety enclosure would make a very good material to furnish their nests, thus making it dangerous for the children to jump around safely.

Now the weather is improving I decided that I wanted to replace the net, and started searching the Internet for suggestions.  I must have mentioned it on twitter too as @atlantictramps picked up on it and directed me to their trampolines website.

I never knew there were so many accessories for trampolines and I was very quick to fall in love with a circus tent.  What an ingenious idea and the perfect foil for my nesting squirrels (I hope).

One of the best things about Atlantic Trampolines is that they have a freephone number and are really happy to help with every enquiry, whether you are just looking or want to buy straight away.  Jon quickly established that my original enclosure would not fit the circus tent, so I needed a new one.  Having a toddler too I have also gone for a safety skirt as she has a habit of walking where she shouldn’t and even walked under the trampoline today.

My order arrived within two days!!

Now for the fun part – putting it together.

It took a phone call to Jon to understand how to put on the trampoline skirt, until he pointed out the instructions were on the plastic wrapper, but he was more than happy to help.  He had also seen my progress tweets and informed me my pole covers were upside down.

The skirt is secure and I can add tent pegs to the bottom of it for added safety when we decide the final position of the trampoline in the garden.  It even has a shoe rack!!  My only issue is, we can’t use our ladder with it all on.

Next stop – the Circus Tent:

No Abbey it isn’t a new outfit!

We were advised to assemble it upside down but actually found it easier to get inside and do it that way.  It took us about 20 minutes and I think it looks great:

It certainly isn’t the cheap option, but it does make the trampoline weather proof and I am looking forward to having picnics inside in the summer.  It has windows at the side for ventilation and you can tie the doors back too.  It sits well above the trampoline and I can bounce quite happily without hitting the roof too!.

Oh………and there is more to add to the fun. 

The Atlantic Trampoline Sports Armband and app.  The iTrampoline app  from Atlantic Trampolines is a fun app to use on a trampoline. It counts bounces, measures the height bounced, against an iconic landmark of your choice, and, once you have entered your weight, measures the calories used up against a range of popular foods.  Whats more it’s FREE from the iTunes site for download to an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch.

This app makes exercise fun and gives you progressive targets to achieve. For children it can be an educational game, teaching them about worldwide landmarks and the calorific value of different foods. It will encourage everyone to take more exercise.

Using the App
iTrampoline is fun for anyone to use: children, adults even grandparents!
The app is easy to use, simply pick one of the landmarks and/or a type of food from the target screen and start bouncing. To view your progress go to the counters or progress screen. On the progress screen your progress is indicated by the blue bar on the right.  You can even buy an armband to keep it safe whilst your bouncing (or running, cycling etc)

Think I’ve a way to go!!

I can see we are going to have lots of fun trampolining this summer and I will do a review of the app once I have had the opportunity to get on the trampoline. i.e  when the kids are back at school