Sky Zone offers valley residents one-stop full-body workout

From the neck up, Maria Santos looks like any mom you might meet in the grocery store. But at Sky Zone, where she's dressed in black-and-red spandex and doing one-armed push-ups, balancing a ball on her head while standing on one foot or bouncing steadily on a trampoline for an hour, she seems anything but mild-mannered. There was only one question to ask her when she got out of the Skyrobics class: "Where do you fight crime?"

"At home with the kids," the Sunrise Manor resident said with a laugh. "I've got four of them."

Skyrobics is essentially aerobics on the linked trampolines of Sky Zone, 4915 Steptoe St., Suite 400, although there are certain moves that would be a lot harder on a solid surface. That's the point, according to instructor Cameron Johnson.

"The biggest difference between this and regular aerobics is that this is much lower-impact," Johnson said. "People with joint problems, knee or ankle problems ... Those joints take a serious pounding on a cement or hardwood floor. This is flexible. It gives and doesn't pound so much."

That's not to say it isn't a major workout.

"It was hard at first; you work up a real sweat " said Maria's husband, Chris Santos. "It's really good, though. It gets easier."

Santos has been attending the class for a month. His wife has been doing it for three months. Her sister, who has been practicing Skyrobics for a year, brought her in. Johnson, one of several Skyrobics instructors, has been teaching the class for only three months.

"Before this, I played college baseball and did a little mixed martial arts," Johnson said. "You take what you've learned in previous athletics and put it on the trampoline, and it works great."

Johnson said Skyrobics could burn as many as 1,000 calories in an hour. It provides a great cardio workout and works every muscle in the body, he added. It also keeps people coming because it's fun.

"It almost tricks your brain because you think you're just bouncing on a trampoline," Johnson said. "Then you get off it and realize you're exhausted."

"It's a tough workout, but I love it," said Henderson resident Andrea Jones, who was attending her second class. "Before this, I was jogging and going to the gym and working with weights."

"I wasn't doing anything," said her friend and fellow Henderson resident Bree Buckles. "This is my third class, and I'm going to keep this up."

Johnson keeps the class fairly grounded both figuratively and literally, working on the trampoline surface and avoiding having the students jumping too high or attempting flips or acrobatics.

"I teach them basic strength and body weight stuff," Johnson said. "I like to work on things that build muscle, stretch you out or help with your balance."

It seems to be working. Maria Santos was mostly running for exercise before attending Skyrobics class, but after three months, she said her arms have caught up to her legs.

When the class was wrapping up, she left Johnson hanging for a few moments waiting to high-five her. She had a few more push-ups she wanted to crank out.

"Two of my children are very young, and I couldn't lose the weight." Maria Santos said. "I've lost 15 pounds since taking this class."

Contact Sunrise/Whitney View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 380-4532.