If you're looking for a full body workout whilst having lots of fun with the family, trampolining is a great activity to try. We headed to the newly opened Gravity situated on the second floor inside Sol Northampton last week and we had a thoroughly enjoyable time, despite being quite exhausted by the end!
Upon arrival you make your way to the desk to check in, pick up your orange socks which are essential for grip, put on your coloured wristbands for your time slot and ensure you've signed the waiver. If you've used the car park below for your visit you can also write your registration into the touch screen pad to receive 2 hours free parking - something which we really appreciated. There are also hand sanitisers on the walls for added peace of mind.
We then popped our belongings into the coded lockers, there's no cash required which is again very useful, and made our way to the arena to begin. At this point we had a quick safety brief with a member of staff, which is all completed via a short video, and a little optional warm up which consisted of some basic stretches and jumping jacks.
The arena itself is bright and clean with the different zones of play spread out well. It's also slightly raised so you can see across the reception, seating and eating areas during your session.
After bouncing on the numerous standard trampolines at first, we then moved onto the cardio wall - two trampolines beside each other with light up buttons on the wall. This is a great section for those that are competitive with speed and reaction modes available to play. The husband had battles against both of the Mini Mes before beating the highest score on the machine - he got 217. Something that he was rather impressed with, especially as it has entitled him to a free unlimited slush when we return!
There is a climbing wall with three different coloured routes to try at the rear of the arena which is above a large ball pond. The wall itself is transparent so you can actually see outside above the nearby buildings during the day whilst providing a view of the stars at night. We really liked this element and the way it brings a little of the outdoors inside along with lots of natural light.
The four of us headed to the netted basketball booths next where there are trampolines teamed with hoops and balls. This enables you to jump high and slam dunk if you wish, something you wouldn't typically be able to do on a normal court. The children in particular found this exciting and it provided a real sense of achievement when they were able to score points with ease.
There are several other areas to explore including a football pitch which has sensors/targets to hit the balls into and improve your accuracy, the wipe out zone where you have to jump over or duck under revolving poles and finally the pit where you can see how far you can jump from the angled trampoline onto the foam covered landing area. I'm hoping that in the near future there is a dualling bar installed too!
After our session had ended we had a little sit down (it was well needed) and picked up some ice cold slush from the self service machines. You receive a plastic bottle with straw for £4.95 and that entitles you to unlimited drinks from the station where there were 7 different flavours to try, including a mystery unicorn version. These were really refreshing and helped us to cool down in no time at all. There are of course a selection of teas, coffees, shakes and even alcoholic beverages to try if you prefer.
We also indulged with some delicious signature waffles. Between us we tried the Marshmallow Surprise, Strawberry Heaven, Cream & Cookies and Dream Team (pictured below). These were very tasty indeed and a great way to refuel. Hot dogs are available also which I'm looking forward to tasting next time.
It was lovely to see a variety of ages having fun and it's definitely somewhere the entire family can visit come rain or shine. It was well supervised with staff being friendly and approachable if needed and there was just an overall pleasant atmosphere.
I would highly recommend a visit to Gravity, whether it's the Northampton centre we went to or an alternative. Gravity has SEN and toddler sessions available plus party packages for birthday gatherings. Prices are reasonable and there are deals on a Tuesday to take advantage of plus 15% off for online bookings.
Have you tried trampolining yet?
No comments
Post a Comment
Thanks for taking the time to stop by. We love to hear your thoughts - feel free to pop a comment in the box!