Old-fashioned exercise a no-go? Try a pogo stick

Want a better use for that pogo stick gathering dust in your basement?

For the past six weeks, Nichelle Hubley, a fourth-year kinesiology student at Dalhousie University, has been leading a dozen Halifax, Nova Scotia, elementary students in a pogo stick fitness regimen, a workout and sports routine with a little extra bounce. The sessions are testing the health benefits of the familiar childhood toy for Ms. Hubley’s honors project.

“We’re testing cardiovascular fitness, leg power and balance – all things we think it’s reasonable to presume would improve through these sessions,” she explains. “My research interests are in kids and physical activity, but not necessarily in traditional organized sports. This is an opportunity for a very different kind of physical activity.”

The project came about when Jo Welch, assistant professor in the School of Health and Human Performance, made contact with Flybar, a California-based pogo stick producer. The company was interested in researching the health benefits of pogo stick workouts, which have become increasingly popular in school gyms and youth fitness centers in the United States. Flybar donated 32 pogo sticks for Hubley to use in the study.

Eleven students, ages 10-13, were recruited from local schools to take part in pogo fitness sessions twice a week for six weeks. “Anything that the kids wanted to try, we worked to accommodate,” says Hubley. Their favorite sport is a pogo-centric edition of dodgeball.

“With obesity rising among youth and children, we need ways of exercise that seem like fun but burn a lot of calories in a short period of time,” adds Dr. Welch. “There’s potential here for a surprisingly vigorous workout for kids.”