A pioneering fitness studio in Pasadena is revolutionizing senior exercise through bungee-assisted workouts, adapting the concept from Thailand to serve those with physical limitations. Martha Bustos, recovering from her second hip replacement and currently using a walker, opened Bungee Fitness Studio on January 4, 2025, drawing on her experience with rehabilitating her right hip from 2022.
The concept emerged after Bustos, a former track and field, softball, basketball, and tennis coach with a master’s in kinesiology, found traditional gyms lacking. “After that surgery, I noticed that gyms do not cater to senior students. The compliance was just not there. And they wanted to set me up with a private instructor. But even there, I mean, I would notice their focus was not on me looking around, oh, do this, do that, but not really focus on my needs,” she explained.
Similar to the Silver Sneakers program for adults 55 and older, Bustos’s “Soaring Seniors” program uses a specialized harness system. Each station incorporates “a link, a carabiner, a swivel, and then bungee cords, and then another carabiner, and then the harness,” engineered to support 500 pounds. Basic setups use eight bungee cords providing 134 pounds of support, with single cords offering 17 pounds of resistance, doubles 34 pounds, and triples 50 pounds. Additional cords are added based on participant weight — for example, a 146-pound person requires one extra cord.
Participants begin with a 15-minute registration session, documenting weight and height for proper harness sizing (S, M, L, XL). The 45-minute workouts for seniors follow Bustos’s “Move to Improve” methodology, featuring instructors Taylor, Lisa, Star, Ashley, Rick, and Jackie leading warmups with “lunges, butt kicks, everything” before progressing to choreographed routines. Instructors call out moves like “knee up, knee down, knee up, knee down, and then around the world” to music, with participants advancing from Level 1 to more intense Level 2 classes.
Comparing the experience to “The Twilight Zone” episode “Kick the Can,” where seniors regain their youthful abilities, Bustos noted, “They’re going to be moving to improving and at the same time doing things they hadn’t done in a long time.” Participants report burning 300 calories per session on their Fitbits.
The studio, which opened to the public on January 7 before a temporary fire evacuation, fills a regional void — similar facilities exist only in Utah, Arizona, and Oklahoma. The timing proved prescient, with recent class-action lawsuits against LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness regarding Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.
Operating through word-of-mouth rather than social media, the studio offers bronze, silver, gold, and platinum memberships under the “Let’s Heal Together” campaign, providing year-long discounts. Weight restrictions range from 90-260 pounds, with strict safety protocols including liability waivers. Each class is recorded, and participants receive photos of their achievements, particularly the popular “Star” pose where they “jump and fly up in the air”.
Bustos, pursuing partnerships with ALTAMED and LA Care, sees her own journey — being told she couldn’t “cross your legs… do burpees… do squats” — as testament to the program’s importance. New participants must complete a mandatory two-day introductory class (Level 1) before advancing to Level 2, ensuring proper progression in what she calls a “low impact cardio assisted workout”.
The studio also offers a Bungee Fitness Studio app for class registration and has a six-hour cancellation policy. Participants are advised to wear athletic sportswear or padded bike shorts for comfort. Those who have had surgery in the past six months or are pregnant should consult a physician before participating.
