I love to rebound! You can jump, dance, or try some cheerleading stunts on it if that is your thing. So often I am asked what is rebounding and what makes it such a great form of exercise. Well, let me tell you all about it.
Rebounding is a low impact exercise which is usually performed on a rebounder or a mini trampoline. There are many different brands of rebounders on the market, but a cheap rebounder can be hard on the joints of the body. We like the Bellicon rebounder. If you have kids and already own a full-sized trampoline, by all means apply the exercises listed in this post to that and get moving.
Rebounding is an exercise which reduces body fat; firms up your legs, arms, thighs, abdomen, and hips; increases your overall agility; enhances your sense of body balance; strengthens the muscles, provides aerobic effects for your heart, and rejuvenates your entire body.
Some of the basic actions and movements of rebounding include; bouncing in place, (which is also called jumping), twists, jumping jacks, side-to-side motions, dance movements, and running or jogging in place. As you improve and get stronger, you may choose to add weights in your exercising.
Most people who start rebounding find that they are able to work longer hours with more ease, enjoy more restful sleep, and reduced anxiety. The effect isn’t just psychological, since the act of jumping up and down repeatedly against gravity, without any trauma to your musculoskeletal system is one of the most highly beneficial aerobic exercises that has ever been developed.
Main Types of Rebounding Exercises
- Jumping Jack Flash
One of the easiest exercises to do on a rebounder is jumping. Jumping up and down on a rebounder gets your heart pumping faster and stronger. To increase intensity, you can incorporate higher and faster jumps, and try pulling your knees closer to your chest area at the highest points of your jump. Jumping side-to-side is another great exercise and it targets different leg muscles, especially the outside of your buttocks and thighs. - Cool Running
Running in place while on a mini trampoline will not only help burn calories, but it will also strengthen your leg muscles. Moreover, running on a rebounder is much gentler on the joints compared to running on a treadmill or on the ground. You can try out different running styles such as jogging in place or jogging with high knees. For a cardio blasting circuit, you can combine various running exercises for one minute, rest for 30 seconds, and then start running again for one minute. Do this 8 times for an intensive cardio workout. - Twists
You can work your abs on a rebounder by twisting or/and turning while you jump. When you’re jumping up and down in a rhythm with both of your feet together, you can incorporate torso twists as you jump. Whenever you reach the highest point of a jump, you can bend your knees towards your chest, and then twist the torso to 1 side.
You may encounter soreness for a day or two the first few times you perform these moves. They engage multiple small muscles that our bodies are not used to using, so go slow at first. You will be surprised at how quickly your body starts to change shape for the better!
How Rebounding Works
Rebounding involves working with earth’s natural gravity to cleanse the tissue cells. Rebounding is quite unique in the sense that it uses forces of deceleration and acceleration, and works on every single cell in your body in a very unique way. When using a rebounder, numerous actions happen.
Actions include
- An acceleration act as you jump upwards
- A split second weightless pause at the top
- A deceleration at a highly increased gravity force
- Impact to the rebounding device
- Repeat
These rebounding actions make use of increased gravity force and each body cell responds to the deceleration and acceleration. The constant up and down motions are actually very beneficial to the lymphatic system, since it runs in a vertical direction in your body.
Benefits of Rebounding
Rebounding offers a multitude of benefits. It helps enhance the blood circulation, reduces stress, improves lymph movement, improves muscle tone, and enhances coordination and stability. All of these actions help to eliminate toxins from our bodies, which in turn helps us to have higher immunity to fight off foreign invaders and destroy cancer cells.
Below are some of the many benefits of rebounding. For us, the biggest benefit is that it’s FUN! We think you’ll agree.
- Improves both your balance and coordination
- Stimulates the lymphatic system drainage, prevents edema, and bolsters cellular health
- Circulates more oxygen to the body tissues and cells in our body, which allows the cells to function at a higher capacity, regenerate quicker, allows us to have greater mental performance and concentration. We all can use that!
- Combats depression
- Improved cardiac function that aides in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and normalizes blood pressure
- Red bone marrow production increased to provide us with more red blood cells production and turnover
- Lowers the elevated cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels which helps prevent heart disease
- Stimulates the body’s metabolism, allowing us to burn more calories, thus reducing the risk of obesity
- Offers relief from back pains, neck pains, and headaches
- Improves digestion, and aids in the elimination of toxins from the body
- Increased relaxation, decreased stress, and aids in a more restful night’s sleep
- Minimizes the overall number of allergies, colds, stomach ailments, abdominal problems and digestive disturbances
- Our respiratory system will have improved lung capacity and function to eliminate toxins from our respiratory system
- Helps in decreasing the cellular atrophy caused by the aging process
- Along with improving posture and spinal alignment, regular rebounding exercises have been shown to aid in relieving joint pain
- Digestive peristalsis is normally recalibrated and improved which means our gut will function more optimally to process the foods we eat and absorb nutrients
With all these wonderful benefits, go grab yourself a rebounder and rebound your way to a Crazy Fun healthy life!
