Let me guess, you know you should be exercising? You know it’s good for you? But you just can’t bring yourself to do it every day?
I was the same. I hated exercise, not because I hate the idea of it, but I hated the effort of it. Having to get up early to squeeze it in before work. Or having to drive to a gym, get changed, just to attend a class or use some equipment.
Even the knowledge that just getting my heart rate up a little bit, just a few times a day was all I needed to see some benefits. And also knowing that exercise is just so darn good for my brain and body, as well as boosting metabolism, just wasn’t enough to help me summon up the energy and enthusiasm I needed to get it done.
Until that is, I bought myself a mini-trampoline.
Now stay with me here. Bouncing around on a mini-trampoline might sound like something you’d do as a child. But more and more adults are taking up the exercise of rebounding and it is becoming a firm favourite as a way to do something a little different, oodles of fun, and with lots of health benefits.
Rebounding, which is basically just jumping up and down on a mini-trampoline really can be a lot of fun, especially if you pop on some great music while you’re jumping. Or perhaps do it while watching telly. Or like me, have it positioned in front of a window so you can watch the world go by while you jump. And you can get huge benefits in just 10 minutes a day.
Apart from the huge benefits to your brain, rebounding is great for your health, it decreases the risk of developing heart disease, will help you burn some calories, and will boost your metabolism.
SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF REBOUNDING?
Weight Loss
Any form of cardiovascular exercise is great for burning calories and losing weight, and rebounding is a great way to introduce some cardio into your day if you, like me, are a serial non-exerciser.
Just the act of jumping and forced bouncing against gravity will result in an increase in both your heart rate and your metabolism. Which leads to you burning more calories, and depending on your eating habits, to weight loss.
Exercise alone won’t cause you to lose weight, but it will certainly help. And if your metabolism has slowed down after many years of Yo-Yo dieting, it will definitely help to speed it back up again.
According to NASA’s Journal of Applied Physiology, rebounding as an exercise is 68% more efficient than jogging at burning calories.[i]
Improvement In The Appearance Of Cellulite
Ah cellulite, the bane of many women’s lives. Studies show that cellulite may be caused by hormones, genetics, inactivity, poor diet, an unhealthy lifestyle, accumulated toxins, or a stagnant lymph system. And probably a bunch of other things, too. Lucky us.
As the reason the fat cells that have built up and collected in such an unsightly fashion underneath your skin may be the result of a lack of movement and distribution of the fluids of your body, it makes sense that women who have taken up rebounding report improvements in the appearance of their cellulite.
The increase in lymphatic flow caused by the rebounding can prove useful for helping to disperse that pesky hereditary and non-hereditary cellulite.
Detoxification
Your lymphatic system is comprised of a network of tissues and organs which help your body to get rid of any toxins and waste.
The primary function of your lymphatic system is to transport lymph throughout your body. Lymph is a fluid containing your white blood cells and these are what fight infection in your body.
Unlike your cardiovascular system, in which your heart automatically pumps the blood through your body, the lymphatic system relies on your body's movement and gravity as a pump.
During rebounding, your lymphatic system goes into overdrive, and toxins and bacteria are cleaned out and removed from your body.
Nothing is quite as effective as jumping for forcing the flushing of these toxins and other harmful products through and out of your body.
Increased Bone And Muscle Mass
As you get older, you start to lose your muscle and bone mass. This results in poor posture, possible osteoporosis and general weakness. Rebounding can help prevent this from happening.
Apparently it’s due to the increased G-force on your body caused by the bouncing motion which helps build the mass.
Did you know that NASA astronauts have been using rebounders in space as a method to increase bone density lost in space? The process of jumping has been found to be more effective than running at building both bone and muscle mass.[ii]
Improved Balance And Posture
A lot of different types of exercises help us to improve our posture. And the same goes for rebounding.
When exercising, your muscle mass increases and your core muscles are engaged, and this leads to better posture.
Additionally, rebounding requires balance and so this helps develop overall coordination and improvement in balance.
Low Impact
How many exercises can you think of which are low impact on the body? Ok, well I suppose there are quite a few; swimming, cycling, meditating. Oh wait, is meditation an exercise now? Probably not, although it does have so many health benefits.
Anyway, that aside, there is roughly an 85% reduction in the impact on your joints when you jump instead of say go running.[iii]
So rebounding can help save your back, hips, knees and ankles from the jarring impact of running and other high-impact exercises.
Plus, this is also a great exercise for the elderly and anyone with minor joint injuries.
Better Sleep
Ah sleep, this is one of my personal favourites.
Sleep is oh so important and rebounding reduces the stress and tension in your body. And this, in conjunction with increased exercise, and not overeating just before bedtime, can greatly improve the quality and duration of your sleep.
This helps to boost your immune system, as sleep boosts the effectiveness of specialised immune cells called T cells which help protect you from various diseases. They do this by attaching themselves to any potentially harmful substances entering your body, and so keep you safe.
Slows The Ageing Process
Rebounding is an excellent anti-aging tool. It’s fantastic for slowing down and even reversing cellular ageing because rebounding stimulates the production of lymph.
And, as I’ve already mentioned, lymph does not have its own pump so it’s vital to move in order for the lymph to move around your body.
Waste products are eliminated through your skin, kidneys, colon, and lungs. And a third of this waste elimination is through your skin via your sweat glands. When your body isn’t working at peak efficiency, and you’re not eliminating the waste materials that you should be, this waste remains in your body. Accelerating ageing.
Rebounding is even credited with being able to get rid of the bags under your eyes. James White, a Californian exercise physiologist, placed half of a group of previously inactive older women onto a rebounding program and noticed that at the end of the program, this group looked younger than the group that had remained inactive. They showed improvement in their skin tone and colouring, and their wrinkles diminished. And so too, to his astonishment, did the bags under their eyes. All in a matter of weeks.[iv]
Reduces Cholesterol
The lymphatic system moves cholesterol through your body in order for it to be filtered out by the liver. When your lymph flow is sluggish, cholesterol levels rise. But rebounding keeps your lymph system moving and helps lower your cholesterol levels and keep them down.
Improves The Effectiveness Of Other Exercises
While rebounding is great on its own, some believe it has even more benefits when done in conjunction with other exercises. It can serve as a complement to an existing routine, such as yoga, weightlifting or strength training.
In Summary
Rebounding is great for those of us needing to increase our levels of cardiovascular exercise, but who don’t necessarily enjoy daily physical exercise. And with all these benefits, what’s not to love? Why not give rebounding a try?
But remember, it’s about experimenting and seeing what works for you. Don’t push yourself too hard if you’re just starting out. When I first jumped on my mini-trampoline, I jumped for barely 1.5 minutes, and managed to pull a muscle in the back of my thigh. Nothing too serious, but enough to give me pause for thought.
And I won’t lie, I was pretty happy. Knowing I’d worked hard enough to pull a muscle? Go me.
But don’t be like me. If you do decide to give it a go, take it easy, and play with what works. If you push yourself too hard, you’re going to take all the fun out of it, and then you’re just not going to stick to it.
Rebounding really is lots of fun and won’t get boring quickly, unlike other forms of exercise. (In my very humble opinion :-))
Last updated: 05/03/2022
References:
https://justbounce.ca/17-benefits-of-trampoline-exercise/
https://cellercise.com/rebounders/what-is-a-rebounder-why-is-everyone-rebounding/
“Jumping on a trampoline burns more fat than running!”
