Rebound exercise is performed by bouncing on a mini trampoline. It a fun way to add diversity to your fitness routine, and it provides surprising health benefits. Once you’ve purchased or borrowed a rebounder, it’s easy to get started.
Rebound Exercise Begins With the Health Bounce
The health bounce entails standing in the middle of the rebounder, with feet about 12 inches apart. Move up and down using only your toes and calf muscles. You can shrug your shoulders or slightly lift your heels if you are having trouble getting started. Do not allow your feet to leave the surface. This makes a great warm-up exercise. Also, this is good for relieving tension and for improving the flow of lymphatic fluids.
Add Simple Steps to Create a Rebound Exercise Routine
From the health bounce, you can incorporate simple steps to add to your calorie-burning and health-enhancing fun. Try these basic moves:
- March
- Jog
- Dance
- Side-step
- Sit and Bounce
- Slalom (like skiing)
- Twist Bounce
- Kick Bounce
Aerobic Bouncing on Your Rebounder
Aerobic fitness increases the rate at which the heart is pumping and the lungs are working. Aerobic bouncing enables you to be creative and combine some fun moves. Playing upbeat music helps when doing aerobic rebounding. Be sure to start with warm-up moves such as health bounces, light easy jogging and some mild jumps. Gradually increase your intensity, and stop if you feel pain.
Walk on a rebounder – Walk in place, leaning back slightly from your hips. Just pick your feet up one at a time and put it back down where it came from. You can move your arms in a natural walking motion.
Jogging on your rebounder – This is fast walking. You don’t have to wait for one foot to return to the rebounder surface before you lift the other foot. Feel free to experiment: you can run in place normally, or lean forward a bit and kick your feet out behind you, or some combination of the two. The object is to get your heart beating faster and your breathing deeper.
Rebounder running – Run in place at a comfortable. Be sure to move your arms opposite from your legs. If you are comfortable and stable running on the rebounder, push yourself to go faster.
Sprinting on the rebounder – Run as fast as you can. This is usually done in short spurts.
Elbow-knee crossover – Challenge yourself while jogging or running by touching your left elbow to your right knee and vice-versa.
Rebounder kicks – When walking or jogging, lean back a bit, land on one foot and simultaneously kick out the other leg as straight as you can. Then do the opposite foot and leg. Swing your arms opposite of your legs. Add back kicks, and try side kicks which create a rocking motion.
Now that you are familiar with these moves, you can create routines that incorporate a variety of aerobic movements.
Aerobic Resistance Rebounding – Perform rebound exercises with weights in your hands. While jumping, running, stepping or bouncing, move the weights in organized motions for additional benefits.
Strength Bouncing on Your Rebounder
A basic strength bounce (also called a low-strength bounce) involves both feet simultaneously leaving the surface of the mini trampoline. This is actual jumping, and jumping higher builds more strength. Bend and straighten your knees as you bounce, and swinging your arms up and down will help as well. This total vertical movement creates an increase in G force which strengthens every cell of the body. If you want a greater G force, bounce higher.
Now play with this movement to create a varied workout or dance routine. Remember when you were scolded for jumping on the bed – well now you can have as much bouncing fun as you like! Here are some moves you might want to try:
Shuffle – Land with one foot in front of the other, then switch them on the next bounce. This move is less tiring on the legs than some of the other moves.
Turns – Turns develop your balance, coordination, rhythm, timing and dexterity. However, please approach turns with caution as they are a bit tricky. 90-degree and 180-degree turns can be achieved with practice. In both cases, one foot will be in front of the other for stability. Using the shuffle step, when your left foot is out in front, turn to the left. Then do the same for the right foot. To perform a 180-degree turn, you will again use the shuffle step. “With the right foot back, bounce, turning 180 degrees to the right so that you land facing the opposite direction with your right foot forward.” (Switch your feet while they are in the air)
Twist bounce – Bounce so that your hips and legs turn in one direction, and the upper part of your body turns in the other direction. Then switch it on the next bounce.
Medium and high-strength bounces are achieved by purposefully jumping high on the rebounder. Remember, the higher the bounce, the greater the G force. And be aware of the height of your ceiling – don’t bump your head!
Here are some high-strength bounce moves which require high bounces:
Tuck Bounce – As you jump up, bring your knees to your chest and put your hands on your shins. Straighten your legs before landing.
Pike Bounce – Jump high, kick both legs out straight in front of you with straight knees, and reach out your hands and touch your toes. Return to a vertical position as you come down.
Splits – Do a split at the top of your high bounce.
Benefits of Sitting Bounces on your Rebounder
You don’t have to be in a standing position to rebound. Either because you want to sit, or because you can’t stand on your own, you can still rebound.
Bouncing in a sitting position:
- Enables you to benefit from rebounding without doing a full-blown workout
- Can be done when you are watching television
- Allows those who cannot bounce in a standing position to get high quality exercise
- Strengthens abdominal and trunk muscles when you lean back a little, lift your legs so you are in a “V” position, and move your arms up and down to establish a rhythmic bounce. This is rather tough to master, and if you want more of a challenge, try adding the bicycle movement while in the “V” position.
Now you have lots of movement options for exercising on your rebounder. Mix them up for variety, or create routines which encompass low- and high-strength bounces, dance moves and turns.
There’s more to rebound exercise than just bouncing. There are scientific reasons why rebounding is a great exercise, but it’s the health benefits that will make you jump for joy (pun intended). Bouncing on a trampoline benefits your body on a cellular level, which increases your overall health and vitality.
Do you think you are too old, too infirm or too whatever to do rebound exercising? Guess again. There are ways for nearly everyone to do rebound exercises. As a matter of fact, the older you are, the sicker you are or the more unsteady you are, the more you truly should incorporate rebounding into your life.
Please don’t buy the first rebounder you come across, and don’t necessarily buy the cheapest one. There are some things to watch out for, so do a bit of research about buying rebound exercise equipment to be sure you’re getting a sturdy, safe, long-lasting piece of equipment.
All types of physical activity benefit your health, and fun activities are the ones you’ll most likely to stick with. You’ll find rebound exercise to be so different, fun and beneficial that it will become part of your daily workout and you’ll reap the health benefits soon and for years to come.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.
Sources:
Dr. James R. White. Jump for Joy. New York: Arco Publishing, Inc., 1984.
JB Berns. Urban Rebounding. New York, NY, 1999.
Albert E. Carter, The New Miracles of Rebound Exercise. Scottsdale, Arizona, A.L.M. Publishers, 1988.
Linda Brooks, Rebounding to Better Health. KE Publishing, 1995.
Albert Earl Carter, Founder of Rebound Exercise, Air, Inc. (accessed December 17, 2010).
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