Go Jump!

Literally. Have you heard of the kind of rebounding that doesn’t involve a basketball and a back board? This rebounding is bouncing on a mini-trampoline, is a superior form of exercise, and feels more like fun than a workout. Weeee!

At the top of a bounce, a person experience weightlessness and at the bottom of a bounce, their weight doubles or triples depending on how high they’re bouncing with these forces of acceleration and deceleration maximizing effort. I read that half an hour of rebounding is equal to an hour of other exercise and is 68% more efficient than traditional exercise because it is a cellular, aerobic, strength training exercise effecting every cell in your body.

Unlike other forms of exercise which can put extreme stress on certain joints, rebounding is considerably gentler to the body. While not completely shock-less, it almost is. Any body at any age, in any health, and at any level of fitness can rebound. A person can even receive benefit from rebounding while sitting down if they can’t stand and bounce.

Rebounding provides incredible detoxification through the lymphatic system, the metabolic garbage service of the body. Lymph fluid bathes every cell, carrying good stuff to the cell and bad stuff away from the cell, but unlike the circulatory system, the lymph system doesn’t have a pump and relies on movement of the body to make its rounds. Rebounding is reported to increase the lymph flow by 15 to 30 times.

The rebounding motion stimulates the internal organs, moves the cerebral-spinal fluid, is beneficial for the intestines, and causes immune cells to be 5 times more active which directly translates into a stronger immune system.

The benefits of rebounding go on and on:

• Increased oxygenation of the body and lung capacity
• Combats depression and anxiety
• Prevents cardiovascular disease and normalizes blood pressure
• Increased activity of red bone marrow and red blood cell count
• Lowered cholesterol and triglyceride levels
• Improved digestion and elimination
• Improved sleep and mental performance

A gentle two-minute health bounce frequently throughout the day will increase mental sharpness, focus and attention, strengthen the immune system and work in the physical benefits of exercise. For this reason, some people have mini-tramps at their place of work to take bounce breaks. Rebounding has proven remarkably effective in aiding everything from lymphedema to cancer.

A rebounder is small, portable, and can fit a workout into even the most space constrained places. You just can’t have low ceilings!  🙂

I started rebounding to aid in my recovery from a brain injury. At first, I watched instructional cd’s to get the hang of rebounding and learn the basic moves. I was surprised to find that you can do a lot more than just jump on a mini-tramp, including jog, twist, kick, shuffle, or do jumping jacks.

Rebounding is great for doing cross lateral movements, where in a person’s arms or legs cross over from one side of the body to the other like raising the elbow or hand to the opposite knee. Cross lateral movement forces the brain to send signals across the corpus callosum, a fiber bridge connecting the two hemispheres, improving communicate and connectivity.  Cross lateral movement is good for any brain, helps children with reading and writing, and aids a rehabilitating brain.

My son keeps me well supplied with techno tunes which are high energy beats and perfect for bouncing. I just turn up the music, have a blast, and before I know it, I’ve work up a good sweat.

image source:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/bfs_man/