If you fondly remember those childhood days when you used to bounce on a trampoline and secretly wish it was something you could still do as an adult, then you’re in luck. It turns out you can put that fun spring back in your step – and garner some serious health and fitness benefits while you’re at it. Say hello to Rebounding: an exercise regime which takes place on a rebounder – a good quality, small, circular trampoline – that you can do indoors (aka you don’t need a huge garden to set it up in), and folds up so can be stored away easily.
But how is this different to just getting outside and jumping about for a bit on a normal kids trampoline? ‘Rebounders are designed to give extra spring while absorbing impact,’ explains Rebound master trainer James Winfield. ‘The idea is to concentrate on the downward push into the [trampoline] mat, with your knees bent and hips pulled back. Then do a small jump off the mat, not more than six inches; this creates gravitational pull, which is at the heart of what makes Rebounding so effective.’
Jump on it
Take it from us – Rebounding may look easy (and we’ll admit, before we started we thought it was going to be as such), but it’s a full body workout that’s fun while getting you sweating, and we definitely felt all our hard work the next day. It takes a bit of getting used to the first couple of times – exercises include sprinting at speed, which feels a bit odd when the mat underneath you is moving, thus requires slightly more thought than this move normally would – but you soon get used to it.
Whether you’re in a class or following a DVD at home (get your exclusive money off code at the end of this article so you can get started in your living room!), sessions can vary in content according to what you’re wanting to achieve from your workout, whether that’s focusing on strength and tone to cardio boxing. Generally lasting between 20-45 minutes, classes can quickly rack up that calorie burn – we recorded 300 cals in just over half an hour. How does it achieve such a high figure? ‘Rebounding achieves this higher calorie burn due to the effect of gravitational pull,’ James states. ‘As a result of this pull, your exercising body weight is 3.24 times higher than during normal exercise, causing your body to burn calories more quickly.’ Sounds good to us!
Body benefits
As great as a big burn might be, this nifty workout is fantastic for a whole lot more, too. James reveals four more of his favourite Rebounding merits:
1 It aids detoxification: ‘Rebounding helps get rid of toxins in your body’s cells by stimulating the lymphatic system through a pump effect,’ he explains. ‘The “push” motion of the jump forces the lymphatic valves to close, while the “jump” opens them. This creates a “pump” which moves and recycles the lymph and the blood supply through the circulatory system many times during the course of the session, efficiently draining away toxins.’
2 It boosts core strength: ‘Working on an unstable surface provides a constant balance challenge, leading to the involuntary contractions of the deep core muscles,’ he states. ‘These are responsible for giving you a flatter stomach and improving your posture.’
3 It’s low-impact: Fantastic if your joints can’t handle running or more ‘typical’ full-on cardio. ‘Rebounding is weight bearing, which is important for building bone density; but at the same time it’s low impact, so very kind on joints and soft tissues,’ explains James. ‘Using a good rebounder can take away up to 70 per cent shock of impact versus working out/jumping on a wooden or hard floor.’
4 Everyone can do it: So no excuses! ‘It’s fun and suitable for all ages and fitness levels,’ he says. ‘You’re in control of how hard you “push”, which controls the intensity of your workout; thus allowing you to increase your fitness levels gradually.’ As accessible as this workout is though, don’t be tempted to just buy/use the cheapest Rebounder you can find, as they tend to have poorer quality structure and mats, so won’t provide the maximum health and fitness benefits.
Fancy getting some bounce benefits yourself? Head to the online shop at rebound-uk.com and enter the code ‘HEALTHY20’ to claim 20 per cent off the MaXimus Pro Rebounder Set (RRP £199) – but hurry, the offer is only valid until 30 June 2016.