Update 2019: Since writing this post, I found a great website, which includes a good deal of information about rebounding and related products. I am sharing it here: http://www.hoptrampoline.com/
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I am posting this around “Happy Heart Day” — okay, okay, it is generally known as Valentine’s Day; still this second section on Rebounding has ‘Happy Heart’ (cardiac) benefits to celebrate.
In the first post The Ups and Downs of that Rebounder thing I made note of
different resources to read about the concept behind the ‘rebounder’ activity, and gave the obligatory directions to consult your physician before starting any activity. I shared my simplified version of the concept and benefits which stem from the action of acceleration and deceleration. These two actions combined with constant gravity create increased G-force (gravity force) felt by all your cells (not as specific – or limited – as some sports). I mentioned that according to the expert authors on the subject, this oscillation of forces increases our bodies’ cell diffusion (water, oxygen, nutrients, hormones, enzymes and wastes) by at least three fold. There are many advantages (exaggerated or not I am not sure) attributed to this acceleration-deceleration effect. I have picked the five most clear, and in my mind most important to explore here.
“Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.”
Attributed to Will Rogers
5 Reasons YOU might want to consider this ‘Rebounder thing’
1. Rebounding activity (even just the simplest of bouncing actions) strengthens every cell in your body. It is described as a moment of ‘weightlessness’ at the top of a bounce and then an increased gravitation pull 2-4 times normal at the bottom. As mentioned above, this acceleration-deceleration stresses and thus strengthens the cell, whether it be a cell of the organs, muscle, bone or skin – ALL cells.
2. No matter what your age, bouncing activity (as other weight-bearing exercises) makes bones stronger. Very low impact on the rebounder (even if just doing a sitting bounce) can increase bone health. This is one of the many reasons that special (usually expensive) sitting models (and which are not necessary for those who can actually sit on a regular rebounder) are used for folks with disabilities – because of its effect on bone. I once heard a woman say that there should be a warning sign against using a rebounder if you have brittle bones. I cringed. The opposite is true according to some major sources. NASA found that rebounding quickly rebuilds the bone density (and muscle strength) lost when astronauts are exposed to weeks of weightlessness. To quote from the NASA report published in the Journal of Applied Physiology (49(5): 881-887 )”… the magnitude of the biomechanical stimuli is greater with jumping on a rebounder trampoline than with running, a finding that might help identify acceleration parameters needed for the design of remedial procedures to avert deconditioning in persons exposed to weightlessness.”
For we mere mortal non-astronauts, inactivity or sedentary lifestyles affect our bodies the same way. Most often it is women who fear osteoporosis, but anyone is susceptible to bone loss. The National Osteoporosis Foundation encourages rebounding, stating:
“Exercise can be helpful in building and maintaining strong bones.
Exercise that forces you to work against gravity –
so called weight bearing exercises
such as walking or jogging [and rebounding] are beneficial …”
3. From the point of view of the cardiologist, its benefits are also numerous and encouraged in the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation. Note however that different researchers reporting in the same journal have found diverse levels of improvement or advantage. In general, the popular lists of rebounding benefits include the following items that are supported to one degree or another in the research: it increases breathing capacity, circulates more oxygen to tissues, helps normalize blood pressure and may help in preventing cardiovascular disease. [More success is noted when hand weights are incorporated – as I reference in the ‘Ups and Downs of that Rebounder Thing’, but it is not necessary to use them). “The findings indicate that exercise on a miniature trampoline may provide a safe, adequate indoor exercise for normal and many cardiac patients of varied ages…” –Journal of Medical Science for Sport and Exercise. While providing cardiac benefit, there is a minimal level of trauma compared to many activities.
“The mini trampoline [rebounder] provides a convenient form
of exercise with a major advantage
being its apparent low level of trauma to the musculoskeletal system.”
Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation. 10(11):395-400, November 1990.
Those with high cholesterol and a proclivity toward more natural remedies may be taking daily Niacin. It is reported that when rebounding is added to the Niacin regime, it helps detoxify fatty tissues.
4. Rebounding can improve and reduce pain in the musculoskeletal system. Being more my forte, I can say that I have had experience both with patients’ and my own relief from pain when incorporating rebounding into my activities. Seeking relief from current musculoskeletal pain means starting slowly but the activity helps in several ways. It improves coordination and balance throughout the body (probably obvious). Importantly, it promotes improved muscle tone. It relieves pain from many neck and back conditions. While I wouldn’t suggest rebounding with a headache, if the headache is from cervical muscular tension it can often prevent later repeated episodes. This is antidotal, but it may help vascular conditions, even like Raynaud’s. The latter has no evidence that I am aware of it, but it won’t hurt to try. For those who have aches and pains of joints or muscles due to lack of exercise, the gentle bouncing (with the feet never leaving the mat) is a good way to get back to toning up. In that case you MUST start slow, but will probably notice a difference in just a couple minutes (which is probably all you will complete during your first session).
Sticking with musculoskeletal for a moment, another advantage to rebounding comes back to the idea of exercising ALL cells. That also means that we are not concentrating on one muscle group or area in lieu of the health of another. Basically this is a similar concept behind ‘cross-training’, to develop different muscle groups. And for anyone who has followed Somatics (Thomas Hanna), you will understand the theory of overcoming bad muscle memory brought on by habitual imbalances or trauma.
5. I left for last the point that often gets the MOST attention. I doubt that anyone ever writes about rebounding without describing the Lymphatic system (think of it as a major player in your immune system). For some reason, while incredibly important to our health and vital to our function and well-being, it is rarely addressed. It is not just an ‘add-on.’ In your life you may have only heard about your lymph nodes if they were swollen with adenoid infection, the flu or even cancer or AIDS. Yet, this workhorse system has been quietly circulating lymph fluid throughout your cells and organs, picking up ‘garbage’ (toxins, heavy metals and infectious organisms) and transporting it to appropriate cleansing sites (thymus, spleen, tonsils, appendix, special gut tissues and nodes). There is a relationship between the lymphatic and circulatory system. When the former’s functions are complete, plasma is returned to the blood system. This helps regulate blood pressure and volume, and plays a part in guarding against edema. Surprisingly, there is about 4 to 5 times the amount of lymphatic fluid traveling around your body than there is blood. You might want to read that again!! What is the bigger mystery (maybe some folks know) is that there is no ‘pump’ to move the stuff, not like the heart pump moves our blood. The clear Lymphatic fluid circulates upward in our body via a network of one-way values and it does this in a rather stealthy manner, mainly through our movements in general daily living. But exercise is a key. Rebounding is said to be perhaps THE best way to improve this system and increase our immunity. Each bounce opens and closes these 1-way values thus causing the fluid to pump and circulate. This is one of the reasons that inactivity is so bad; it reduces this action and in turn reduces our health. Beneficially the activity of rebounding stimulates the free-flow of the lymph system and drains away the garbage.
Calorie Burning
I didn’t include burning calories as one of my 5 benefits because it is not a goal for everyone. Still, it does burn calories. Other exercises may do more, but rebounding is ‘no slouch’ as they say. Let me share information from two well-known sources in the field.
Dr. Morton Walker writes of many benefits and explains one as:
“rebounding improves resting metabolic rate
so that more calories are burned for hours after exercise.” [Emphasis mine]
Below is a chart from his information (which you can find at the link above).
J.B. Berns of the celebrated Urban Rebound program has a formula which calculates quite a higher calorie burn than the chart above. His formula (based on a more rigorous approach) is as follows:
Body weight x .0643 = (Rebound weight) x # of minutes of bouncing workout
= # Calories Burned
Using this formula for a 200 lb person you would calculate 200 lb x .0643=12.86 x 12 minutes (to equal chart) = 154 calories. In contrast, the chart estimates 105 calories. It appears that the difference has to do with intensity. Full disclosure here – I have NOT done the Urban Rebound program. But my understanding is that it is no ‘gentle bounce.’ It is a high level cardio exercise with a warm up period and workout striving for 65-85% of your ‘target heart rate.’ It typically not only uses upper body muscle movements but adds weights (1 or 2 pounds). I found one quote from a user that stated the following about the formula: “ It varies a little day to day depending on the workout, and how much I put into it, if I use weights, etc., but it seems to be a pretty good ball park figure if you don’t have a HRM [Heart Rate Monitor] that gives a calorie count.”
Promoters might take exception to my statement that some exercises may burn more calories. And some advocates say it is THE number one cardiovascular exercise there is. I think it will suffice to say, it is very beneficial, even if you want to lose weight.
Bottom line: It will burn calories. The more intensely you work at it, the more it will burn.
Contraindications
As I mentioned in the first post there are some common sense ways to approach rebounding as with every exercise activity or piece of equipment. Please review these guidelines, warnings/restrictions in the Ups and Downs of that Rebounder Thing.
Still there are a couple STRICT CONTRAINDICATIONS that I feel compelled to repeat here. Do not use the rebounder under these conditions:
- Detached retina
- Pregnancy
- Prolapsed Organ
- Atlantoaxial instability (if you have it you know it, but it means the relationship of vertebral bodies C1 & C2. Not a ‘subluxation’ that your chiropractor may treat, but true instability.)
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‘Trampolining’ does have many injuries each year. Most of these are children, unspotted, who fall awkwardly through the springs on large ‘tramps.’ While accidents can happen anywhere and always listen to your body, you will have few problems. When in doubt…..stop. Or sit down on the mat and continue your workout in that position. Not many activities can offer you that option and still be beneficial.
Figure out if it is Right for YOU
While this activity may not be the end of all other exercise, some would argue that it could be. [But who wants to give up walking, biking, gardening or dancing or even fun floor routines? ] Still, rebounding does deserve serious consideration as part of your activity program (no matter what age or current ‘balance’ problems that jump to your mind. [Don’t miss the pun there, please.] Luckily, as I mentioned (repeatedly) balance is not necessarily an issue as rebounding can be done in a kneeling or seated position, or with a stabilizer. In addition it is very low impact.
Before I end I want to answer the question in the title (Do the Benefits of Rebounding go Up and Down?) It seems that the benefits of Rebounding just go UP –UP –UP.
Consider this activity and let me know if you find benefits or problems we didn’t cover here.
Happy bouncing!
