REBOUNDING EPITOMIZES FITNESS

The act of bouncing, or rebounding, develops balance, coordination, rhythm, timing, dexterity and kinesthetic awareness - all skills that we train on mini trampolines and need in abundance, to move our bodies with grace and confidence.

Babies bounce vigorously before taking their first steps, developing muscular strength, balance, and numerous subtle skills, essential for co-ordination and muscular development.

Children instinctively bounce on beds, sofas, and any springy surface they find welcoming - delighting in the rhythmical rebounding motion that propels them onward, upward and forward!

It's so easy as adults to forget how great the feeling of bouncing around can be.

For many adults it can take a few days of gentle rebounding on a mini trampoline, to recover the confidence which enables the freedom of movement and enjoyment that rebounding brings.

Starbound my rebounding exercise  book for mini trampolines was launched, and has received popular response from the press and public alike.

 The Starbound Workout rebounding aerobics DVD video  is now available as a two hour compilation of rebounding exercise workouts.

Starbound continues to evolve to provide the world leading lifestyle rebounding workouts and plans, and a variety of health workout formats, using rebounders as a central focus in numerous programmes.

I travel extensively with my work, and continue rebounding workouts in sessions with clients, which include Starbound Personal Prescription sessions, and a variety of Starbounding rebound aerobics workshops.

REBOUNDING IS KIND TO YOUR JOINTS - Rebounding on quality mini trampolines provides low-impact, highly effective cardiovascular and lymphatic exercises

"…for similar levels of heart rate and oxygen consumption, 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." 

DEVELOPING PHYSICAL SKILLS THROUGH REBOUNDING

Leaping and rebounding has always been a natural act tapped by the young in their play, forming an important part of recreation and physical education.

From early childhood, rebounding, in many disguises, forms an instinctive element of spontaneous and organized play.

Treadmill running had been studied  before; however the scientists found that

 "...measurements of the necessary variables have not been reported previously for trampoline exercise."

A pulse before exercising,  immediately after exercising, amount of oxygen consumed while exercising, amount of G-force experienced at the ankle while exercising , amount of G-force experienced at the lower-back while exercising,  and amount of G-force experienced at the forehead while exercising.

The pulse was obtained by a battery-powered electrocardiographic unit taped to the subject's body which transmitted signals to a custom designed receiver, in turn recorded the information by electronically writing it on a chart.

The oxygen consumption was measured with a K-meter that the subject carried on his back. The G-force experienced by the ankle, back and forehead of each of the university students was measured by small sensitive accelerometers which were placed in Plexiglas holders that were taped to the ankle, the small of the back, and the forehead.

After a thorough medical examination, the healthy students were issued a pair of shorts and new Nike running shoes to standardize the conditions to be measured.

They were given familiarization sessions on laboratory procedures, treadmill running, and trampoline jumping to ensure the exercise techniques would be the same.

Each student then walked or ran four different speeds on the treadmill with a five to ten minute rest period between runs while the scientist recorded their statistics and compared them with previous treadmill studies for accuracy.

The results of trampoline vs. treadmill study were startling to the scientists but quite frankly, were expected by us at the National Institute of Reboundology and Health. Following are some of the results revealed by this team of scientists from NASA:

 This helps to explain shin splints and knee problems, especially when the natural shock absorbing system of the body becomes so fatigued that it doesn't do its job correctly, thus throwing added unexpected forces on already tired muscles, ligaments, and tendons, forcing them beyond the point of rupture.

This makes it possible to exercise the entire body knowing that there is no undue pressure applied to any part of the body such as the feet, ankles, and legs, and at the same time knowing that each part of the body is receiving the necessary environmental stresses it needs to become stronger cell by cell.

The efficient use of the vertical forces of acceleration and deceleration to produce internal loading by directly opposing the gravitational pull develops more biomechanical work with less energy expended, thus less oxygen used and less demand placed on the heart.

It is Important to note that although this experiment was performed on a trampoline where the participants were able to develop a G-force as high as 8-G's, the efficient use of energy was below 4-G's.

People involved in rebound exercise on rebound units have been measured only as high as 3.5-G's, (United States Air Force, Dr. Ward Dean) so that any activity on a rebound unit is more efficient than treadmill running at any speed.

 Even when a person is able to develop a force on the trampoline of more than 4- G's, although it is no more efficient as far as oxygen consumption than running, it is still much better on the lower extremities because all of the cells of the body are still below their rupture threshold providing a safe way to exercise.

What's going on in the UK with mini trampoline rebounder exercise?

Check out the list of Boogiebounce exercise classes in the UK at my UK site

www.minitrampolines.co.uk