I tried a trampoline workout for better health and discovered the surprising benefits of rebounding
As I get older, birthdays, I find, invite the same amount of reflection and scrutiny of the year gone by as New Year’s resolutions do. I apply myself to this reflection with as much seriousness and rigour as I do my annual appraisals. Sadly, neither seems to live up to my expectations. This year, my introspection forced me to face an obvious fact – my fitness levels were sorely lacking. Filled with good intentions to course-correct, I planned to head to my neighbourhood gym and sign up for classes, but took a detour into a book exhibition I stumbled upon.
It seems that for all my attempts at procrastination, the universe was taking the issue of my health into its own hands because as I was about to leave, I came across a very slim volume, titled ‘Looking Good, Feeling Great’ by Karol Kuhn Truman. My first thought was to dismiss it. Two things, though, caught my lazy-girl eye: the fine print promised a 15-minute routine and the illustration featured a person jumping on what looked like a trampoline. I was intrigued, to say the least; as a kid, I loved jumping on a trampoline, “Look mum, I’m exercising,” I would gleefully claim. Little did I know that there was more than a nugget of truth in that.
I got the book and after going down a rabbit hole of information, I found that rebounding has an unlikely champion: NASA, whose Ames Research Centre co-authored a 1980 study that found that bouncing on a trampoline produced up to 68% more physical output than running for the same cardiovascular effort.
Social media threw up even more images of glowy, fit, svelte people happily bouncing away on a mini rebounder, not for one second looking exhausted and sweaty, unlike with other torturous exercise forms. I was sold. Now, while I cannot say I’ve committed to it as much as I should have, the little I did yielded impressive results: less bloating, tremendous amounts of energy and more bounce in my skin. But was this just beginner’s luck, a placebo effect or could you really reap the benefits of, quite literally, jumping on this trend? I asked some experts for their take.
What is rebounding?
The obvious answer is a form of cardio, but it’s a little more nuanced than that. “Rebounding is a combination of cardiovascular conditioning and neuromuscular training. During each bounce, the ankle, knee and hip muscles repeatedly contract to absorb and generate force. The calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes are particularly active, while the core helps stabilise the trunk. Because the trampoline surface is dynamic, the body also makes continuous postural adjustments, challenging proprioception, balance and coordination. So, it is not simply a cardio workout; it combines cardiovascular, muscular and sensorimotor demands,” explains Dr Gayathri Hariram, M.P.T. Sports at Nuvana Wellness Clinic. For fitness expert Sumit Dubey, rebounding came onto his radar quite by accident when a physical therapist he worked with kept suggesting mini-trampolines for clients whose knees couldn’t take running any more. Dubey gave it a go, not expecting much, but a quick mid-session check showed his heart rate was higher than he had expected. Ever since, he’s been a fan.
The benefits of rebounding
“For those who are deconditioned, have joint sensitivity or feel intimidated by traditional cardio, rebounding is an excellent, lower-impact starting point”, says functional nutritionist, founder of Fitcru and fitness coach Prateek Kumar. Dubey finds that women ask him about rebounding with weight loss in mind and while it does help with that, he finds they come away with more benefits. “What catches them off guard is the core work. You are constantly adjusting to a moving surface and that engages muscles most cardio never touches. Clients mention better posture weeks before they see anything on the scale,” he says. But the real benefit for him is the effect on bone density. The impact is gentle on joints but still enough mechanical load to signal bones to stay dense. There’s yet another surprising benefit: lymphatic drainage. Laldingnghetti Khawlhring, body therapist at The White Door, observes common patterns in the lifestyles of clients who struggle with fluid retention, puffiness or cellulite. She often finds these individuals work in high-stress environments, lead extremely busy lives and have irregular sleep, workout and eating routines. This is where rebounding comes in. “Rebounding works by muscle squeezing, with the diaphragm acting as the body’s pump to enhance circulation and oxygen flow. This method is excellent for boosting circulation and getting the body moving,” she says.
