Health Bounce
This workout is fantastic for both beginners and experienced rebounders alike. The purpose of the heath bounce exercise is to get your circulation going, improve your lymphatic system and strengthen your immune system. The movement is literally just a nice gentle rock or small bounce on the mat. There is no need to ‘jump’ – your feet can stay on the mat the entire time. If you are feeling ambitious, then sure, go for a small bounce – but don’t go crazy. Keep in mind, the point of this exercise is to warm up the body and get things moving the way they should.
Most people find this gentle rocking sensation quite enjoyable, but if you are looking for extra enjoyment while doing this you can listen to some good music or do this in front of your favorite television show – whatever it takes to keep you motivated. If you do this workout regularly, then your body will thank you for it!
If you are a newbie, we recommend starting with the health bounce. This slow gentle motion will help build up your strength, coordination and stamina so you can advance onto the next stage of exercising with full confidence. This is also great for anyone with nagging back, leg or feet injuries. Of course, if you start to feel pain then you should avoid this exercise until speaking with a doctor.
Aerobic Bounce
The aerobic bounce takes it up a notch – it increases your heart rate, get your blood flowing, and really awakens your bodily systems. There are many different types of aerobic bounce exercises that you can perform on your mini trampoline; let’s look at some of the more common ones:
- Running or jogging in place: When doing this exercise, please go at a pace you feel comfortable with. Don’t overdo it. Start with fast walking and then gradually pick up the pace.
- High Knees: This exercise consists of running in place but lifting your knees up nice and high. To accomplish this, keep your arms down by your side but bend your elbows so your forearms hover out in front of you with your palms facing down. The aim is to touch your knees to your palms.
- Bouncing on the spot with arm punches: This workout simulates boxing movements. While on the trampoline, bounce with a nice wide stance as you punch. As you get more comfortable, you can twist your torso from side-to-side for extra effectiveness.
- Jumping Jacks: This exercise involves doing jumping-jacks on a trampoline. Pretty simple right? This will get your heart rate up real quick!
- Squats: This is probably one of the more difficult exercises on the list and yet it’s still relatively easy to do. The most challenging part of this is maintaining your balance when you land. To perform a trampoline squat, start in a standing position and jump upwards. Position your body into a squat position as you land. Then do a small jump to go back to the standing position and repeat the process. While doing this, is important to keep your arms straight out in front of your body to keep yourself balanced.
Try performing reps of 20 of each exercise until you complete the full set. Aim to do at least 3 full sets, with breaks in-between. To keep the heart pumping, you can do a gentle health bounce while ‘resting.’ Remember to stop at any point if you feel any pain, discomfort or awkwardness while doing this. Everyone is different, so listen to your body and go at your own pace.
If you’re feeling extra ambitious, you can complement your aerobic exercises by doing some targeted strength training. Do this by incorporating hand weights and resistance bands into your workouts.
Strength Bounce
The strength bounce complements the aerobic bounce very well, but it requires you to be reasonably fit. If you are a beginner or are badly out of shape, this may be challenging at first. With the strength bounce, the goal is to jump as high as you can. The higher you jump, the more G-Force your body will be exposed to. When your body is exposed to an increased G-Force, this places more intensity on your cells and over time your body adapts by becoming stronger.
This type of bouncing strengthens the stabilizing muscles throughout your body, including your lower body and core. You’ll start to see improved muscle tone and posture, as well as better balance and strength.
When practicing this workout routine, make sure to keep good posture with your abs braced, keep your legs hip width apart, with your knees slightly bent. This is to help protect your hips, knees and spine as you bounce with a higher level of intensity. Word to the wise – make sure you have enough headroom before you go all out with the strength bounce. Bumped noggins are no fun.
Sitting Bounce
The sitting bounce is one of those exercises that looks super easy but in reality is quite effective at fine-tuning your body. It’s amazing for the digestive system and also helps to strengthen your core, legs and back. There are a several exercises you can do while sitting, such as the gentle bounce, sit ups and leg raises.
Just like all of the other workouts, you can start your sitting bounce exercises at the pace you are most comfortable with. If you are a beginner, start off slowly and then gradually increase the intensity level. For instance, when performing the gentle bounce while sitting, start with both feet on the ground, then do it with one leg up, and eventually you can work towards keeping both feet up off the ground.
Alternate Bounce
The final type of workout is for people who have a difficult time maintaining their balance and/or are severely limited by knee or back pain. It is still possible to experience the multitude of benefits from rebounding without physically standing on a trampoline. First, sit in a chair while facing your mini trampoline. Then, place both legs on the mat and start with gentle bouncing. It may not feel like you’re doing much, however any movement for your body helps, plus you also get the health benefits of increased circulation. If you are strong enough to stand on your mini trampoline but a bit too unsteady to do the healthy bounce, then consider buying a stabilizing bar. This will give you something to hold onto while you’re working on your balance and coordination.
