Bounce for your life

Thrilled, happy, excited smiles. That’s what we see when our “kids” get on the trampoline. And by “kids” we mean everyone from ages 5 to 50. No matter your age, we bet you’ll tune right into your inner-child with the first lift off. It’s just that much fun!
 
But did you know that it’s also extremely beneficial to your health? It’s so beneficial that even NASA took notice. According to their research in the Journal of Applied Physiology, rebounding exercise (a.k.a trampolining) is 68% more efficient than jogging.
 
The combination of weightlessness and absorbed impact that you get from rebounding is magical for the body. Let’s take a look at how…

1. Strong bones – Increased gravitational force is great for your bones, but not so great for your joints. You can get up to twice the G force on impact with the trampoline but the bouncy nature of the mat takes up to 80% off the stress on your weight-bearing joints. Over time, trampolining can help prevent osteoporosis by strengthening the musculoskeletal system and improving bone mineral content.
2. Strong heart – A regular 30 minutes on the trampoline can significantly improve your cardiovascular health and lower the chance of heart disease. This is because trampolining increases the blood flow and strengthens the heart.  
3. Strong muscles – It makes sense that your legs, thighs and buttocks will get a workout with continuous jumping. But did you know that trampolining also works your abdominals and arms? With every jump, your core muscles are engaged to help keep balance. This flex-release motion in your core helps shape your abdominal muscles. And the same things happens when you swing your arms with each jump. It’s a full body workout.
4. Strong immune system – The lymphatic system is responsible for getting rid of the body’s toxins to allow nutrients in. It relies on our activity levels to get going. Rebounding on a trampoline can stimulate internal organs and increase lymph flow as much as 15 times.
5. Improved vision – Really? Yes, really! It is said that trampoline exercise can improve the eye’s ability to locate and fixate on objects. While trampolining, your eyes continually adjust to different fields of vision which stimulates the vision receptors and strengthens the eye muscles responsible for tracking objects.
6. Sharp mind – Jumping on a trampoline increases oxygen flow to your brain, helping you feel more alert and improving your reaction times. 
7. Increased metabolism & weight loss – Trampoline exercise increases your metabolic rate, helping your body process nutrients more efficiently and keep your weight down.   
8. Feeling happy – If the fact that you’re jumping on a trampoline doesn’t automatically make you feel happy, the endorphin and serotonin rush could do the trick. These mood-enhancing hormones are released by the body during exercise and will help you feel great.

​Trampolining really is the most efficient and effective form of exercise for total body health. It can also help your performance in other sports like gymnastics, skating and cheerleading. But best of all – it’s fun!
 
Come bounce with us at Core Training Gymanstics. We have classes for any age – toddlers, kids, teens and adults.
 
 Sources: DomiJump | NASA Journal of Applied Physiology | Health Fitness Revolution |
Your Doc medical |Heart and Stroke | Brisbane Kids | Rebound life | Ezine article |
LoveLiveHealth | Trampoline Tips | LiveStrong | Joyful Days