As a child, you willingly bounced up and down to your heart's content. Rebounding exercise gives you permission to behave like a child for the sake of fun and fitness. Unlike traditional trampoline training, which emphasizes the height of the jump, rebounding involves pushing your feet downward into the skirt of the rebounder and jumping as if you had a low tunnel above your head. This modification lessens the potential for injury.
Agility Jacks
The word agility describes your physical and mental readiness when responding to external forces and changes of direction. Rebounding exercise equipment effectively facilitates agility training. Practice directional transitions by performing an updated version of the old gym-class drill. The jumping jack involves jumping your feet apart and together, as your arms raise to shoulder height. Perform four jumping jacks facing front, four to the right, four to the back of the room, and four to the left. Reverse direction after you return to the starting position. Once you feel comfortable jumping and turning on rebounding equipment, ask a friend to call out random directional changes.
Ab Bounces
Rebounding equipment, like the stability ball and balance disc, imposes a balance challenge that requires conscious core muscle activity. Your core muscles stabilize your spine during the bounce, but to give your abdominal and core muscles an intense workout, use the rebounder skirt in lieu of an exercise mat. Sit upright toward the edge of the skirt, with your legs extended and your feet off the rebounder. Use your sitz bones--the two bones in your buttocks, to walk backward on the skirt. Walk forward and backward, pumping your arms and rotating your upper torso in opposition to your lower body movements.
Band and Bound
Resistance bands add a new dimension to rebound training. They strengthen your upper body and impose challenges to your balance and coordination. Secure two strong, long and thick resistance bands to each side of the rebounder. Hold an end in each hand. Begin a light bouncing movement, keeping both heels in contact with the rebound skirt. Keep the rhythm of the bounce, and slowly and smoothly raise both arms to the side, and then gradually bring them overhead. Use control on the return. This shoulder exercise looks easy, but looks are deceiving. While your legs maintain a steady, bouncy rhythm, your arms move fluidly through the exercise. Challenging your body to perform as if it were two musical instruments performing different parts of a piece provides invaluable coordination training.
Crunch, Toss, Rebound
Sturdier materials and an ability to adjust the pitch angle characterize the medicine ball rebounder exercise. During the November 2000 World Cup Ski races in Lake Louise Canada, Louis J. Stack, former member of the Canadian National Speed Skiing Team, taught competitors to stand on a balance board and toss a weighted medicine ball at the rebounder. The ball returned with a vengeance and challenged the racers' agility and stability. If you are not quite at that level, try the crunch, toss and rebound exercise to build the required core strength. Position a stability ball in front of the medicine ball rebounder. Sit on the ball and walk your feet forward so that you assume an abdominal crunch position. Flex your spine and toss the ball at the skirt of the rebounder. Catch the ball and return to the starting position.
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