One of the biggest barriers to regular, consistent exercise is a lack of enjoyment. A lot of people simply find it boring. Where running on a treadmill, riding an exercise bike, punching a punching bag, or using a rower is undoubtedly good for your fitness and health, they’re only beneficial if you do them often enough for them to work their magic. Consistency is the key.
That’s partly why there are so many different workouts to choose from; we’re all looking for the one we’re going to enjoy. After all, exercise is hard enough, without it being tedious too!
One of the most entertaining workouts is rebounding or using a mini-trampoline. Contrary to appearances, rebounding is a very effective exercise that can help tone and strengthen your legs, increase your aerobic fitness, and burn calories for weight loss. NASA even uses rebounders to train their astronauts before sending them into space.
The hardest part about rebounding is getting started, and we’re here to help. In this article, we reveal some of the main benefits of rebounding and give you three rebounder trampoline workouts for beginners.
Don’t dismiss rebounding as a fad workout or something that’s no more than a large-scale kid’s toy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, recognize jumping on a mini-trampoline for what it is; a fun but very effective workout!
Rebounder Trampoline Workouts For Beginners
How do I Start Exercising on a Rebounder?
Trampolining is a bonafide Olympic sport that’s an offshoot of gymnastics. However, that doesn’t mean you have to do turns and somersaults on a rebounder. In fact, you’ll get more benefits if you keep things simple and focus on a handful of easy-to-master moves.
Unlike gymnastic trampolines, rebounders are not designed to bounce you high into the air. Instead, they only depress and rebound a matter of inches. This absorbs the shock of landing, making this workout very easy on your joints.
To get started, stand on the middle of your rebounder with your feet about hip-width apart and your arms by your sides. Bend your knees slightly, and then jump on the spot. Initially, don’t even let your feet leave the surface of your trampoline. Just get used to moving up and down. Look straight ahead, stand tall, and use your arms for balance.
After a few minutes, you should feel comfortable enough to jump a little higher and allow your feet to leave the trampoline. Again, there is no need to jump high; that’s not the point of rebounding.
Once you have mastered jumping with your legs together, try the following movements. As before, start with very small bounces and only increase height and speed as and when you feel ready:
- Lateral jumps (jump side to side)
- Front to back jumps
- Tuck jumps (bring your knees up to your chest between jumps)
- Straddle jumps (open your legs and lift them out to the side between jumps)
- Jumping jacks
- Jog on the spot
- Butt kickers (jogging with your feet coming up behind you)
- High knees (jogging with your knees coming up in front of you)
- Hopping
As with any form of exercise, take it easy at first and limit yourself to just a few minutes. Doing too much too soon could leave you feeling sore and tired. That’s one of the biggest drawbacks of rebounder workouts; they’re so much fun that it’s easy to forget how hard or how long you’ve been doing them!
Can You Lose Belly Fat by Jumping on a Rebounder?
Most people who work out for weight loss also want to lose belly fat. After all, a slender, toned stomach is just a few steps away from a six-pack!
Unfortunately, it’s a myth that any exercise will preferentially burn fat from your belly. There is no such thing as spot reduction.
Fat, properly called adipose tissue, is just stored calories. When you overeat, your body takes the excess calories from the food you have eaten and turns them into fat. Extra calories from dietary protein, carbs, and fat are all processed the same way.
To eliminate stored fat and lose weight, you need to eat less and exercise more to force your body to use it for fuel. This is called a negative energy balance or calorie deficit.
Body fat is stored according to your gender, genetics, and hormones and is burned off in much the same way. The type of exercise you do or diet you follow will not affect where the fat comes from. It MIGHT be your belly, but it could just as easily come from your hips, the back of your arms, or your butt.
However, it will eventually come from your belly, but you can do nothing to influence this. As good as rebounding undoubtedly is, it doesn’t burn belly fat – but then no workout does.
How Long Does It Take to See Results from Rebounding?
Most people want to see instant results from their workouts. Unfortunately, the processes of toning muscles, burning fat, and getting fitter takes time. That said, if you start rebounding regularly and combine your workouts with a sensible diet, you should begin losing 1-2 pounds per week right off the bat.
Your legs should start to feel more toned within a month or two, and you should feel considerably fitter after about three months. However, you will continue to see progress for much longer than this.
Factors that will affect your progress include:
- Consistency – the more workouts you miss, the slower your progress will be.
- Rest and recovery – your body adapts to exercise between workouts.
- Duration – workouts lasting 20-30 minutes are more effective than much shorter workouts.
- Intensity – very easy workouts are not as productive as more intense workouts. That said, doing too much could also make your workouts less effective.
- Lifestyle factors – if you smoke or drink alcohol excessively, your progress will be slower.
- Age – the older you are, the slower your body will adapt to your workouts.
3 Rebound Trampoline Workouts
While you could join a rebounder class at your local gym or follow a choreographed YouTube video, here are three beginner rebounder workouts you can try today:
Workout 1 – Rebounder Medley
This 15-minute workout is ideal for beginners. Just do each of the following exercises for 45 seconds, resting 15 seconds between each one. Repeat the sequence 2, 3, or 4 times to total 10, 15, or 20 minutes.
- Two-footed jumps
- Jogging on the spot
- Knee lifts
- Tuck jumps
- Butt kickers
Workout 2 – Rebounder circuit
This workout combines rebounder movements with a few straightforward calisthenic exercises. Run through the following sequence, rest one minute, and then repeat 2-3 more times.
- Rebounder running on the spot x 30 seconds
- Squats x 15 (stand on the floor next to your rebounder)
- Rebounder lateral jumps x 30 seconds
- Crunches x 15 (lie on your rebounder)
- Rebounder high knees x 30 seconds
- Push-ups x 10 (hands or feet on your rebounder)
- Rebounder tuck jumps x 30 seconds
- Lunges x 10 per leg (stand on the floor next to your rebounder)
- Rebounder butt kickers x 30 seconds
- Flutter kicks x 10 per leg (sit on your rebounder)
Workout 3 – Rebounder intervals
Get more from your workouts in less time with interval training. Intervals burn more calories while you exercise and also afterward as your metabolism remains elevated for the following 24-36 hours.
Simply alternate between 30-seconds of a high-intensity rebounder exercise (e.g., high knees or tuck jumps) and 60-seconds of a lower-intensity exercise like jogging or two-footed jumps. Do ten sets to total 15 minutes.
Bottom Line
Rebounding might look like a game, but it’s actually a very effective workout. Using a rebounder will increase your aerobic fitness and health, improve circulation, enhance your balance, and strengthen your muscles and joints, including your core.
However, unlike other high-impact workouts like jogging, running or even a triathlon, it’s ideal for older and heavier exercises and won’t put too much stress on your ankle, knees, hips, or spine. In studies, NASA discovered that using a rebounder is every bit as effective as other types of exercise, and could even produce better, quicker improvements in fitness.
Rebounding; if it’s good enough for NASA’s elite astronaut program, it’s probably good enough for you too!
Patrick Dale is an ex-British Royal Marine and owner and lecturer for a fitness qualifications company. In addition to training prospective personal trainers, Patrick has also authored three fitness and exercise books, dozens of e-books, thousands of articles, and several fitness videos.
