Day 7 – Rebounding Try-Out
The something different I wish to share with you today is my Rebounding experience. The word rebound always had a negative connotation relating to failed relationships and then new ones that are not supposed to happen etcetera… but this kind of rebounding is an incredibly positive one. I am taking about rebounding, or as we normal folk say, jumping on a small trampoline.
We all know how important it is to exercise. We all have to do it in order to maintain a decent level of overall wellbeing. Many of us are quite lazy about this and then regret later for not making the effort in a disciplined manner earlier in life. For the first 20 years of my adult life, I was an on/off exercise person. I had not required the discipline to do exercise every day, as I do now. I am a bit ashamed to admit that, but there it is – I was never very athletic – even as a kid (apart from Mum taking me to ballet classes a few times a week), and still now there are certain forms of exercise that I loathe to do… like running! Running hurts my chins (which are messed up from my childhood of ballet classes on an un-sprung floor!) and it makes my head feel like it is going to explode. I think that is partly due to the jarring movement of running for me. It is not so bad if I am running on soft grass… but still… I hate running. It does not make me feel happy.
I do believe that with the discipline of exercise, we MUST find a form of exercise that makes us feel happy. If you choose to do something that you don’t like to do, I think that it will only end in an end. You will stop doing it and then blame the fact of this happening on ‘life getting in the way’. Truth is perhaps that you just were not doing a form of exercise that you love. So, the importance of finding that one you love is vitally important. Isn’t all commitment like this really?
My exercise regime consists of Yoga, more Yoga, some Pilates… and then more Yoga. Even in my on/off days of exercise I would always somehow return to Yoga. It is my feel happy form of exercise. Nowadays I have developed a good solid regime of yoga every day (barring a break day once a week) and am completely committed to this path; hoping that when I am in my late 80ies I will still be beginning my day with a quick and highly effective Yoga flow.
The benefits I feel from Yoga are amazing… and there is no doubt that I get a good cardio workout from many of the Yoga flows I perform… however I thought that I would like to try something different – something that gives me a good cardio workout and makes me feel like I am enjoying the experience… enter the Mini Trampoline!
I decided to buy myself a mini trampoline and give it a try. Rebounding is the correct term for this form of exercise and the health benefits are outstanding! Here below are just a few I got off the net:
- Rebounding burns fat and improves cardio better than running! I love this one – in fact 10 minutes of rebounding has the same value as 30 minutes of running apparently. Ha! So there you go then! I can do 10 minutes a day of rebounding I reckon.
- It strengthens the heart by working the cardiovascular system.
- It aids lymphatic circulation and drainage.
- It increases lung capacity.
- It improves balance.
- It improves your immune system and endocrine system.
- It tones and firms the body.
- And it improves sleep.
… just to name a few. Do a google search to find more.
So, what was my experience of rebounding today?
The first thing I can say is that it was FUN! It definitely makes you feel the joy that kids naturally feel! I read that this could be the case and it certainly was. Just bouncing up and down makes a bubbling feeling of happiness rise inside, I promise… and considering this alone I now get why it is such a healthy form of exercise. In fact, I reckon that now that I have this mini trampoline, on days I feel blue or low, if I just get onto the thing, I will be able to bounce myself into better mental shape.
I did 10 minutes of rebounding, and I certainly felt the cardio workout. I broke out in a comfortable sweat, I felt my heart rate rise – but without the feeling that I was going to pass out, and I felt all my muscles fill with oxygen and burn just enough to know that something was working as it should. After 10 minutes of rebounding, I drank a glass of water and caught my breath and the feeling I was left with was one of utter joy. I was smiling. I felt as if I had had a mixture of feeling like a kid and feeling like an adult for just doing it.
I am glad I invested in a small trampoline (and it was not expensive at all) because I am sure that I will now work this into a daily thing – my ‘something different for today’ will become a something every day – or at least almost every day. Onto my permanent list of daily goodness, it will go!
I am not an expert on this form of exercise by any means, so I am not sure that this will suit everybody. I think if in doubt always consult a sports expert or your doctor and do lots of research before embarking on a new exercise regime. But if you ever do give this a bash… and are fit enough to try… then I think you will feel all the benefits I did today. My first bouncing session was far from spectacular – I have seen videos on people who really impress with what they can do on a small trampoline – but it was a good start and I felt it!
So that was my ‘something different’ for today and I enjoyed it thoroughly!