Bring Out the Tigger in You! (Rebounder)

Member Name: BizzyB

Product:	Rebounder
Date:	21/03/01 (779 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Reasonably priced, enjoyable, relaxing,

Disadvantages: People who enjoy goal-orientated fitness may find it boring, storage

I was given a rebounder for Christmas and it has since become my favourite piece of home exercise equipment. My rebounder is identical to that in the photo used to illustrate this section and cost £17.99 from Argos which I think is a very reasonable price.

Lets consider some facts.

The frame is made from steel, the jumping surface is made from a strong heavy duty nylon. It will take a weight of up to 100kg/16st. The edging is padded with covered foam and the description gives the diameter as 92cm. The diameter should be clarified better. The diameter of the whole rebounder is 92cm, I've had my tape measure out and the actual rebounding surface is 68cms which I find perfectly ample. I'm about 5'3" but if you were much taller I wonder if you would find this rebounding surface too little for certain exercises.

I was astounded at how much work I felt I'd done after my first go. Don't expect it to feel like a child's trampoline or sports trampoline, it isn't that springy. The rebounding surface is very strong and taut, and whilst the trampoline action takes away a lot of the shocks of exercising, as compared to on solid ground, it still makes your body work, especially the legs, thighs and bum. This rebounder came with a very short leaflet with demonstrations of different movements you can incorporate into your routine including star jump variations, side twists, high jumps etc. Some of these movements are quite difficult as they don't just require a level of fitness but also of balance. I've found it's best to start off with the easier movements - basic jumping, jogging on the spot to get the feel of things and over time I've found my balance has improved and my movements are a little freer. You can also increase the intensity of the workout by using light hand and ankle weights.

There is something very relaxing about the rebounder - moreso than any other piece of home fi
tness equipment I've tried. I think it's because it caters to the inner child - there is something very soothing about bouncing! Think back to the days of being told off for using your parents bed as a trampoline! I've found short bursts of 10 minutes to longer workouts of 20mins a day has improved my level of fitness and lung capacity of which I'm keenly aware being asthmatic. I have read that the this form of exercise is now very popular in the States with magazines reporting stars such as Jodie Foster, Charlie Therzon and Calista Flockhart rebound. The fitness talk is that it helps drain the lymphatic system of the body as when the body is in the air it's low gravity and you land to increase gravity and supposedly this helps lymph drainage. Now whether this science is true or not I don't know but I did recently read a report that tested different exercise routines for improving cellulite and the rebounder came out best. I take all these articles with a pinch of salt and would recommend the rebounder more for its childlike fun than the promise of cellulite busting (though that would be a welcome side effect!)

A great advantage of the rebounder is it is suitable for many levels of fitness which means it may be a suitable for members of the same family with differing needs. Using the rebounder for static walking or jogging motion is enough for the less able or unfit among us to get the heart rate up and the body moving. For the more advanced a 20 minute hard rebounding session really gets the heart rate up and the muscles working.

Disadvantages, well there are some. Firstly, a 92cm diameter circle may be difficult for some people to store. The six legs are all removable and you may find you can slot the surface under a double bed or behind a cupboard without being too obtrusive. Also, you may have problems using it upstairs. Though it is a quiet piece of equipment houses do have a tendency to amplify the noise
and make it sound as if a herd of elephants has descended. Just in case it was only me I got my skinny neighbour to have a go on the trampoline and it still sounded like a scene from Fantasia which made me feel better! Unless you have lots of room it would be difficult to leave the trampoline 'made up' all the time - with all home exercise equipment this is a problem - the out of sight, out of mind problem!

A word of advice - make sure your rebounder has a minimum of six legs to ensure it's stable enough. I'll be interested to see how it ages and how long the rebounding surface stays taut - so far so good.

I think the rebounder is a great, inexpensive piece of home fitness equipment suitable for all the family. It's an enjoyable piece of equipment to use when watching tv or put on some motivating music and you're away. For those who enjoy the social aspect of the gym or goal orientated fitness/sports you may find it a little tedious but possibly a good stand-by piece for when you can't get to your first choice workout.

Summary: