Health Benefits of Trampolines

Trampolines are FUN, and take the WORK out of workout! A good workout does not have to be work. We can discover the health benefits of trampolines where FUN is the focus and exercise is just something that happens along the way! Jumping on trampolines gets your heart pumping, your lungs breathing heavy and will make you break a sweat. But you don’t even notice, because jumping on trampolines is so much fun!Most effective type of exercise. NASA conducted a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology that compared the activity of jumping on a trampoline with other types of exercise. They found that jumping on a trampoline is the most efficient and effective form of exercise that existed. The study showed jumping on trampolines is more effective than running or jogging and 70 percent more effective than a treadmill. The article states that “for similar levels of heart rate and oxygen consumption, the magnitude of the biomechanical stimuli is greater with jumping on a trampoline than with running.” The results showed that 10 minutes of bouncing on a trampoline provides the same level of results as 33 minutes of running, leading them to claim that “rebound exercise is the most efficient, effective form of exercise yet devised by man.”

Makes you stronger. Dr. Morton Walker, in his book “Jumping for Health” discussed these additional benefits from jumping on trampolines:

Strengthens every cell, muscle, organ, tissue, bone and tendon in the body.
Gives all the benefits of aerobic exercises without jarring the skeletal system.
Provides pure pleasure in freedom of moving, turning, twisting, kicking and stretching that can be performed anywhere.
Protection against heart disease, cancer and degenerative diseases.

“Trampoline exercise is also good for your immune system, which helps keep your body’s natural defenses high and reduces the chance of getting sick,” says Dr. Morton Walker[2]

Good for your MIND, and makes you feel better. Rebounding reduces stress and can help control over addictions. Trampoline jumping release endorphins, your body’s natural “feel-good” chemicals, from the brain which help to reduce stress, anxiety and depression and leave you feeling invigorated.

Jumping helps your lymphatic system. This system is the metabolic garbage can of the body. It rids the body of toxins, substances that cause fatigue, nitrogenous wastes, dead cells, cancer cells, fatty globules, infectious viruses, pathogenic bacteria, trapped protein, infectious viruses, heavy metals, and other assorted junk the cells cast off. How?

At the bottom of the bounce the valves are closed. Poisons, toxins and waste products are squeezed out from between the cells.
As the body bounds into the air valves are still closed, waste is loosened from the cell, nutrients are passed from lymph to the cells.
At the height of the bounce the body is weightless. Valves are open … Fluid begins to flow.
As the body descends, fluid flows, sucking waste products out and away from the cells to be eliminated by the lymph fluid.
As a result, the actions from jumping on a trampoline are ideal for cleansing cells. According to Dr. C. Samuel West[3], rebounding is the best way to circulate the lymphatics. If the lymphatic system is circulating properly it is less likely one will get sick[4].

Consult a Physician First. Before changing your exercise routines, we encourage you to consult your physician first, especially for senior citizens, people with disabilities or medical conditions, and those undergoing therapy following an injury. The “…trampoline provides a convenient form of exercise with a major advantage being its apparent low level of trauma to the musculoskeletal system.”[5] So exercising on trampolines may be just what the doctor orders.

[1] Journal of Applied Physiology, 1980 Nov; 49(5):881-7 (http://jap.physiology.org/content/49/5/881.abstract?sid=7a1a0fd5-061c-4bfd-95e3-89481ab28455)
[2]Jumping for Health by Dr. Morton Walker, Published by Avery Publishing Group, Inc. 1989
[3] Dr. C. Samuel West, (D.N., ND.D.) Biography http://www.ial.org/biography.php
[4] Bouncing for Health http://www.bouncingforhealth.com/benefits.php
[5] Excerpt from the Journal of Cardiopulmonary,Rehabilitation, 1990: 10; 401-408

Other references:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/302500-is-jumping-on-a-trampoline-good-for-exercise/#comments

http://www.trampoline.com/health-safety/health-benefits.php

http://www.healthbounce.com/march-newsletter.htm