As I get older, birthdays, I find, invite the same amount of reflection and scrutiny of the year gone by as New Year’s resolutions do. I apply myself to this reflection with as much seriousness and rigour as I do my annual appraisals. Sadly, neither seems to live up to my expectations. This year, my introspection forced me to face an obvious fact – my fitness levels were sorely lacking. Filled with good intentions to course-correct, I planned to head to my neighbourhood gym and sign up for classes, but took a detour into a book exhibition I stumbled upon.
It seems that for all my attempts at procrastination, the universe was taking the issue of my health into its own hands because as I was about to leave, I came across a very slim volume, titled ‘Looking Good, Feeling Great’ by Karol Kuhn Truman. My first thought was to dismiss it. Two things, though, caught my lazy-girl eye: the fine print promised a 15-minute routine and the illustration featured a person jumping on what looked like a trampoline. I was intrigued, to say the least; as a kid, I loved jumping on a trampoline, “Look mum, I’m exercising,” I would gleefully claim. Little did I know that there was more than a nugget of truth in that.
I got the book and after going down a rabbit hole of information, I found that rebounding has an unlikely champion: NASA, whose Ames Research Centre co-authored a 1980 study that found that bouncing on a trampoline produced up to 68% more physical output than running for the same cardiovascular effort.
Social media threw up even more images of glowy, fit, svelte people happily bouncing away on a mini rebounder, not for one second looking exhausted and sweaty, unlike with other torturous exercise forms. I was sold. Now, while I cannot say I’ve committed to it as much as I should have, the little I did yielded impressive results: tremendous amounts of energy and more bounce in my skin. But was this just beginner’s luck, a placebo effect or could you really reap the benefits of, quite literally, jumping on this trend? I asked some experts for their take.
What is rebounding?
The obvious answer is a form of cardio, but it’s a little more nuanced than that. “Rebounding is a combination of cardiovascular conditioning and neuromuscular training. During each bounce, the ankle, knee and hip muscles repeatedly contract to absorb and generate force. The calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes are particularly active, while the core helps stabilise the trunk. Because the trampoline surface is dynamic, the body also makes continuous postural adjustments, challenging proprioception, balance and coordination. So, it is not simply a it combines cardiovascular, muscular and sensorimotor demands,” explains Dr Gayathri Hariram, M.P.T. Sports at Nuvana Wellness Clinic. For fitness expert Sumit Dubey, rebounding came onto his radar quite by accident when a physical therapist he worked with kept suggesting mini-trampolines for clients whose knees couldn’t take running any more. Dubey gave it a go, not expecting much, but a quick mid-session check showed his heart rate was higher than he had expected. Ever since, he’s been a fan.
The benefits of rebounding
“For those who are deconditioned, have joint sensitivity or feel intimidated by traditional cardio, rebounding is an excellent, lower-impact starting point”, says functional nutritionist, founder of Fitcru and fitness coach Prateek Kumar. Dubey finds that women ask him about rebounding with weight loss in mind and while it does help with that, he finds they come away with more benefits. “What catches them off guard is the core work. You are constantly adjusting to a moving surface and that engages muscles most cardio never touches. Clients mention better posture weeks before they see anything on the scale,” he says. But the real benefit for him is the effect on bone density. The impact is gentle on joints but still enough mechanical load to signal bones to stay dense. There’s yet another surprising benefit: Laldingnghetti Khawlhring, body therapist at The White Door, observes common patterns in the lifestyles of clients who struggle with fluid retention, puffiness or cellulite. She often finds these individuals work in high-stress environments, lead extremely busy lives and have irregular sleep, workout and eating routines. This is where rebounding comes in. “Rebounding works by muscle squeezing, with the diaphragm acting as the body’s pump to enhance circulation and oxygen flow. This method is excellent for boosting circulation and getting the body moving,” she says.
How to practise rebounding
Don’t be fooled by how gentle it appears; the method packs quite a punch and it’s easy to make rookie mistakes. Hariram lists some of them: locking the knees, landing heavily, letting the knees collapse inward, losing trunk control, bouncing too high and progressing too quickly. Beginners, she finds, should prioritise controlled, small bounces rather than height. The trampoline should also be stable, well-maintained and appropriate for the user’s weight and activity.
Apart from technique, there are other aspects you need to pay attention to, starting with your hydration levels. Rebounding moves fluid through your system more actively and Kumar warns that if you’re under-hydrated, you’re working against yourself. He also suggests watching your electrolyte intake. “If rebounding becomes someone’s primary cardio several times a week, I make sure overall is adequate to support the joints and connective tissue taking on that repetitive load,” he says. This becomes important because someone who is under-fuelled, iron deficient or dealing with unmanaged thyroid dysfunction or high prolactin levels can come away from a rebounding session more fatigued, not less, because their body doesn’t have the reserves to recover from the added activity. “I also see this in clients who are chronically under-slept and already running . Adding rebounding on top of a that’s already dysregulated can leave someone feeling wired or more fatigued the next day rather than energised. Bloating shows up too if someone bounces shortly after a meal, since vertical movement on a full stomach isn’t suitable for anyone with reflux or slower digestion,” he explains.
The surprising skin benefits of rebounding
Dr Aisshwarya Panddit, aesthetic physician and founder of NOVEA Aesthetic and Regenerative Clinic, explains that during movement, blood flow increases to the skin, delivering oxygen and nutrients while clearing waste. At the same time, muscle contractions and deeper breathing help lymphatic circulation, which depends on movement to keep fluids moving. “The visible flush is short-lived and usually resolves within the hour, but that doesn’t make it meaningless. Skin is a well-perfused organ that responds to repeated stimulus and patients who move consistently tend to present differently over months with better colour, less congestion and more resilient barrier function,” she elaborates. But would she recommend it as a genuine complement to skincare or is this claim overstated in wellness marketing? As a complement, Panddit is convinced it’s entirely legitimate. The way your body sleeps, moves and manages stress is always reflected in your skin’s appearance.
Who should be careful?
Rebounding should not automatically be considered suitable for everyone simply because it is low-impact. The caveat is that you need adequate balance and joint control. “People with acute injuries, significant joint instability or uncontrolled balance problems should avoid rebounding until they have been appropriately assessed,” warns Hariram.
When it comes to women, Kumar flags a few things. In the luteal phase, when progesterone is higher and many women already retain more water, rebounding’s circulation benefit can genuinely help with that puffiness. “Postpartum is the bigger flag with rebounding. Pelvic floor integrity needs proper assessment before any repetitive vertical impact because the pelvic floor may not be ready to absorb that load, regardless of how gentle the bounce looks,” he cautions.
The verdict
Rebounding has proven it’s here to stay as an exercise form, but as we’ve seen, it cannot replace other fitness routines. As Hariram says, it should be viewed as a complement to not a replacement. Personally, a few months in, with life and sudden travel plans taking over, I have to confess I didn’t maintain my original momentum and the effects were immediately visible, making it clear this is no magic bullet. As I see the water weight coming back and the tautness disappearing, I know that while this might take me back to the fun I had as a child, real results require consistency. The sport itself is no child’s play. The word trampoline itself comes from the Spanish “el trampolín” or diving board — as with all things, it requires you to dive headlong into it to reap its benefits.