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Better Health Update #63 - Monte Kline, Clinical Nutritionist

Rebound Exercise

Exercise has some problems - problems that prevent us from doing it:

1. It takes time - Most people need an exercise they can do simultaneously with another activity and thus use their time twice.

2. Bad weather - A lot of people exercise in nice weather only to discontinue when inclement weather strikes. For consistency, indoor exercise is a must.

3. Safety - People being criminally attacked while jogging is legendary. Exercise done in the privacy and security of your own home is safest.

4. Trauma - Many people significantly damage their feet, knees, and back with running on hard surfaces. The best exercise is one that does not produce structural trauma.

Since the late 1970's I have been recommending Rebound Exercise as the best solution to these common exercise problems. Rebound exercisers are basically small mini-trampolines, with a surface about eight inches off the floor, which one runs or bounces on. They have the advantage of allowing you to do something else - like watch TV, listen to radio or tapes, etc. - while you're rebounding. It's indoor exercise, so it solves the weather and safety issues. Rebounders cause only a fraction of the trauma to the structural system as compared to running on hard surfaces.

REBOUNDING BENEFITS

Rebounding features some unique features from regular exercise:

1. Aerobic Exercise - Bouncing up and down against gravity without structural trauma is an extremely beneficial aerobic exercise. On the downward motion of the bounce your feet hit the mat with twice the force of gravity, while at the upward limit of the bounce you are weightless - just like an astronaut floating in space. So you get the exercise benefit of gravity without the trauma of gravity.

2. Cleansing/Oxygenating - This alternating double gravity and weightlessness produces a pumping action that stimulates removing waste from cells and infusion of oxygen and nutrients.

3. Stress Reduction - Bouncing on a rebound exerciser helps reduce nervous system stress. Some have even gone so far as to say the bouncing puts a person into a "trance-like" state resulting in total relaxation. I wouldn't describe it with that degree, but it definitely is relaxing. The best part is that this nervous system equilibrium tends to be maintained after getting off the rebounder.

REBOUNDING BENEFITS

Rebounding features some unique features from regular exercise:

1. Aerobic Exercise - Bouncing up and down against gravity without structural trauma is an extremely beneficial aerobic exercise. On the downward motion of the bounce your feet hit the mat with twice the force of gravity, while at the upward limit of the bounce you are weightless - just like an astronaut floating in space. So you get the exercise benefit of gravity without the trauma of gravity.

2. Cleansing/Oxygenating - This alternating double gravity and weightlessness produces a pumping action that stimulates removing waste from cells and infusion of oxygen and nutrients.

3. Stress Reduction - Bouncing on a rebound exerciser helps reduce nervous system stress. Some have even gone so far as to say the bouncing puts a person into a "trance-like" state resulting in total relaxation. I wouldn't describe it with that degree, but it definitely is relaxing. The best part is that this nervous system equilibrium tends to be maintained after getting off the rebounder.

4. Muscle Building - James White, Ph.D., Director of Research and Rehabilitation in the Physical Education Dept. of the University of California at San Diego states:

Rebounding allows the muscles to go through the full range of motion at equal force. It helps people learn to shift their weight properly and to be aware of body positions and balance.

5. Eye Exercise - Rebound exercise has been used to strengthen the eyes and improve vision with specific exercises.

6. Conditioning and Weight Reduction - Dr. White recommends rebound exercise for athletic conditioning, stating that it works better for fitness and weight reduction than running, jogging or cycling, while producing fewer injuries. He states:

When you jump, jog, and twist on this device you can exercise for hours without getting tired. It's great practice for skiing, it improves your tennis stroke, and it's a good way to burn off calories and lose weight . . . My students tell me it's so much fun that they often exercise on the rebounders for their own enjoyment.

NASA scientists have stated that rebounding is 68% more efficient than regular running. The fact that half the time you're rebounding you're not opposing gravity makes this a unique form of exercise.

LYMPHATIC CLEANSING EFFECT

To me, nothing is more important about rebound exercise than the unique way it affects the lymphatic system. Most people don't know a lot about their lymphatic system, since our education and media is obsessed with our other circulatory system - the cardiovascular system. The lymphatic system is a second circulatory system that relates primarily to immune response and drainage. The lymph is a clear fluid containing T- and B-Lymphocytes. Dr. Morton Walker, in his book Jumping for Health, describes the lymph system as the:

. . . metabolic garbage can of the body. It rids you of toxins, such as dead and cancerous cells, nitrogenous wastes, fat, infectious viruses, heavy metals, and other material cast off by the cells.

I like to think of it as the "storm sewer" system of the body, while the digestive tract is the regular sewer system.

Lymph is moved by hydraulic action. The lymph vessels are full of one-way valves that open up only in the direction of the heart. When the pressure below a valve is greater than above (such as when you're moving downward on your bounce on the rebounder), the valve is pushed open to allow the lymph to flow.

The main distinguishing point between the lymphatic system and the cardiovascular system is that the former has no heart - no pump. So how does the lymph fluid move through this system? There are three ways to move the lymph:

1. Muscular contraction from exercise and movement.
2. Gravitational pressure on the lymph vessels.
3. Internal massage of the lymph vessel valves.

When we move the muscular contraction squeezes the lymph vessels, moving the lymph along. Walking and almost all exercise has this effect. But rebound exercise stimulates all three of the above, perhaps better than any other single exercise.

The most common health problem of our world is about cleansing congestion from the lymphatic system. It's called the common cold. Few people understand that a "cold" is a lymphatic cleansing reaction. Anything we can do to keep the lymph moving better helps prevent colds or assist in healing them. The worst thing you can do for a cold is what most people do - take decongestant drugs to "dry up" the lymphatic drainage . . . and thus thwart the lymphatic cleansing process!

ARTHRITIS EFFECTS

Foreign substances entering our joints provokes an immune system response by lymphocyte white blood cells to clean up the toxins involved. But what if those toxins aren't drained from the joint by the lymphatic system? What if they just get caught in the joint cavity? Then the synovial cavity lining surrounding the joint is damaged.

The joints actually do have a "drain plug" in the form of lymphatic vessels to eliminate the toxins. But for that lymph drainage to work, the lymph must be flowing. You need movement - exercise - and the best exercise for stimulating that lymph flow is rebounding.

Scott E. Miners, writing in the Fall 2001 issue of Well Being Journal shares some testimonials from arthritis sufferers who have benefited from rebound exercise. Yvonne Rivers said:

I have had both my ankles broken, and when they ache, I rebound to take the pain away!

James Heald adds:

Before using the rebounder I couldn't walk. I literally shuffled and stumbled my way along. Now, I can walk! My body feels lighter, my skin is now a rosy pink. Also, since more blood now gets to my brain, my memory is improving every day.

OSTEOPOROSIS

The space program discovered that astronauts, after a two week trip to the moon, lost 15% of their bone density, due to the lack of the stress of gravity on their bones. Any weight-bearing exercise helps prevent, or even reverse, osteoporosis. Rebounding is excellent for this condition, since in the downward motion your body gets twice the usual gravitational force.

CANCER

While no responsible person would claim rebound exercise alone as being helpful for cancer, there certainly are some interesting anecdotal observations. Linda Brooks, author of Rebounding to Better Health, reports clients who were healed of cancerous tumors by rebounding two to three minutes every hour, along with a high fruit and vegetable diet (which decreases the toxic load on the lymphatic system), pure water, enzymes and a positive attitude.

What would be the modality for rebounding being supportive to healing cancer? Brooks reports that simple "health bouncing" on the rebounder temporarily triples the white blood cell count, accentuating the removal of toxins from the body via the lymphatic system. However, within an hour the white blood cell count returns to normal, so it's necessary to bounce every hour to maintain this amazing effect.

BLADDER INCONTINENCE

Bouncing on a rebounder probably seems like the last thing you would want to do if you have bladder incontinence. But actually rebound exercise can strengthen sphincter muscles, resulting in improved bladder control within a couple of weeks, according to Brooks. Short periods of bouncing several times per day are recommended.

STRENGTH TRAINING & WEIGHT LOSS

Weight training is enhanced by rebound exercise. It increases fat metabolism, muscle definition, strength and endurance. The effect of forcing toxins out of the cells is also great for removing lactic acid - the substance that makes your muscles hurt after exercise.

When done with an appropriate whole food diet, rebounding is helpful for weight loss. You will burn more calories rebounding, yet with 87% less shock to the body. Linda Brooks notes that a 154 pound person will burn 1440 calories/hour running on a rebounder, whereas a regular runner would only burn 750. The flushing of the lymphatic system, though, may be even more important to weight loss, since so many people carry excess fluid weight there.

REBOUND EXERCISES

1. "Health Bounce" - Just simple bouncing, even with your feet not leaving the surface of the rebounder, greatly stimulates lymphatic flow. The elderly or infirm can do this holding optional hand rails or a chair back next to the rebounder. They can also bounce in a seated position initially to get the lymph moving.

2. Running in Place - Perhaps the most basic exercise. It helps to alternate running in place with other exercises, so as not to get bored.

3. Twisting - Twist left and right with the hips and legs going one direction and the arms and chest going the other.

4. Kick Step - Alternately kick the left and right feet out in front of you as you bounce.

5. Jumping Jacks - Just like you would do on the ground, only you're bouncing on the rebounder while doing them.

6. Cross Crawl Bounce - This is great for left-brain, right-brain coordination. On the bounce, with straight, extended arms like a marching soldier, you place your left foot forward and right arm forward and across to the left. Reverse on the next bounce. Stimulating this bilateral motion is very energizing to the body.

BUYING A REBOUNDER

Like most things you get what you pay for. Better constructed, longer lasting rebounders will cost $250. Cheap ones that won't last may sell for under $50. Let the buyer beware.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose illness nor prescribe treatment. Rather, this material is designed to be used in cooperation with your nutritionally-oriented health professional to deal with your personal health problems. Should you use this information on your own, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your constitutional right, but neither the author nor publisher assume responsibility.