What are mini trampolines good for?
They have so much to offer, no wonder they’ve become so popular again.
As a general rule, a mini trampoline can be used regularly for fitness or just for fun. It can be used both indoors and in a garden or yard, and is very popular with physiotherapists for rehabilitation purposes. Warming up is essential, and is just as fun as the real thing.
It’s great for children to release excess energy, and for adults to de-stress. It is also a very useful tool to prepare for sports competitions.
Below we have listed all the possible benefits of jumping on a mini trampoline for adults, so read on to learn more.
Table of Contents
What are mini trampolines good for?
Mini trampolines are good to have fun
The mini trampoline is a fun activity. By making small jumps on a trampoline, we are propelled into the air higher and higher. It gives us a feeling of lightness that cannot be found anywhere else.
So you can do mini trampoline just for fun. Children do this while also developing their muscular coordination without realizing it.
The mini trampoline will liven up the afternoons when your child has invited his friends to come and play at home or in the garden. It will probably remind them of the inflatable children’s play areas on the beach that they had fun jumping on this summer.
The trampoline is ideal for letting off steam. If your child is hyperactive, constantly flailing around the house, or just has energy to spare, buying a trampoline may be the best thing you do in a long time.
Instead of having your child jump on the bed or couch in the living room, your child will be able to bounce on the trampoline in complete safety (the purchase of a safety net will be a good addition).
After several minutes of jumping on the mini trampoline, your child will have burnt all that excess energy.
Trampolining is a more strenuous activity than it seems.
Trampolining can also be a way for adults to de-stress or simply to take their minds off things.
You can exercise on a mini trampoline
The mini trampoline fitness is very interesting for intense sports activity.
If you are physically active, you probably want to improve your game. The mini trampoline fitness can help you progress!
By practicing regular mini trampoline sessions, in the form of a fitness program, you will develop your physical abilities, especially your sense of balance, muscular coordination, and cardio.
The practice of mini trampoline fitness is also an excellent complement to the physical preparation for sports competitions. No wonder it’s so popular with physiotherapists.
Related post: Can you get fit on a mini trampoline? Everything you need to know
Rebounding on a mini trampoline
Rebounding is an activity that consists of performing controlled jumps on a mini trampoline (born in the United States in the early 2000s).
With rebounding, there is no question of performing acrobatic tricks or trying to jump very high (besides, the spring setting does not allow it).
Here, we focus on the push with the leg on the mini trampoline fitness mat and not on the jump itself.
The objective of rebounding is to perfectly control your movements while adjusting your posture.
Precise balance and coordination are required. The legs should remain flexible and bent throughout the exercise. The buttocks, abdominal muscles, and perineum will be contracted in isometry.
It is essential to have a steady breathing rhythm to avoid getting out of breath too quickly.
Hopping, raising an arm, left, right, raising a knee, etc. The rebounding movements are not very complicated, especially since everything takes place a few inches from the ground.
The possibility of adding dumbbells, elastics, or other gym balls will increase the difficulty of the rebounding session.
This session will have made us spend about 400 calories during a 30 minutes session.
Rebounding can be practiced in group classes, in personalized classes, or simply at home with the help of a YouTube video (it will just cost you the price of a mini trampoline and a support bar).
The bounce board on a mini trampoline
The bounce board is an accessory that allows you to perform freestyle tricks on a mini fitness trampoline. Teenagers really enjoy the bounce board.
This accessory looks like a skateboard that you attach to your feet and is very fashionable. It allows you to perform incredible tricks.
By practicing the bounce board, you will simulate the sensations of skiing, snowboarding, or wakeboarding. There is no need to wait for the snow to fall or the wind to blow to surf!
Schools can use mini trampolines
The mini trampoline can be used in physical education and sports classes at school.
Unfortunately, the mini trampoline is not used enough in school gym classes even though it is a versatile apparatus. It often stays in the school’s equipment room.
The reason for this is undoubtedly the fear of teachers that there will be an accident during class.
However, using the mini trampoline in school sports classes should not be a problem with a qualified staff, adapted preparation, and a strict methodology.
Students would really enjoy a gym trampoline session especially after sitting long hours listening to their teachers.
Maybe you had the chance to do mini trampoline during your schooling? It must have left you with unforgettable memories. Those backflips done in front of your friends, perhaps sometimes showing off…
The mini trampoline allows you to gymnastic movements in the air (flips, somersaults, etc.), which usually are performed on the ground.
Trampoline gymnastics at school helps develop children and young adolescents’ physical and psychomotor skills.
A mini trampoline gym session improves agility and balance for everyone, young and old. There is no age limit to doing mini trampoline gym!
Mini trampolines are good for rehabilitation following an injury
It is not for nothing that mini trampolines can be found in physiotherapists’ offices.
The mini trampoline is regularly used in rehabilitation. Take a cue from physical therapists and bring a mini trampoline home to continue your rehabilitation at your own pace.
Be careful, for a safe rehabilitation session, you should choose a mini trampoline with a support bar.
Rehabilitation exercises with a mini trampoline
To regain stability in your ankles and knees, do gentle exercises.
A good exercise for rehabilitating ankle and knee joints is to jump on one leg and stop jumping at a certain point while standing on that same leg without moving.
There are different exercises based on the same principle. For example, you can do a half-turn on the last jump.
The practice of mini trampoline is ideal for people, sportsmen or not, who have osteoarthritis or/and encounter recurrent worries of tendinitis or others.
For example, suppose a cruciate ligament is ruptured. In that case, it is possible to rehabilitate the knee with the help of a mini trampoline.
The mini trampoline allows you to work the muscles in depth and is also used during proprioception exercises.
Remember to warm up before a mini trampoline session
Before you start an intensive training session on a mini trampoline, you should take care to warm up.
While it is true that mini trampolining does not put much strain on your joints because the impact of the shock is absorbed, your muscles, tendons, and ligaments will be put under a lot of strain.
A warm-up is therefore necessary! This is to warm up your joints by evenly distributing the synovial fluid, which acts as a lubricant within the joints.
The warm-up also allows you to warm up all your tendons and ligaments so that they are not overstressed when cold.
Do some stretching, then stand on the mini trampoline and slowly start running in place (preferably barefoot to avoid spraining an ankle).
Then, take a few short hops on two feet while moving with your arms and shoulders.
Try to get your bearings by jumping from one mini trampoline to the next while holding onto your partner. The warm-up will last approximately 6 minutes.
What are mini trampolines good for? Conclusion
This article highlights the fun you can have on a mini trampoline, while at the same time using it as a tool for rehab, for sports’ prep or simply to let off steam.
For kids it can be an adventure, and for the adults, a return to carefree days spent running and playing with remarkable health benefits as discussed in our other article Benefits of mini trampoline exercise: Reasons to start rebounding