No question about it, trampoline jumping has been very attractive to us humans since we started taking gymnastics lessons in school. The appealing attraction of gymnastics over a 100-year-old piece of sports equipment is unbroken. Originally only to be admired by artists, trampolines can now be found in gymnastics, school sports, recreational sports and physiotherapy centers; most prefer to maintain the safest trampoline. So what constitutes this stimulus and what effects do the air jumps really have on our body?
This article provides answers by discussing the physical benefits of jumping on a trampoline and also discussing aspects of healthy eating and how to achieve them with a Paleo diet.
Movement is in our genes
The old Leonardo da Vinci already stated: “All life is movement; movement is life”
Anyone who has jumped on a trampoline will only be able to confirm this sentence, because there is plenty of movement and you feel pretty much alive.
Movement is an undisputed basic need of humans. Movement not only enables us to move. Those who move discover the world. This principle has been in effect at least since the Stone Age. For a long time, exercise was also the basic requirement for satisfying other needs. Our ancestors had to move when they were hungry and when it came to finding a safe place to sleep.
Our ancestors from the Stone Age lived for about 84,000 generations as hunters and gatherers and moved many kilometers every day. However, since we settled down, around 350 generations have progressively changed the way we move around and since the industrial revolution 7 generations ago, movement has become even less.
Today movement has become an alternative. However, we are still very much dependent on sufficient physical activity in everyday life, at least if we want to stay healthy and lively. It is undisputed that exercise is essential for us humans, in addition to a healthy diet, adequate sleep and other things. The question remains how we can integrate these things into our free time …
Defying gravity – training on the trampoline
One thing is certain: A Stone Age person would have just as much fun and joy on a trampoline as you and me. So we awaken the hunter-gatherer in us and finally begin to move more and more versatile.
An experience that can only be experienced on the trampoline is the moment of weightlessness. Gravity is one of the fundamental physical quantities and a central content in all physics curricula. If you want to experience them, you just have to do a few jumps on the trampoline. You can only describe the feeling at that moment if you have experienced it yourself.
The gravity is the crucial element if one is looking for the effects of trampoline training. In general, overcoming gravity is a recurring moment in sports and training. In order for muscles to become stronger, for example, dealing with gravity is essential. Anyone who has moved a dumbbell once in their life knows what I’m talking about. It is also our muscles that defend us against this gravity. Without them we would collapse like a house of cards.
The higher the gravity, the higher the training effect.
Acceleration and braking also play a role. When jumping on a trampoline, your body weight quadruples. The higher we jump, the more our muscles have to fight this force. And the great thing is that we usually don’t even notice it. Only after some time and several artificial jumps later does a feeling of fatigue develop. That hundreds of calories have already been burned by this point is not only efficient but also deeply satisfying.
Enjoying exercise is the best motivator
Those who enjoy exercise tend to do it more often and for longer. At this point a look at the children. Most children have a strong urge to move around in the first few years of life. We are usually born to enjoy exercise. Curiosity, the urge to experience and courage are the ingredients that keep children romping around for hours. Playful forms of movement are just fun and make us forget the time. The nice thing is this natural play instinct remains with us into old age.
The trampoline awakens exactly these feelings in us. An entire trampoline park with many playful challenges such as basketball, dodgeball or the gladiator fight gets our blood pumping and puts a smile on the face of young and old. That there is certainly a bit of adrenaline involved is granted to us.
Versatile effects on the body
The effects are also very versatile. In addition to stressing the entire musculature of our body, jumping on a trampoline has advantages for every single cell in the body, thanks to the so-called “pump effect”. The pressure that arises when jumping creates a kind of counter pressure in our cells, which trains organs such as the heart and lungs. In addition, the metabolism is stimulated and even our bones become stronger through the joyful jumping.
Jumping on the trampoline for 10 minutes is as effective as 30 minutes of running.
An overview of the positive effects of jumping on a trampoline:
- When jumping on the trampoline, almost all body muscles are trained. This is ensured by gravity, as well as acceleration and braking. By performing jumps, figures and moves, the training effect is increased. The hip, back and leg muscles are particularly stressed.
- Trampoline jumping has a special training effect on the so-called holding muscles that hold our body against gravity. Jumping on a trampoline is a good way to actively prevent back problems. In addition, the pelvic floor muscles, which support our organs and are important for their function, are trained.
- The entire connective tissue is stimulated by the “pump effect” when jumping repeatedly. Not only can you tighten and actively rejuvenate your skin, you can also strengthen your bones and ligaments. The metabolism in bones and intervertebral discs is also improved. This means that our back remains stable and resilient in everyday life.
- Our cardiovascular system is clearly stimulated during persistent jumping. The heart in particular becomes more resilient, which enables it to deal better with stress and excitement. But the lungs and diaphragm also benefit from jumping. Soon the breath is significantly improved.
- By jumping we optimally train our sense of balance. Our inner balance is trained through the constant change of position. The room & location perception of our body is formed in this way, what we in everyday life useful. Especially people with deficits in this area (e.g. senior citizens, neurological patients and others) can become significantly safer in everyday life by jumping on the trampoline.
- An improved body control develops. The brain unconsciously learns to control the body better. In this way, we are much better protected against falls and injuries in everyday life.
- Light trampoline jumping also promotes joint health. Through the loading and unloading, synovial fluid is produced, which can help with symptoms such as osteoarthritis and stiff joints.
- Trampoline jumping has been shown to burn a lot of calories. Depending on how long you jump, you can burn between 500 and 1000 calories. So it is quite conducive to weight loss.
- The entire immune system gets going when jumping, because the pumping effect also reaches our lymph vessels. In this way, the lymphatic fluid circulates better, which contributes to an improved detoxification of the body.
- The mental health benefits from the trampoline. The released “happiness hormones” such as noradrenaline and dopamine stimulate us, lift our mood, improve relaxation and thus bring body and mind together.
Last but not least: health is a multifaceted phenomenon
Those who want to be healthy in our day and age should consider many areas of life. Getting enough sleep, little stress at work or a functioning partnership are just a few of the important areas that contribute to personal health. In addition to the right amount of exercise, of course, diet also plays a role.
A whole day in the trampoline park not only burns a lot of calories, but also uses up important nutrients that need to be replenished. It is not only important to refill the energy stores, but also to take up proteins for muscle regeneration. In addition, vital substances such as vitamins, minerals, trace elements and secondary plant substances play an important role when it comes to strengthening the body and becoming more vital.
So that the body is optimally supplied, the diet should be rich in protein, healthy carbohydrates and fats. It is also important to have an adequate intake of fruit and vegetables, as they contain many micronutrients. A diet that is as natural as possible is advisable here.
It should also be mentioned at this point that a healthy packed lunch can replace the curry with french-fries in the trampoline park. In this respect one can once again learn something from our ancestors. According to the circumstances, they ate very naturally and were neither overweight nor chronically ill.
No one is advised to run half-naked through the prairie to kill deer and pick berries. However, certain principles can also be transferred to our modern times. The approaches of the Paleo Diet or Paleo Diet are a good opportunity to take a healthy path in terms of nutrition.
So off to the next trampoline park and first jump, hop, fight and fly like a big one and then refill your energy with fresh and healthy delicacies. So the day in the trampoline hall becomes a real health cure.
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