Out...of...breath...

Rebounding is supposed to be a great exercise for breast cancer survivors, especially since it helps stimulate the lymphatic system. That's one reason I bought my rebounder in the first place...I suffer from Lymphedema. Lymphedema occurs when the normal lymphatic flow is disrupted and lymphatic fluid accumulates in the body. It's uncomfortable and, at times, can be quite painful. So, to help my body reabsorb the lymphatic fluid that collects in my upper arms, I jump. My rebounder is not only fun, it's a medical necessity. 

If you've never jumped on a rebounder, it's quite an experience, even my youngest granddaughter, Heather, loves it! Let me tell you about it. My rebounder is not the typical rebounder. Mine has bungee cords holding the rebounding trampoline on to the frame. Most rebounders have metal springs. I chose the kind with the bungee cords because it was quieter and provided a safer jump experience. Maintenance is low and the bungee cords don't have to be replaced but every 3 years. 

In preparation for rebounding, comfortable clothes is a must. You're going to be jumping and bouncing and you don't want to be wearing anything restrictive. I usually wear a tshirt and sweats. You can jump barefoot, in sock feet, or in tennis shoes. I usually jump barefoot or in tennis shoes. I've found that socks are too slippery and slippery socks and an uncoordinated jumper don't make for a good mix! Shoes help people with weak ankles and provide more stability. When you've decided how you want to jump (barefoot, socks, or with shoes) it's time to climb up onto the trampoline. The rebounder is only about 14 inches off the ground but even that height can prove you unstable if you don't have good balance. 

The best way to get going is just to start gently bouncing so you can get the feel of things. I always try to stay right in the center of the trampoline because I'm afraid if I get too close to the edge, I'll get my feet tangled in the bungees and fall....I'm a klutz, just so you know (and I'm not kidding here). After you've bounced gently and slowly, you can start to increase your height and speed. I've found the higher I go, the less stable I am. You can twist from side to side as you jump up and down, you can do jumping jacks, you can alternate feet...there's a lot you can do. Just the up and down motion stimulates the lymphatic system and disburses the lymphatic fluid. (There are many rebounding routines out there on the internet if you need one.)

Since I tend to get a little wobbly and off balance, I've found that it helps me to use a stablizing bar. You can purchase one specifically for your rebounder but I've found I can scoot the rebounder close to my treadmill and hold onto one of the treadmill bars while I jump. Holding on to the bar affords me some much needed stability and gives me more confidence as I jump higher and higher. 

Today, as I was jumping, I started to form my own little jumping routine. First I marched in place to give my heart rate time to increase gradually. Next, I started to jump up and down gently and then began jumping from side to side. After doing that for a little bit, I started to twist side to side as I jumped. I was having fun! I decided to ramp it up a notch and started bouncing harder and faster. Within just a few minutes I had to stop! My heart was beating really fast and I could hardly breathe. I wondered why I was having trouble breathing...I hadn't ever had difficulty breathing when exercising before and then, I remembered. 

When I had my PET scan, to look for the spread of cancer in my body, the radiologist noted I'd had damage to my right anterior lobe of my lung from the radiation treatments. I guess that's why I was getting out of breath easily, so I slowed it down a bit and felt better. As I continued jumping, I had to laugh. Here I was jumping on my rebounder while holding onto the treadmill handrails. I got a mental image of myself being really energetic and doing a big jump from the rebounder right onto the treadmill and immediately beginning a rapid jog. Before my mind could return me from the treadmill back to the rebounder, I took a deep breath and hopped off. I'd better not push it. One and a half lung isn't the greatest for rebounding but it surely would be stressed to the max if I included jogging on the treadmill too. I'd hate to have had to call 911 and tried to explain what I was doing and how I'd gotten so out of breath. I don't think they would have believed me. 

Rebounding is a fun, low impact exercise and I highly recommend it. Just be careful and check with your doctor first. 

© bonnie annis all rights reserved

What a workout!

I was so excited as I pulled into the driveway and saw the huge box against my front door. My rebounder finally came. I could barely wait to get out of the car and open the front door! It is August, not December, but it felt like Christmas to me.

With a good amount of effort, I drug the box inside the house. It was more cumbersome than heavy. As I unboxed the rebounder, I was amazed at how quickly it went together. All I had to do was screw on the 6 stabilizing legs and put on some end caps. Voila'! My rebounder was ready.

I flipped it over and stood looking at it for a few minutes. It looked really nice. I'd gotten to choose the color of the bungees and the top. I chose hot pink, very significant of my breast cancer journey, don't you think? As I looked over the rebounder, I wondered if it would hold my weight. It looked sturdy enough even though I wasn't a little kid anymore and I was significantly heavier than I had been way back then!

I slipped the instructional DVD into my computer and pressed play. Timidly, I stepped up onto the rebounder watching the bungee cords as they gave way just a bit. So far, so good. I marched in place and got used to the way it felt to be on the top of the rebounder. I'd never been on one before and this was very new to me. I was surprised at how I struggled to keep my balance. I'm sure it will get better with time. I wished I'd bought the stabilizing bars that were optional, but hindsight is 20/20. Maybe I'll order then later.

The lady on the exercise video began to move on her rebounder. She was so thin and energetic! (Naturally, why would they choose an overweight instructor?!) I watched and mirrored her actions. She started out slowly and then increased the intensity. As I was working out with her, I thought this was going to be a pretty easy way to exercise. First we were just marching in place and then we progressed to jumping jacks.

Getting up a little courage, I began to bounce along with her. This was supposed to be an exercise that would help my lymphatic system. I sure hoped it worked. It was starting to be fun! I bounced a little higher and a little higher copying her movements. The higher I got, the more out of control I felt. I needed to slow it down a little. I realized as I was beginning to slow myself down, the light fixture in my office was right over my head and if I'd kept on bouncing higher and higher, I would have probably knocked myself out on the light. I got a mental image of myself trying to explain to the doctor how I got a brass finial embedded in my head! Heavens!

I'd worked up a sweat and as I was wiping my forehead, the instructor finished up the workout session. I stood on the floor and watched her. I glanced from the computer screen to the written instructions I'd received and noticed a warning. The warning said to keep exercise sessions between 2 and 5 minutes a day for the first week. I'd already worked out about 15 minutes. It also said the day after you began rebounding, you'd notice sore muscles in areas that had not been worked for some time. That tells me that tomorrow, I'm going to feel the burn. I have a lot of muscles that haven't been worked out in a really long time.

I'm so glad I was the only one home today when I began rebounding. I bet I looked really funny. I had on a black and white striped exercise top, black leggings, and some fuzzy pink polkadot slipper socks on to keep me from falling. Can you imagine me bouncing up and down hair flying all over the place while stifling unbridled laughter?

After a few days, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. I'm excited to know it's low impact. My poor old knees are thankful too. Fifty seven years old and jumping on a mini  trampoline...who wouldn't thunk it?

©bonnie annis all rights reserved

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

Can you tell I'm excited? I can hardly wait! I ordered my Bellicon Rebounder yesterday and now, I'm just waiting for it's arrival so I can get started rebounding. Since reading about the benefits to the Lymphatic system, I've been looking forward to not only jumping around to help my body, but I'm thinking I'm going to have a lot of fun while doing it, too! I feel like a little kid!

I always wanted a trampoline when I was younger but we never had the money for such frivolities. Not many of my friends had trampolines either. They weren't really that popular in the late 50's and early 60's.

The first time I ever saw a real trampoline was at the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey circus. We watched the trapeze artists walk the high wire above a huge trampoline. It was a time of gasps and nail biting as they performed their aerial antics. We were so afraid they'd fall and sometimes they did, but the trampoline was the safety net. It always looked so fun when they'd fall to the trampoline and bounce up high in the air a few times before slowing to a stop and landing.

Today I received an email from the rebounding company. They included a short video explaining the benefits of rebounding. I'm including it here for you to see (in case any of you might want to purchase your own rebounder in the future). The benefits of rebounding on a Bellicon rebounder .

I did a lot of research before deciding to purchase the Bellicon rebounder. There are many rebounders out there and I wanted to make sure to get a sturdy, well built one. After studying about all the various choices, I narrowed my selection down to two rebounders. The first was a Needak rebounder. Needak® rebounders are well made and they've been manufactured since 1990. The only thing that concerned me about their rebounders was the noise. They are made with stainless steel springs, like most other rebounders. The Bellicon uses a patented bungee system that provides an almost silent rebound and I liked that a lot. Both companies offer folding legs or stationary legs. I chose the stationary legs for mine because I won't be needing to fold it up and store it away often, but for people who'd like to slide it under a bed, the folding legs would be optimal. Both springs and bungee cords will eventually wear out and need to be replaced. With the Bellicon, the replacement bungee cords only need to be replaced every 3-4 years and are easily replaced by the owner in the comfort of his/her home. Bellicon rebounders are made in Germany and assembled here in the USA. That made a big difference to me too! I didn't want to buy a product that was made in China with substandard materials.

To use the rebounder for maximum health benefits, I googled rebounding exercise videos. I was surprised to find how many exercises can be done on the rebounder. I was also amazed to see how many body parts work in conjuction during rebounding. I really liked the low impact aspect of rebounding and thought it would be a great addition to my cardiovascular workout.

Hopefully my new Bellicon rebounder will be here this week! Stay tuned and I'll let you know when it arrives and how my first jumping session goes. I can't help thinking I need to find the song, "Stop in the name of love," on Pandora. It only seems fitting for a Southern Bell to have that playing during the first rebounding session...Kathy Bates, in the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, did it and it was just perfect. I just can't get that image out of my mind as I think about rebounding!

©bonnie annis all rights reserved