There are many Little Known Benefits of Trampoline
that can enhance your families health and this DVD can help you experience them safely.
Did you know trampoline has been used by visual therapists for years as a means to stimulate visual development? Dr. G.N. Gettman stated, “The trampoline contributes more to the organization of visual perception than any other known device.”
Do we Have a Youth Health Crisis in America Today?
According to the Center for Disease Control the percentage of children and adolescents with chronic illness has quadrupled since the 1960’s. The CDC also pointed out that one third of all American youths are overweight or obese. A Harvard study found that poor diet and physical inactivity were among the leading causes of premature death in the USA each year.
Increasing Safety and Enhancing Performance
The Little Known Benefits of Trampoline
As a youngster Steve had severe problems with motor control, focusing his eyes and dyslexia. Needless to say he had problems reading, learning and adapting socially. The first doctor he visited prescribed glasses but fortunately his parents did not stop there. His second doctor recommended that his parents invest in a trampoline because of the fact that many visual therapists have used rebound exercise for years as a means to stimulate visual development.
Dr. G.N. Gettman O.D., one of the top visual therapists in the country wrote an article entitled “The Use Of Trampoline In Developmental Visual Guidance.” In this article Dr. Gettman stated “The trampoline provides opportunities for the acquisition of basis movement control, which is essential to coordination. Clinical and research studies of rebound exercise indicate that the trampoline can provide experiences that influence a child’s academic success . . . The trampoline contributes more to the organization of visual perception then any other known device.”
Fortunately for Steve, his parents invested in the purchase of a trampoline. As a result within a few weeks his coordination and vision improved. His comprehension and academic skills increased and he eventually went to college on a gymnastic scholarship. Watching the precision control with which he executes soaring, graceful trampoline skills, one would never guess this talented man was once one of those children that seemed destined for a life of academic struggle and emotional pain that so many children with these difficulties experience. How can such a simple activity provide such dramatic results?
Dr. Jacob Liberman O.D. in his excellent book Take Off Your Glasses and See introduces a number of different exercises to be done on a trampoline that will enhance ones vision and learning ability. These activities helped him overcome some of the learning challenges and self-doubt that goes with them enabling him to take the learning process to a whole new level.
Train Your Brain
Dr. Carla Hannaford in her book Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head, does a wonderful job of describing how the brain and nervous system develop. She points out that physical movement is essential for the building of neurons in the brain and throughout the entire body. The degree of neurological development has a direct effect on a child’s ability to gather, synthesize and utilize sensory information coming from the environment. In other words, physical movement helps a child build the internal neurological mechanism critical to learning.
If this movement does not happen, especially at an early age, then neurological development is thwarted. The physical mechanism for gathering information through the senses and the transference of the thought impulse is incomplete. This leads to a host of problems from learning disorders to behavioral problems.
Development of the vestibular system, the mechanism in the inner ear that is responsible for spatial awareness, is likewise important. The vestibular system is the key to balance and motion and plays a very important role in our ability to be aware. This system plays a significant role in a child’s ability to understand and learn as well.
Excessive television at a young age can drastically impair the development of the vestibular system. The reason for this is that movement of the head is necessary for the development of the nerves that are a part of this system and that transfer information to other parts of the brain and body.
When a youngster is engrossed in a television program the head is usually locked in a set position and there is very little movement. This restricts stimulation that will enhance neurological growth and consequently the vestibular system is under-developed. This same problem can be a result of excessive video games. Children need physical play as a part of successful development.
By its very nature trampoline is one of the best activities for engaging the body in total movement. Rebound exercise will help develop balance, coordination and sensory acuity. The various individual and combination skills will safely put the body through a range of motion it couldn’t experience any other way. This movement will help stimulate the vestibular system and the other senses, as well as helping your child stay physically fit. Hopefully one day the use of recreational trampoline will be as wide spread as television. The result of this will be an enhancement of the developmental processes necessary to learning.
Did you Know that Trampoline / Rebound Exercise Strengthens every Cell in Your Body?
The non-somersaulting benefits of trampoline are one of the best-kept secrets in the world. Trampoline is not only fun but will enhance coordination, strength, flexibility, timing and balance. Rebounding will exercise and strengthen every muscle, organ, and cell in your body.
As a result of extensive research using small exercise trampolines, fitness expert Albert Carter and many others have concluded that rebound exercise is one of the most efficient and effective forms of exercise ever devised. We will briefly touch on some of the basic principles of rebounding.
A fundamental law of health and fitness is that in order to build strength, there must be opposition. When one lifts weights, does sit ups, push-ups or pull-ups they are working against the gravitational pull of the earth. Gravity is the basic common denominator of most forms of exercise. To build strength one needs to increase the opposition. To do this while lifting weights one adds weight or increases the repetitions.
There are two forces that have the same effect upon the physical body as gravity: acceleration and deceleration. When taking off in a jet you feel the force of acceleration push you back in your seat. When the jet lands and reverses the thrustors you feel the force of deceleration pull you forward. The gravitational pull of the earth, acceleration and deceleration are measured in terms of “G” force.
Trampoline or rebound exercise takes the forces of acceleration and deceleration and puts them in a vertical line. This arrangement will increase the effect of gravity on every cell in the body. When jumping on a trampoline one experiences deceleration as he contacts the mat and compresses into it. Depending on how high one is jumping the G force at this point will be 2 to 5 times the person’s weight. A 100-pound youngster will weigh between 200 and 300 pounds at the bottom of the bounce.
This positively stresses every cell in the body causing it to strengthen without the jarring damage that exercising on a hard surface can cause.
At the point where the trampoline rebounds, the body is subject to the force of acceleration as it is propelled upward. Much of the acceleration will be determined by the construction of the trampoline. A competitive trampoline provides a tremendous amount of power launching the performer 15 to 20 feet in the air. This is great for a trained athlete who knows how to direct the energy but certainly is not desirable for backyard recreation. A good backyard trampoline will give you all the benefits of acceleration at a level where anyone can learn how to handle the energy.
The increase in G force caused by deceleration and acceleration affects every cell in the body. Rebound exercise will apply positive tension every cell, which in turn strengthens every organ, muscle and bone. It is a wonderful cardiovascular exercise, which will strengthen the heart and lungs. The compression of tissue at the bottom of the bounce effectively stimulates the lymphatic system, which has the function of carrying away toxins and waste away from every cell in the body. This strengthens one’s immune system and raises the overall level of health.
