Does the Urban Rebounder Really Work?

The Urban Rebounder is a mini trampoline that you can use to perform any number of exercises on, instead of doing them on a hard surface. There are a lot of accompanying DVDs and workout programs that you can do on it, and there are a lot of benefits being touted here, but is this something that actually produces results?

Overview
Rebounders (small sized trampolines) have been around for decades now, but only in recent years has there been so many claims as to why they’re so good for the body. Some of the benefits are pretty clear and straightforward. It does provide a softer landing than the hard ground, and it does make things more fun to bounce around, giving you an energized feeling. But there are many more claims being made about them that aren’t as obvious, or clear from the first glance.

The Claim
The makers of the Urban Rebounder claim that this can help stave off fatigue by helping your thyroid gland out, which they say restores energy in the body. They also say that rebounding is good at strengthening the heart by increasing the “G-force”. They claim it nourishes the heart by reducing the resting heart rate.

They go on to say that using their rebounder regularly will improve circulation, and lowers blood pressure, especially during times of stress. They say it can help train the muscles, and lower your cholesterol levels.

All of this, they say, helps in fighting heart disease. It also increases the number of red blood cells in the body, and helps get more oxygen into the body and through to all of the body tissue. If you’re having respiratory problems they say that this can help increase your breathing by helping expand the chest and get the diaphragm moving.

They also state that your muscles will benefit from rebounding, and that this helps lymph fluids make their way through the body. Lymph fluid doesn’t get pumped on its own, the way blood gets pumped by the heart, so it’s important to get activity each day to keep the lymph fluids flowing.

Additional benefits they claim

are: an increase in the production of the body growth hormone, a stimulated metabolism, better digestion, improved endurance, a reduction in obesity, improved cell functioning, reduction in menstrual symptoms, improved coordination, increased muscle tone and strength, improved brain function, better sleep, and fighting premature aging.

The Hype
As you can see from the long list of claims, there may be a little bit of hype here. That is pretty much a laundry list of good things for the body, so it is hard for any one product to live up to all of that. A lot of the claims would also be hard to test and measure, so it’s more of a feeling that you’d have to try and quantify, which can be difficult to do.

The Cost
They have a new Elevated Urban Rebounder for $100 which comes with 3 workouts on one DVD. You can then decide if you want to add anything to it, like exercise bands, sand weights, or a support bar. It’s possible to find cheaper rebounders out there, but since you’re going to be trusting this to hold you up, it’s not the best item to bargain shop on. Also, this contains the workout DVD so you’ll have a lot of different exercises you can do on it.

The Commitment
Of course you’re going to have to put the time in on this to see the sort of results they’re talking about. The nice part is you don’t always have to pop in the DVD and do some exercise routine. You can just get on it and bounce around for a bit to get the juices flowing in your body and to feel good. It’s hard to stress out when you’re bouncing up and down on a rebounder.

Evaluation
The Urban Rebounder gets good reviews overall, with most people saying that it is a good workout, and well-made. Of course some people didn’t like it, and a common complaint is that it is hard on the breasts from the bouncing around. A proper sports bra would likely help in that area. Other than that most people are very happy with the construction, and the good feelings they have while on it.

Final Urban Rebounder Review

The Urban Rebounder is getting our Thumbs Up review. Rebounders in general

are thought to bring some well-being into your life, and can be used just to feel good rather than be a weight loss or fitness tool. If you don’t have one already, it’s a nice piece of equipment for your home gym. It doesn’t take up too much space, stores easily, and is a self-contained exercise machine. Since it comes with it’s own DVDs you’re ready to rock as soon as it arrives.

Our Recommendation
If you’ve been contemplating getting a rebounder because you heard of the health benefits, this might be a good one to go with. This is because you’re not only getting a rebounder but you’re getting the instructional DVD so you know how to do some exercises on it. If you end up buying an ordinary rebounder you won’t know how to use it, and will be stuck for ideas on what you can do with it, forced to simply bounce up and down which can get boring very quickly.

Read user reviews on the Urban Rebounder

What do you think? Does the Urban Rebounder work or not?