Do Mini-Trampolines Help You Lose Weight?

Jumping on a mini-trampoline can give your workout a literal boost as well as help you lose weight. Mini-trampolines are widely available at fitness centers, sporting goods retailers and general merchandise stores, and many models are inexpensive. Weight loss is just one of the many benefits from trampoline jumping, also known as rebounding.

Rebounding for an extended period increases your heart rate while it burns calories. Regular aerobic exercise can enhance your overall fitness level, improve your cardiovascular health and strengthen the muscles you use during the workout. Rebounding on a mini-trampoline can increase your metabolic rate, which means you continue to burn calories at a higher rate even after you're done jumping.

Rebounding's calorie burn can help you work toward your goal of losing weight. If you weigh 160 lbs., for example, jumping on a mini-trampoline can burn 7.2 calories per minute, according to Jump Start Trampolines, which translates to 432 calories per hour.

Jumping on a mini-trampoline provides a host of other physical and mental benefits. The repeated bouncing works on your balance, coordination and bilateral motor skills, which are skills that automatically kick into place as your body reacts to maintaining its balance and coordinating its moves during the jumping session. Because rebounding is a weight-bearing exercise, it strengthens your bones and muscles, especially with the repeated motion of landing forcefully on the trampoline pad. On the mental end of things, rebounding can help with self-confidence and a welcome break from a stagnant workout routine.

Weight loss from rebounding can only come if you burn off more calories than you consume. Since each pound is worth 3,500 calories, your body needs to burn off an additional 3,500 calories above beyond the calories it uses for daily functions to lose a pound. That means you'd have to jump for at least eight hours to burn off a pound of weight. Jumping on a mini-trampoline also comes with several safety precautions. The trampoline needs to be steady, stable and strong enough to support your weight and the force of your bounce. You will also need plenty of room for jumping, with a high ceiling and enough space around the trampoline to avoid hitting any windows or walls.