On The Rebound

I'm not talking about a lusty affair after coming off of a difficult break up. My marriage is perfectly intact and happy. Though since I've been happily married I do seem to have been embroiled in a lusty affair with food ... but I digress.

On the advice of our youngest's physio we bought a mini tramp. Not only is it fun for the kids to play around on, it's therapeutic, helping improve coordination and strength. I thought it might also be good for me to sneak in a little exercise here and there. I could bounce, bounce, bounce off a few calories while having a laugh. The trampoline even came with a workout DVD. Perfect.

So, I put on my gear and rolled out the tramp. I threw in the video. Like all other exercise productions on came the "instructor." And like all other work out productions she had a perfectly cut body and an annoyingly perky voice. She led me through a highly inadequate warm up and then climbed up on the tramp. Ah, the fun part. Perky Perfect started to jump, her pony tail flipping in a hypnotic rhythm with her bouncing. Then she said it. "Isn't rebounding fun!" Rebounding?! Ah, great. She had to ruin my happy jumpy time by giving it an official exercise name.

Suddenly the bouncing started to actually feel like exercise. Every muscle in my lower extremities ached with each jump. Then Perky Perfect piped up again "I bet you have a big smile on your face! Rebounding is soooo much fun!" Ah, actually honey, that was a grimace on my face because lactic acid is eating a hole through my calves, but thanks for noticing ...

I struggled my way through the rest of the work out. It was tough. No kid stuff. The next day I did it again. I was actually starting to enjoy it. Not Perky though. I became very bored with her very quickly. Fortunately there are only so many "moves" you can do on a mini tramp, so it wasn't too difficult to memorize Perky's routine.

Subsequently I have kicked little miss Perfect to the curb. But not my beloved mini tramp. I have managed to bounce for 30 minutes every day except one in the last week. I put my trampoline in front of the television, tune in to a favorite show and bounce away. The kids even join me and allow me to get my work out done. Hallelujah! Have I actually found an exercise routine that is kid-friendly and doesn't require me to negotiate with my husband for 30 minutes of his valuable time so I can burn some calories?! Perfect!