bouncing your way to a beautiful body

Health and fitness is very important for everyone, no matter your age or gender or sexuality. There are many different types of health: mental health, emotional health, physical health etc. While usually I focus on my mental and emotional health and usually that's what we centre on here at TWE, I want to instead talk about my physical health and my physical fitness.

Recently, I have not been happy with my body. There's no reason why I should be unhappy with it really. I'm not overweight, I'm a healthy weight for my height and I haven't got any abnormal body parts like a third nipple or a sixth finger on one hand. However, I've just been feeling really down about my body and my health. I feel like my thighs are too flabby and my stomach sticks out too much and I don't have abs or any upper body strength. So I decided to try and do something about this and that's when I discovered a fitness class called Bounce and Burn.

Bounce and Burn is a class which takes place on a little trampoline called a Rebound© where you do a variation of exercises designed to make you stronger, fitter and healthier overall. I had a friend who did a family Bounce and Burn class with her daughter and she invited me along to join her at the adult version. She did warn me that it was very intense and I should prepare to get sweaty.

When I first told people that I was starting to go to a fitness class, I was laughed at. I have unfortunately gained a reputation for being lazy and hating any movement at all and being hilariously unfit and never ever doing any form of exercise, not jogging or even going for a leisurely walk. People didn't believe that I was actually going to do it, or at least stick at it regularly. They thought that I might do it for a few weeks but then give it up as a bad job. But they didn't understand my unhappiness with my body and particularly my prominent tummy - they didn't see it but I did. This made me even more determined to give it my all and that's exactly what I'm doing.

All exercise has benefits, both physical and mental and more. These benefits include the following:

• Improved mood - exercise triggers the release of ‘feel good’ endorphins and can make the brain more sensitive to the release of serotonin. A lack of serotonin has been linked to feelings of depression.
  
• Reduced stress - these endorphins can regulate changes in the parts of the brain which regulate stress and anxiety, making feelings of stress decrease. In non medical terms, it can also be a way to clear your head or work out your frustration.
  
• Lowered risk of disease - by exercising, you are lowering your risk of colon cancer and diabetes by 50%; depression, dementia and injury via falls by 30% as well as things such as heart disease or a stroke.
  
• Increased strength of bones and muscles - exercise can encourage and stimulate the development of bones and muscles as well as the heart lungs and particular exercise such as weightlifting can help you build muscle.
  
• Decreased/maintained weight - not only can exercise help you lose weight by increasing your metabolic weight but it can help you maintain a healthy weight by combining aerobic exercise with resistance training.
  

There are so many more benefits of regular exercise that I haven't spoken about but any exercise at all is better than none. It doesn't have to be the typical going for a run or weightlifting either - it can be fun, like Bounce and Burn!

It is always better to go to a Bounce and Burn class in order to do it properly, unless you want to spend money and waste space by owning your own Rebound trampoline but some of the exercises you do at Bounce and Burn can be done at home without the trampoline. Try out some of the following if you can't get to a class:

• Sit ups - sit ups can help build your core strength which is how you get abs. To do a sit up, lie on the floor with your hands behind your head and your knees bent. Push up with your hands and at the same time engage your core to help force yourself up. Try not to lift your head, instead keep an equal distance between your chest and your chin
  

• Scissor kicks - scissor kicks also help you develop abs and they are brutal. For scissor kicks, you are laid on the floor again and you can  have your hands underneath your back to support you. To make it harder, put your hands by your side Lift your legs and spread them wide and then pull them back together, crossing one foot over the other. Then do the same again.
  

• Jumping jacks/star jumps - star jumps are pretty standard exercise and they're usually pretty easy and fun to do. You jump so that your legs are spread and your arms are spread and then you jump again to bring them back together. To make it more difficult and to make your body work harder, when you jump to bring your legs back together, bend your knees so you're crouching slightly and bring your arms to your chest. The way we do it at Bounce and Burn is two out, two in.
  

• Flutter kicks - flutter kicks are similar to scissor kicks only in the opposite direction. You need to lie on the floor again and raise your legs as high as you can but so that they stay straight. Then you need to slowly lower your legs as far down as they can go without bending them. You can do it one leg at a time or with both legs. Keep your arms by your side or put them underneath your lower back again. It all depends on your exercise level and core strength.
  

• Sprints with high knees - the final exercise we do at Bounce and Burn and potentially one of the most gruelling is sprinting. You have to sprint as quickly as you possibly can, pushing your body to its limits until your legs are screaming at you to stop. To make it even harder, try and also do high knees at the same time because sprinting with high knees is a lot harder than it seems. Use your arms and pump them to help your momentum. If you can't do high knees and sprints at the same time, do them separately.
  

Exercise is difficult. It isn't meant to be easy and no one ever said it was. It is designed to push your body to its limits and work it harder than it has ever been worked before. But no matter how hard it is or how much you want to give up, keep going because the benefits are endless and it is an amazing feeling to both see and feel the changes in your mind and body.

Bounce and Burn is an amazing class. I am enjoying it so much more than I ever thought I could. Yes, I get sweaty. Yes, it's so tiring. But does it make me feel accomplished and happy? Yes, it does. I 100% recommend Bounce and Burn if you have a class near you, but if not, just try and maintain some regular exercise one or twice a week. Find what works for you.

​Kenzie