Rebound Classes Ongoing for FCPS Staff

Rebound fitness classes continue through the end of August 2019 for employees of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) at 4:30 pm on Mondays in the Fitness Center of the Gatehouse Administrative Center. We plan to keep on jumping and bouncing through the end of 2019. (Plus, I am still looking for a place I can teach classes that would be open to the public. Got an idea? Suggest it.)

Staff from other FCPS schools and offices are welcome at the Gatehouse Fitness Center, as long as the start time works for you and I have enough rebound boots in the right sizes for whoever shows up.

I teach a jumping and bouncing and dancing class on rebound boots a little differently than most instructors in Northern Virginia. It's formatted similarly to a dance fitness class, because each song has moves that go with just that song, and we use 9-10 songs per class (depending on their length). Also, the class is structured to teach basic moves first, and move up through the options into more complicated choreography. You can join the class any week, as we always cover the basics in the warm-up, and all songs have options for easier or more challenging workouts.

Configure Your Rebound Boots to Fit Your Needs, Not Just Your Feet

People who have jumped with me in rebound classes know that I am really fussy about getting the right boots on each person, to maximize their chances of having a great time. Shoe size is definitely the starting point, but it's not enough. Using a predetermined weight as the dividing line between harder and softer boot parts is better, but definitely not enough. There are ways to configure your boots to suit your weight, your jumping style, your level of athleticism, and your body's existing conditions and replaced parts.

The benefits of exercising in rebound boots all depend on the person in the boots being able to compress them when she lands. If the boots won't compress enough, or sometimes at all, you are basically jumping around on curved three pound bricks. This may help train your balance, but does not decrease the impact on your joints. The good news about not compressing much is that you can keep up with faster music more easily, because you are not waiting for the longer time a deeper compression and rebound cycle takes for each step.

Conversely, if the boot is compressing too easily, or too far, you have more difficulty with music whose tempo is faster than your boots can rebound from each compression. It's possible to keep up, but it takes athletic skills, using your muscles to pull up as you land each step, so you are working against the compression (and limiting the height of each step and each rebound). Depending on why the boot is compressing too easily, or too far, you may be at greater risk of breaking parts on your boot after fewer hours of use.

The sweet spot, of course, is to custom configure your boots to the amount of compression with which you are most comfortable, at the tempo you usually jump, and to minimize risk of premature breakage for the boots. The picture shown here is three pairs of medium size rebound boots, configured for three different jumpers. They happen to be boots from Bounce by Dianna Rojas, but you can also custom configure boots from Kangoo Jumps or Aerower. The left has harder blades (curved pieces) and harder bands (looks like rubber bands in parallel). Someone carrying more weight (whether muscle or fat) or who jumps with more energy or enthusiasm, and has few or no joint issues to consider, would be most likely to use these. The pair on the right has the gentlest configuration, with softer blades and softer bands. Jumpers carrying less weight, jumping with less energy, or seeking to ease into rebounding in light of joint issues would be well-served by these.

The middle pair has the configuration I use, with softer blades and harder bands. The harder bands prevent the softer blades from compressing too far, but do allow a significant enough amount of compression to reduce the impact on my totally replaced right hip joint. The harder band also allows for a rather energetic rebound effect that gets me more time in the air when the music allows. The mismatch of soft/hard does mean I need to replace the bands slightly more often to prevent breakage of the blades. Note that the blades all match on each pair in the photo, so left and right, top and bottom, are all four the same on each pair; I never use or rent boots with unmatched top and bottom blades.

Coming back to shoe size for a moment, some feet will feel better in different brands of boots, just like we don't all wear the same brand of sneakers / trainers / athletic shoes. Both the thickness and shape of the liner and the feel of their rebound are considerations that may inform your choice of brand. If you have a chance, try on a couple different pairs of boots before you buy. Size charts are not perfect, and you may be a different size in different brands. For example, I wear a small in Kangoo Jumps boots, but a medium in Bounce by Dianna Rojas; my feet seem to shrink and swell too, so I try to bring both thick and thin socks most of the time. For teaching rebound classes, I have boots of both brands because neither feels best to everyone. I have not had a chance to try Aerower's boots yet, but that's on my "to do" list.

I welcome your comments, because I am always trying to learn more about how to make rebound boots work better for a wider variety of people. Let me know how you prefer to configure yours, and the pros and cons. Thanks!

Senior Fitness, Beginners, and Rebound Boots, Updated Version

In 2014, I took a self-study course in Senior Fitness for continuing education credits. These credits are required to renew my certification as a Group Fitness Instructor. Many courses were available, and I chose this one for several reasons. First, I'll be 61 years old next month, which pretty much makes me part of the demographic for "senior fitness." Second, seniors who want to become or remain fit are a growing segment of the fitness market and an astute business always recognizes a growing market. Third, it was available at a discount when I made a purchase I had to make anyway. (Since I wanted the course, this just determined the timing.)

The best reason was one I did not know until I started getting into the study materials. It turns out that many of the accommodations suggested in the course to help senior participants in a fitness class also happen to help most beginners. Those beginners are the reason I got my instructor license for rebound boot programs in the first place, to allow them to learn the basics at their own pace and not scare them away before they really started to feel the benefits of rebound exercise.

You are probably wondering what those accommodations are, right? With the caveat that not all beginners and not all "seniors" need these options, here are some that I try to incorporate when I choreograph each song and when I design the class to teach basic rebound boot skills.

• The warm-up and the next couple songs have a slightly slower tempo, because the point is to get people comfortable with the bouncing action of the boots, as well as the rhythm and balance of the simpler steps used in the first few songs.
• The warm-up has a very limited variety of steps, very basic, and the next few songs add only one or two movements per song.
• Transitions between different types of steps are spaced at longer intervals so that more time is spent on each step before we change to a new one, allowing more time for a feeling of mastery.
• There are few turns in my choreography. While these can be fun to perform, they also mean you can't see the instructor for at least part of the move, and it's easier to feel lost.
• Water breaks are scheduled after every three songs, for thirty seconds. If it seems appropriate when watching the participants during the break, that may be extended to a full minute. Seniors and beginners both may have more difficulty lowering their heart rate in 10-15 seconds, and the longer break takes the pressure off anyone struggling to keep up. Remember, this is a cardio workout with a three-pound weight on each foot, so what feels easy to some and moderate to others may feel like an uphill hike with a 30-pound backpack to a few.
• Explaining how to do the steps, or breaking them down into component parts, makes it easier to perform a variety of steps. (For those who are familiar, e.g., this means describing a "pendulum" as just a double step on the same foot with the other leg "out of the way" to the side.) Often I preview each new step between songs, then explain it again when it comes up in the choreography.

Do all these choices make for a slower-paced class? Yes. Is that right for everyone? No. That's the main thing I learned from the Senior Fitness course, that everyone comes to class from a different place along the fitness continuum, and what works for some will not work for all. The observant instructor offers options for easier and more challenging ways to do many of the movements, and the students must pay attention to their own bodies and move in ways that are right for them.

(This post is an updated version of a post I wrote in 2014, right after taking the Senior Fitness course.)

Classes through January 2019 for FCPS employees (updated)

Welcome to a new year! Rebound fitness classes started January 11 and will continue through the end of January 2019 for employees of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) at 4:30 pm on Thursdays in the Fitness Center of the Gatehouse Administrative Center. (Plus, I am still looking for a place I can teach classes that would be open to the public. Got an idea? Suggest it.)

Staff from other FCPS schools are welcome at the Gatehouse Fitness Center, as long as the start time works for you and I have enough rebound boots in the right sizes for whoever shows up.

I teach jumping and bouncing and dancing class on rebound boots a little differently than most people in Northern Virginia. It's formatted similarly to a dance fitness class, because each song has moves that go with just that song, and we use 9-10 songs per class (depending on their length). Also, the class is structured to teach basic moves first, and move up through the options into more complicated choreography. You can join the class any week, as we always cover the basics in the warm-up, and all songs have options for easier or more challenging workouts.

If you're not part of the solution...

Below is an article I wrote for Money, Marketing & More, published in May 1999. I found it again recently, and realized the more things change, the more they are the same. If anything, I would say it all more vehemently today. Back then, it seemed that violence and general disrespect were seeping into the fabric of our social existence; this week it seems more like the centerpiece on the family dinner table, boldly challenging whether we have a social contract anymore.

Becoming Part of the Solution

Most people reading this can remember the saying from the 1960s, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Not everyone can give up their "real" life and lead a revolution, but each of us can take small steps toward solving larger problems that plague our communities.

For some time, I've wanted to write an editorial on various forms of disrespect, and how disrespect is on the same continuum with violence. I detest unwanted, unsolicited fax advertising; someone disrespects my time and resources enough to think it's OK to use them for their purposes instead of my own. I rant about rude, unsafe drivers who don't realize other drivers are just trying to get somewhere too, and wonder how many of us being courteous on the highways it will take to balance the "road karma." Now, in the wake of the Littleton school massacre, just after my own daughter was assaulted with a rock on a walk this weekend in her own neighborhood in broad daylight, my concern has been galvanized into action.

If we do not want to live in a world where everyone is a fair target for everyone else, we must examine our own actions and see how they contribute to the problem. Further, we must try to see the implications of our actions and change what a project manager would call the "precursors," the things that precede and enable an action.

Three key areas I see for being part of the solution are avoidance, modeling, and communication. You can avoid being in the situations that you feel contribute to the problem. You can model the alternative behaviors and attitudes in your daily life. The easiest...and most difficult: you can communicate your views, in conversation with friends and neighbors, letters to the editor, public forums, and heartfelt talks with your children.

I'm a big proponent of doing things your own way, so the following list of potential actions is not the end-all and be-all. Use it as a starting point for your own dialogue with yourself. If you don't like the world you currently live in, envision what you want to be different, and take action on that vision.

• Don't watch violent movies, videos, or television shows, particularly where the violence is the only entertainment value. There is no positive social value in hacking babysitters to death.
• Ask friends, neighbors, and relatives why they find violence entertaining, and ask them to stop watching it.
• Don't spend your money to support corporations that profit from violence. We're talking small actions here, not organizing a boycott, although if organizing on that level is your vision, put me on your mailing list.
• Stop taunting and cruel teasing between children as young as possible, because both those who taunt and those who are taunted can become victims and perpetrators of violence, both verbal and physical.
• Watch your language. Violence has become such an invisible part of our culture that we don't even hear ourselves say things like "We didn't just win the game; we KILLED them!" Your children are listening.
• On a more proactive note, go out of your way to connect with strangers in non-dangerous situations. Talk to the person in line at the grocery store or deli, and exchange small talk with the cashier. They are someone's next door neighbor too. I believe that when you affirm someone's humanity with friendly conversation, the rest of their day goes better, and that ripples outward to more people.
• Leave five minutes early to drive anywhere, so you can graciously allow others to merge, and generally drive courteously to balance the road karma of those who don't. The accident you prevent may save your life.
• If a specific aspect of the disrespect/violence continuum bothers you significantly, find out more about it. Search for resources or organizations on the Internet, in the phonebook, or by telling everyone you know about your concern. Learn more about what is being done in that area, or could be done, and see how you can make a difference.
• Consider carefully how to maintain safety while not giving up the great outdoors, or the night-time, or whatever else you enjoy and would miss. Take a self-defense class, but don't get cocky.

Anthropologist Margaret Meade once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world: indeed it's the only thing that ever has!" Choose to be one of those people.

Wednesdays in the Park(ing Lot) with Boots

Wednesdays at 7:00 pm
May 10 • 17 • 24 • 31, 2017

If you live close enough to get here, come on outside and rebound with us in Franconia, Virginia, on Wednesday evenings in May 2017. Weather permitting (no rain and above 65 degrees), we will meet at 7:00 pm for a forty minute class plus cool-down and stretching.

On a clear night, we jump into the sunset and dance as the moon rises. And...May 10 is a full moon.


As the weather improves, we will have more rebounding boots to rent for those who want to join in the fun. For now, there are only three pairs:
• extra-small (women's 5-6)
• small (women's 7-8) and
• medium (women's 9-10).
If you need to rent boots, I need to know ahead of time so I bring the right sizes with me. If you have your own boots, the only reason to let me know ahead of time is so I can contact you if we have to cancel that night.


The cost is $5 if you have your own boots, and $10 if you need to rent boots. Beginners are always welcome, as every class starts with a warm-up and basic moves. Check Loraine Says Jump on Facebook for the most up-to-date information, or email me at LGoodenough@cox.net.

Back in the Instructor Boots in April 2017