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.