How a bellicon trampoline works

When one looks at the simple swing movement on the highly elastic trampoline, it hardly seems possible that this triggers so many positive reactions in our body. The trampoline however really is like a highly effective medicine, and the active ingredient in it is the continuous gravitational change between the highest point and the braking phase.

When swinging on a mini-trampoline the following takes place in your body

As soon as „point zero“ has been crossed during the upswing, the body becomes weightless and the muscles relax – untill they are slowed down again when reaching the mat. Imagine a flight path: at some point on the way up you slow down and reach reversal point. As all functioning powers are suspended here, the cells are completely relaxed. Now it goes downwards: on the way down towards the mat the bodies‘ accelleration increases. At the moment of braking, the increasing powers of weight affect the body. All muscle cells tense automatically, so that the body is stabilized and doesn’t collapse. At the lower reverse point of the swing, maximum gravitation is reached. Depending on the intensity of the exercise, much more  gravitational force than normal effects your body and your muscles tense accordingly. This action is then repeated: relaxation of the whole cell structure during the upswing and renewed tension at brake point.

This continuous gravitational change causes enormous metabolic activity: although subjectively you don’t experience this movement as arduous, your whole body is exercising. Interestingly enough, hardly one cell can avoid this tense- and relaxation mechanism. It is quite easy for you to  check this yourself if,whilst swinging on the trampoline, you touch any muscle. Regardless of which muscle you choose, whether in the arm, stomach or neck, you will clearly feel it tensing and relaxing whilst swinging.

Difference between a concrete and an elasticized floor

In itself, this alternating gravitational force is nothing special: regardless of the type of floor, every time you jump up and then come down again, the process of muscle tension and relaxation takes place. This also occurs on a concrete floor. What makes the bellicon so special is its suspension. Due to its high elasticity, the up and down swing is lengthened. Whilst on a concrete floor you are slowed down immediately, deceleration on the flexible trampoline is extended, resulting in the musculature being exerted for longer. This decelerating training is called >>eccentric exercise<<. It equates to walking down a mountain (do you remember what makes your muscles ache most: walking up or down?), and is very effective.

So, whilst swinging or bouncing on the highly flexible mat, deceleration takes longer than on concrete. In our experience, there is no better suspension than that of the highly elasticized rope rings. Whilst exercising on a trampoline with steel springs, the deceleration path is clearly shorter, which prevents optimal muscle building from taking place. As a comparison: the coach of the national football team in Germany, Jogi Low, used highly elastic bands to train his team.

The best exercise results can only be achieved with the highly flexible rope ring suspension. The flexible rope rings are extremely resilient but at the same time very gentle and sparing on the back, intervertebral discs and joints.

Not only the muscles are exercised

This exercise also makes demands on other cell structures: cartilage and intervertebral discs are gently massaged by the tension and relaxation exercises, and supplied with nutrients. Demands are also gently made on organs like the pancreas, kidneys and the liver by the pressure and pull movements, thereby training them.

Without exaggeration it can therefore be said that your whole organism profits from the gentle up and down swing on a highly elasticized bellicon mini trampoline.

Many exercise products are combined in a bellicon

Training on a bellicon is versatile. It combines several ways of exercising on other machines:

Stepper

The up and down on the mat resembles gentle stair climbing – an exercise that several “step-boards” have adopted. The bellicon though is extremely gentle on the joints and intervertebral discs and offers more variety.

Cross – Trainer

Exercising on the bellicon activates all large muscle groups and thus enables a total cardio workout – comparable to a cross trainer which doesn’t however activate all muscle groups.

Running machine

You can jog on the bellicon – similar to on a running machine. Depending on the strength of the suspension you can either simulate a walk “on the beach” or “in the woods”. But if you do it on the bellicon far less strain is put on your joints than if you trained on a hard running machine.

Vibration plates

The vibration plates produced by several manufacturers induce muscle contractions in a similar way to a bellicon: through tension and relaxation. It is more fun though to swing on a bellicon and you experience that unique  feeling of weightlessness. The demands made on the muscles and the variation of exercises isn´t as onesided though as on a vibration plate. The main difference lies in the fact that, on a vibration plate, only one muscle group is trained at a time whilst on a bellicon all muscles are stimulated simultaneously

Balance board

The bellicon is like a large balance board: your feet and balance sensors are permanently exerted as they try to keep you stable. On a bellicon, the demands made on your equilibrium are higher though, which makes exercising more intensive. This is because of the highly elastic material of the mat, which prompts the whole body to stand and swing in a stabile way. Simultaneously, our circulation is improved and our muscular strength increased.