Rebounder: Jumpsport, Bellicon, or.......

Nanbo

Nanbo

Cathlete
I am interested in purchasing a rebounder for my DH. He is dealing with a herniated disc in his neck and hasn't been able to run (his favorite mode of exercise) in over 2 months. Some of you may recall that he hiked the Appalachian Trail last summer in only 92 days? I think his heavy pack took a toll on him that finally reached the breaking point back in January :( . He is determined to conduct his own physical therapy and withgo drugs or surgery. So far, he seems to be getting better a little every day; however, the impact and jarring of running (and my awesome Cathe DVDs) have prevented him from getting the exercise he needs. I think rebounding could offer an alternative for him. I've also been reading about the benefits to the lymph system that rebounding brings and I like that too! I am looking for high quality, durability, and priced under $300. I know there are a lot of "bouncing" Cathletes out there...please give me some of that advice (and enabling) that we all do so well ;) ! I'm leaning toward a Jumpsport due to the price, and wondered if the Bellicon is worth the $$$.
 
I am so sorry for your husband...I followed the same route as his decision, so I emphasize heavily (and agree). I'm just about there (has taken me 6 months).

I have a 49 inch Bellicon (40 inches to jump on) and a Jumpsport 40 inch frame, but only 24 inches to jump on. The JumpSport was my first purchase, its the one that has the skirt not the pedals and I have the bungees set on the strongest underneath the frame. The jump on the Jumpsport is very nice, the mat has held up after quite a bit of use although the lettering is wearing off. The frame is solid, no movement. It has not corroded or changed over 5 years. I like that its small enough to take out on my deck and jump if I want to. Doesn't take up much room.

In comparison, I just bought a 49 inch Bellicon because I wanted more real estate to jump on. It has made a HUGE difference in being able to do virtually anything on it. That includes core work, stretching and chi-gung. Bellicon also has quite a few workouts on their b360 site, which they offer free for a year (at least they did for me) when I bought it. Plus there are tons and tons of YouTube workouts with the Bellicon, of course you could do that with the Jumpsport too.

The differences... Bellicon: I feel the mat is higher quality, no writing on it either. I can't put the right words together about how the bungees feel while jumping, but its pure love. The frame is also more to my liking and its incredibly stable. The minute I bounced on it, I was so happy I made this decision! There are so many variations on bungee and mat color, it was excruciating to choose. With your husband's injury, choosing the strength of the bungee is going to be trickier. I run on mine and was happier with the x-strong bungee set, yet I am a medium to strong. I was also slow running on it a few months into my own personal rehab. Bellicon offers an immediate replacement after 30 days if you choose two different sets and stick with one. Or you can buy two sets and interspace them, very easy to do.

Bellicon is expensive, but they just lowered their prices, at least when I bought mine, its come down, sort of a downer since it was only 3 weeks after I bought mine. I like that its made in Germany and assembled here in Chicago. They are very responsive on the phone also.

That said, my original Jumpsport is at the entrance of my gym and I jump on it before I enter and when I leave, and I still love it, though the bounce is softer, different.

Both rebounders are whisper quite. One more thing, the Bellicon can be used outside, its weather resistant.
 
DirtDiva said:
I am so sorry for your husband...I followed the same route as his decision, so I emphasize heavily (and agree). I'm just about there (has taken me 6 months).

I have a 49 inch Bellicon (40 inches to jump on) and a Jumpsport 40 inch frame, but only 24 inches to jump on. The JumpSport was my first purchase, its the one that has the skirt not the pedals and I have the bungees set on the strongest underneath the frame. The jump on the Jumpsport is very nice, the mat has held up after quite a bit of use although the lettering is wearing off. The frame is solid, no movement. It has not corroded or changed over 5 years. I like that its small enough to take out on my deck and jump if I want to. Doesn't take up much room.

In comparison, I just bought a 49 inch Bellicon because I wanted more real estate to jump on. It has made a HUGE difference in being able to do virtually anything on it. That includes core work, stretching and chi-gung. Bellicon also has quite a few workouts on their b360 site, which they offer free for a year (at least they did for me) when I bought it. Plus there are tons and tons of YouTube workouts with the Bellicon, of course you could do that with the Jumpsport too.

The differences... Bellicon: I feel the mat is higher quality, no writing on it either. I can't put the right words together about how the bungees feel while jumping, but its pure love. The frame is also more to my liking and its incredibly stable. The minute I bounced on it, I was so happy I made this decision! There are so many variations on bungee and mat color, it was excruciating to choose. With your husband's injury, choosing the strength of the bungee is going to be trickier. I run on mine and was happier with the x-strong bungee set, yet I am a medium to strong. I was also slow running on it a few months into my own personal rehab. Bellicon offers an immediate replacement after 30 days if you choose two different sets and stick with one. Or you can buy two sets and interspace them, very easy to do.

Bellicon is expensive, but they just lowered their prices, at least when I bought mine, its come down, sort of a downer since it was only 3 weeks after I bought mine. I like that its made in Germany and assembled here in Chicago. They are very responsive on the phone also.

That said, my original Jumpsport is at the entrance of my gym and I jump on it before I enter and when I leave, and I still love it, though the bounce is softer, different.

Both rebounders are whisper quite. One more thing, the Bellicon can be used outside, its weather resistant.
Click to expand...
THANK YOU, @DirtDiva for your wonderful review of these 2 rebounders! You have addressed all of my questions and given me a lot to think about. I will be using this rebounder too, so trying to "meld" our 2 requirements is a little tough...for now I'm more focused on DH's rehab than on my needs, but I know that ultimately I will be using it the most! I didn't know that Bellicon was made in Germany and assembled in Chicago...that gives it a HUGE leg up on the Jumpsport! I will be doing a bit more research but it seems like the Bellicon is the way to go! Thanks again for you input on this!
 
This was my dilemma. Truth is, I bought my man his own Bellicon, found an amazing deal on Craigslist, still paid $550 for it though, but it was brand new, I could tell by looking at the bungees. You may want to look there first. I weigh100 pounds (approximately) less then he does, and happily the craiglist's find was in his colors of orange, and had the Ultra bungee set. You can tell by the tiny twist color on the bungee. Website will show this too. Anyway, the Ultra was too stiff for me, although that's personal, because I know some women that are my weight (142-145 pounds) that use Ultra, or intersperse an Ultra and then a X-Strong bungee to make it even more unique. I settled for an x-strong bungee set, great bounce (high) especially with hand weights, can still run on it and do fast workouts following Cathe, and holy cow, when she says tuck jumps, give me 8 more, its joy! I mean any workout that has an impact section can easily be done on this. Bellicon is going to tell you to choose the bungee for the heavier person, you'll still be able to use it though. Good luck!
 
DirtDiva said:
I mean any workout that has an impact section can easily be done on this. Bellicon is going to tell you to choose the bungee for the heavier person, you'll still be able to use it though. Good luck!
Click to expand...

DirtDiva, can you give examples of the Cathe workouts that you do on your Bellicon? Like specific DVDs so I can get an idea of how I could incorporate a Bellicon or other jumper into my routine? You've all gotten me quite interested!

Also, do you feel like you're getting a similar heart rate effect and calorie burn as you would doing the workouts on the floor?
 
lisa_la_machina said:
DirtDiva, can you give examples of the Cathe workouts that you do on your Bellicon? Like specific DVDs so I can get an idea of how I could incorporate a Bellicon or other jumper into my routine? You've all gotten me quite interested!

Also, do you feel like you're getting a similar heart rate effect and calorie burn as you would doing the workouts on the floor?
Click to expand...

I have an accurate heart rate monitor, and I have performed several comparisons workouts to see where my heart rate tracks on my gym floor (professional impact floor) versus the Bellicon. Example, I compared the floor workout with Cathe's Hiit dvd, the Double Wave segment, and also X10 dvd. The Bellicon won with a higher heart rate, but perceived exertion was markedly lower. I feel zero impact on my knees, which I always save for riding. This is why I bought my first rebounder to get the hiit workout in without impact to my knees

How I use it with the workouts:

Today I did Lower Body on ICE with the blasts, as intended. I line my weights up on the gym floor, my Bellicon is always at the corner of my gym floor. When a blast comes up, I move to the Bellicon and replicate it as closely as possible. There is a learning curve on how to NOT bounce and keep it low or to stop the bounce, which is part of the beauty of the leg workout. All those stabilizers on the foot, ankle, tibialis (shin), knee are working hard. Not to mention how the core is working. Think about when she does the fast football runs around the step, or plyojacks, super easy! Tuck jumps....yaaa! You think you are cheating, but the heart rate monitor is proof I'm working harder. I do Insanity on the Rebounder, no dread factor. Of course you have to get off to do the burbees and floor work, but you figure these things out. Any workout can be done on the rebounder, but that is why I sized up to the 49 inch Bellicon. On the smaller Jumpsport, I was constantly jumping off because I was out of room and lose my balance. Size matters to me on this. I love using the rebounder for any of the Ripped with Hiit, ICE, X10, Cardio Core Circuit, Cathe Hiit Interval, any blast segments, I don't even think about it anymore. The original Boot Camp from Cathe, awesome on the rebounder.

You are getting other benefits from rebounding, lymph movement for one. The only way lymph moves is through exercise, and you must move it. NASA puts returning astronauts on a rebounder to rebuild bone and body connections, its great for your intestines (moves things along :)) and drives your heart rate up without damaging impact, and works your core without even trying. I do my chi-gung and floor core work on the rounder too. Okay...I will stop now!
 

Attachments

  • green bellicon.jpg
    green bellicon.jpg
    67.4 KB · Views: 8
DirtDiva said:
Haha...I wish that would happen. I want to give a shout out to momof10 who helped me a ton on picking my sweet neon green Bellicon. She has her own channel and tons of workouts on the Bellicon.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJpvpFeEaI0LVTvcwmMTBng
Click to expand...
@DirtDiva , I've been telling my DH about you and your "self" therapy and he wanted to know a bit more about your back injury: like where the problem was and if you had any limbs that were numb and also having searing pain through them? He is also concerned about how he seems to go 3 steps forward one day and two steps back the next...did this happen to you? He has been getting much better on his own without the interference of doctors and therapists and I think he felt vindicated with your experience! (If you want to PM me with this I understand :oops:)
 
Nanbo said:
@DirtDiva , I've been telling my DH about you and your "self" therapy and he wanted to know a bit more about your back injury: like where the problem was and if you had any limbs that were numb and also having searing pain through them? He is also concerned about how he seems to go 3 steps forward one day and two steps back the next...did this happen to you? He has been getting much better on his own without the interference of doctors and therapists and I think he felt vindicated with your experience! (If you want to PM me with this I understand :oops:)
Click to expand...

Ya, exactly! The pain was unbearable, ended my season in early October when I drove back 4-1/2 hours home, not even 10 minutes into the house with my gear on I couldn't move, I completely locked up and was on the floor. If it wasn't for a dear friend who was with me unloading (he heard me inside howling) and slapped my Compex Sport unit on I don't know what I would have done. I will email you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top