On The Rebound: - Enlightenment.Com

8. The Rise & Fall & Re-Rise of Rebound Exercise
Why, if rebound exercise is anywhere near as valuable and healthful as this book
suggests, is it so relatively obscure and unknown?
In the first place, saying that it is “relatively obscure and unknown” is a little unfair.
Gyms like Crunch feature rebound exercise, and JB Berns’s Urban Rebounding
program has proven very popular in some areas.
Still, the number of rebounders being sold today in the United States comes nowhere near
the millions of units sold in the early 1980s. And predictions like those made by the
National Institute of Reboundology – that “this form of exercising will easily surpass
jogging and running in popularity by 1990” and that “in the year 2000, most people in
industrialized Western countries will have taken a turn on a rebounding-type apparatus”
– have obviously not come true. (See Dr. Morton Walker, Jumping for Health, 1989, p.
5) So what is going on here? A good place to start is with a review of the history of
rebound exercise. We will then turn to a recent conversation I had with the seminal figure
in the history of rebound exercise.
A Brief History of Rebound Exercise
A detailed historical review of rebound exercise, the rebounder industry, and the pioneers
of rebounding is beyond the scope of the present volume. Fortunately, a good deal of this
work has already been done by others. In particular, the following synopsis of the history
of rebound exercise was prepared by K.J. Daly of the BounceWell.com website, an
excellent resource for rebounders and associated equipment. K.J., in turn, states that she
based their timeline on Al Carter’s 1988 book, New Miracles of Rebound Exercise, and
J.B. Berns’s 1999 work, Urban Rebounding.
This timeline has been edited for form and style, but is essentially the same as it appears
on the BounceWell.com website, and is presented to you here with Bob & K.J.’s
permission. A few items from their original timeline have been edited, eliminated, or
expanded upon.
1936 - The modern trampoline is created by Nissen Corporation in Grand Rapids
Iowa.
1938 - The first "small trampoline" is created by Ed Russell; no financial gains
materialize so he leaves his ideas and prototype with Victor Green.
1975 - The small trampoline is patented by Victor Green. By the end of the year
five American companies are manufacturing rebounders.
1977 - Albert E. Carter publishes a pamphlet entitled "Rebound to Better Health.”
Later in the year Carter publishes his first full-size book, The Miracles of
On the Rebound, draft 1.0, © 2004 Jordan Gruber, All Rights Reserved; Confidential, Please do not Reproduce - 22 -