Budding young athletes are often pointed towards trampolining in the off-season.

We all know that trampolining is great fun and the enjoyment of a high performance bounce provides hours of entertainment, but trampolines also make great cross-training tools.

The cross training benefits are numerous: Improved coordination, balance, core strength, rhythm, muscle control, timing and motor skills.

Obviously aerial skiers, divers, gymnast and snowboarders can fine tune their techniques and tricks safely and effectively on a trampoline. But all codes of football and just about every other sport can benefit through improved balance, core strength and learning how to fall.

Let’s not forget that trampolining is an Olympic sport and elite trampolinists have skills that cross over into many events (diving, gymnastics, snowboarding). There are many trampolinists who have swapped sports because the required skill set is so similar to what they have mastered on a trampoline.

For people who just like to bounce

Happily, even just regular, casual jumping can lead to a long list of health and physical benefits. A report by NASA in the Journal for Applied Physiology asserted that rebounding was the most efficient, effective form of exercise; 10 minutes of bouncing equals 33 minutes of running.

The general benefits of trampolining include:

• Lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease by strengthening the heart through increased pulse rate
• Strengthening the legs (improving the cardiovascular pumping function)
• Core strength and balance
• Bilateral motor skill development
• Provide a lower-impact cardio workout
• Burn calories; a 75 kilogram adult can burn 133 calories jumping on a trampoline for 30 minutes
• Reduce stress, anxiety and depression from endorphins