Then again there is the rain and snow...

So what do you do when the death march puts you in danger of lightening strikes or frostbite? You rebound. What? Rebound. Go to your local sporting goods store and buy a sturdy mini trampoline. Mine is about 40 inches in diameter, but some are a little smaller. There is even a brand that folds for convenience. I just lean mine up against the wall when I'm not using it.

How do you use the rebounder? You walk at first. Get on the trampoline and walk. There is no need to bounce, and you can walk as fast or slow as you like. Don't be surprised if you find it feels completely different than walking on a solid surface. Your muscles get an even greater workout because each step goes farther down than the starting horizontal position. It is more like walking in sand. Eight minutes of medium speed rebounding burns the same amount of calories as two miles of walking on solid ground. And you might be surprised that after eight minutes on the rebounder you FEEL like you just walked two miles.

If you're worried that you're not steady enough to keep from falling while you're on the trampoline, there are brands that have a stability bar you can attach, and you can hold on while you are walking. As you become more comfortable with using the rebounder, you can begin to do more complex moves, such as bouncing and twisting. Music is great for rebounding, but it is also easy to watch TV while you're doing your rebounding. Don't be disappointed in yourself if you have to work your way up to eight minutes. But once you get used to eight minutes, you can increase it to 10 or 15. Twenty minutes of rebounding is the calorie-burning equivalent of a five-mile walk.

So what are you waiting for? M.E.