Jumping Jacks Exercises to Keep Your Body Fit and Healthy

Dr. Sudhansu Singh is a Physiotherapist, Sports and Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist, and Neuro Physiotherapist with 8 years of experience. He is a member of the Federation of Indian Manual Therapists (FIMT) and an active member of the Delhi... more

Jumping jack is an aerobic cardio exercise, meaning, you use oxygen to meet the energy demands and stimulate the heart muscles (1). The heart has to work extra hard to pump enough oxygenated blood and also bring back the carbon dioxide- loaded blood from the cells. This, in turn, helps exercise the heart muscles and other organs like the lungs. Hence, this steady and slow exercise keeps your heart healthy by providing a good workout to it.

This cardio exercise is also known to aid weight loss (2). It helps to burn the excess calories, thereby creating a negative energy balance in the body. This means that you have expended more energy than the number of calories you have consumed. And this is the main mantra of weight loss. Do 3 sets of 50 reps, and you will feel your heart pumping, and surprisingly, you will love to sweat it off.

Jumping jacks are all about coordinating your limb movements with the jumps (3). This, in turn, helps improve coordination between your limbs and brain. You will develop a better sense of timing, rhythm, balance, and posture.

Doing jumping jacks can help relieve stress (4). How? Well, when you jump and move your hands up and down, your brain stimulates the release of serotonin or the “feel good” hormone. The release of adrenalin also gives you a rush of excitement. These hormones, together, are responsible for making you feel happy and lowering your stress levels.

You should always warm up before starting your actual workout routine. Apart from stretching, doing jumping jacks will help relax the muscles in your limbs, core, hips, back, and face. After completing a set of 30 reps, you will be ready for your next warm-up exercise.

You jump, spread your legs apart, take your hands above your head, and then land softly on the floor, bringing back your legs together and hands to your side. So, you are basically working the whole body out – biceps, triceps, glutes, adductors, hamstrings, calves, quads, chest muscles, core, lats, etc. Hence, this is a great whole body workout. To make it intense, increase the speed, reps, and sets.

Yes, jumping jacks also help improve your flexibility (5). If you don’t lead an active life and sit for a long time during the day, there’s little chance that you are as flexible as you were when you were a kid. In fact, if you are starting to work out again, you may find it difficult to even do 20 jumping jacks at one go. That’s OK. You can start with low-intensity jumping jacks and fewer reps and then advance to more reps and high-speed jumping jacks. As you progress, you will find it easier to do this exercise with more ease and proper positioning of your hands and legs.

Losing the tone of your muscles can make your body look sagged and malnourished. Doing jumping jacks on a regular basis can help shed the fat. Doing a high- intensity version of jumping jacks can also help improve muscle tone, thereby shaping your thighs, buttocks, calves, shoulders, and arms (6).

Jumping up and landing softly with perfect timing and poise will improve your balance and stability. Moreover, if you do more reps per set and increase the number of sets you do, you will be able to improve your stamina (7).

Exercising regularly has many health benefits, and that includes being strong physically and mentally. This exercise improves bone mineral density, and you will start to feel better, healthier, and stronger (8). You will definitely see a change in how your body reacts to pathogens and stress.

The best part about jumping jacks is that you can include many variations and prevent getting bored of doing the same exercise. Here are a few variations to the traditional jumping jacks exercises.

Doing just jumping jacks will not help you shed belly fat. Belly fat is stubborn. You must include high knees, crunches, side jackknives, bicycle crunches, and running in your routine to lose belly fat.

How many calories do you burn while doing jumping jacks?

Depending on your current weight, the intensity of the exercise, and time, you can burn anywhere between 100-200 calories by doing jumping jacks.

Are jumping jacks safe during pregnancy?

No, it is not safe to do jumping jacks during pregnancy.

How many jumping jacks do you have to do daily to lose weight?

You must to 5 sets of 50 jumping jacks to lose weight. In addition, you have to take care of what you eat. Avoid junk food and consume lots of green veggies, lean protein, healthy fats, and dietary fiber.

Are jumping jacks bad for the legs?

Jumping jacks are low-intensity exercises that do not put too much pressure on the knees. Make sure you do not do this exercise if your knees are injured. Wear shock absorbing shoes and keep your knees slightly bent when you land on the floor.

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