If you like the idea of having a toned body then you must learn how to properly execute jumping jacks. It’s not really hard to pull off but you have to make sure that you’re doing them regularly and correctly. Consistency is key to achieve the results that you are aiming for and here’s a step-by-step guide to help you assess if you’re doing it right or wrong:
1. Stand with your feet together with your arms at your sides. (Optional - Look at yourself in a mirror to check your positioning and form.)
2. Jump and simultaneously raise your arms above your head.
3. Reverse the movement and go back to your first position. If you don’t want to experience any ankle sprain, keep in mind to jump and land on your feet together, but make sure that you don’t jump too wide because doing so will cause your knees to collapse inward. Remember this before you bring back your hands to the side.
4. Repeat not just once or twice but multiple times. Keep in mind to do it in a manner that you are comfortable with. Do it at your own pace and take it slow if you prefer it that way, but if you really want to gain more muscular and cardiovascular benefits, try your best to limit your pause time so that you could propel your calves and ankles quickly between jumps, and stabilize your legs in the process.
Now that you know that proper way to do it, let’s talk about its benefits.
Some workouts only target a specific region in the body but jumping jacks work like a compound workout so doing this will target and activate the primary muscles in your body. Having multiple areas of your body engaged is a good thing and will help you be flexible and feel more energized. Apart from this, here are other reasons why this bodyweight exercise should be on top of your list:
Toned muscles and weight loss
If you ever notice that your body is becoming loose and saggy then that’s a clear sign that you need to sweat your butt off and why you should add jumping jacks in your daily fitness routine. This bodyweight exercise serves as a cardiovascular workout for you and can help you shred those fats and make your body more toned by burning those extra calories. You can start with 3 sets & 10 reps and increase them by 10% each week.
Healthier heart
Who doesn’t want a healthy heart, right? Millions of people die from cardiac arrest and other heart-related diseases every single year due to living a sedentary lifestyle and to prevent the same thing from happening to you, you should start doing jumping jacks more often to feel that fast heart-pumping action and enable your lungs to work harder.
Better sense of balance and rhythm
Performing jumping jacks will help you become more coordinated and we all know that coordination is a very important part of every workout. Doing this bodyweight exercise will definitely help train you to use all your limbs together and provide you a better sense of rhythm and balance as you go along.
Stress-reliever
One of the reasons why we work out is to relieve stress and jumping jacks is no exception. You’ll feel more relaxed as you release those workout endorphins after every session of jumping jacks.
There you have it. These are just some of the reasons why this basic yet effective bodyweight exercise is something that you shouldn’t disregard. It’s a fantastic workout that can be done at any speed, reps or sets. Just make sure that you figure out first the intensity that works for your body type, age and fitness level so you can decipher if you need to do more or do less.
Have a productive and active quarantine time, fitfam!
References:
https://squatwolf.com/blog/jumping-jacks/
https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a27198598/jumping-jacks-exercise/
https://homegym-exercises.com/jumping_jacks.html
https://8fit.com/fitness/jumping-jacks-how-to-do-them-and-their-benefits/