Despite not being the go-to exercise for weight loss or fitness programs, jumping jacks present unexpected advantages to your physique. They not only aid in muscle toning but also offer a remarkable cardiovascular workout.
Jumping jacks use your own body weight to work out your entire body and you can do them anywhere, making them really easy to fit into any kind of daily routine. They will boost your heart rate and they are also good for burning calories.
How many calories you will burn does depend on a number of factors. The heavier you are the more effort it takes to jump and the more calories you will burn. Someone weighing around 120lbs could burn 8 calories every 60 seconds, while someone weighing 250lbs could burn twice that.
If you are aiming to use jumping jacks to burn calories then you need to increase the intensity of your workout, which you can do in two ways. You can either increase the number of jumping jacks you are doing, so you jump for longer, or you can increase the pace and jump faster.
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There are a number of other factors which play a role in how many calories you will be able to burn to do jumping jacks including your weight, your height, whether you are male or female, and your age.
So how many calories you will burn when doing 100 jumping jacks will vary from person to person, depending on how long it takes you, and all of the other factors which have been outlined here. However, they are a useful addition to weight loss.
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So for someone who weighs 150lbs, if you did around 5 minutes of high-intensity jumping jacks you could expect to burn around 50 calories. So if you were aiming to lose weight and wanted to burn through 500 calories, you would need to increase the intensity considerably.
As a way to keep the weight off and keep yourself fit, jumping jacks are great, but if you have extra pounds to lose then you would need to do a lot of them. Instead, you could try adding them to your fitness routine.
Maybe do jumping jacks as your cardio workout in between doing some strength training reps, so that you are spacing them out throughout your workout.
Or you would space them out throughout the day rather than trying to do too many in one go. Try doing several sets of jumping jacks across the whole day, maybe for five minutes each time, or if you already do a cardio circuit, include them in that.
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Jumping jacks aren’t just good for calorie burning, you can also use them to help build up your overall cardio fitness levels and your endurance. They are also really good for building up and working out all the muscles in your lower body, as well as benefiting your core and your back muscles.
If you have been doing jumping jacks for a while and want to make things a bit more challenging you can try; using a resistance band either at your ankles or your knees or adding in other things, like a burpee, between the jacks.
If you are just starting out and are a bit nervous about trying jumping jacks then do the movement more slowly and step rather than jump. This will help to stretch your tendons and leg muscles while you get used to doing the movements.
Although jumping jacks are safe for every fitness level if you suffer from certain health conditions they might not be the best thing for you and you should ask your doctor for advice before you undertake them.
If you have suffered from any injuries to your lower body or you have pain in your legs, ankles, or knees then it’s not wise to undertake jumping jacks without first seeking advice. If you do start them and experience any pain, then stop and seek advice.
Exercise is good for you but not if it causes you pain and exacerbates any health conditions or injuries that you already have so be sure to be careful and go with what your body is telling you. Jumping can put pressure on your joints when you are not used to it.
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Conclusion
Everyone who does 100 jumping jacks will burn a different number of calories as it depends on how fast you do them. The rate of calories burned also depends on your metabolism and your weight as well, so it will vary.
However, jumping jacks are simple and easy to do and give you a great muscle workout and a cardio challenge as well so fitting them into your routine will certainly make a difference to your overall health.
