Will A Minute Of Jumping Jacks, Push-ups Or Sit-ups Raise My Heart Rate Most?

There are benefits to completing jumping jacks, push-ups and sit-ups, but for those interested in increasing their heart rate, completing a cardiovascular activity such as jumping jacks will be most effective. Cardiovascular activities involve completing submaximal movements of moderate intensity over a period of time and include exercises such as jogging, swimming and biking.

Heart Rate

When you're exercising, how fast your heart beats depends on the oxygen and nutrient demand of the activity. With each beat, your heart pumps out these necessary components to the tissues throughout your body that need them. According to Dr. Wayne L. Wescott's research for the YMCA analyzing the relationship between strength training and heart rate, the peak heart rate of those completing strength training activities to exhaustion was significantly lower than the rates recommended for aerobic training. Activities that require more oxygen and glucose for fuel will require your heart to beat faster than those of lower intensity.

Push-Ups and Sit-Ups

Push-ups and sit-ups are strength training activities that develop strength and tone your muscles. The intensity of each of the activities is directed towards specific muscle groups, such as the chest, shoulders and triceps when you're completing push-ups and your rectus abdominus when you're doing sit-ups. However, according to Dr. Wescott's research, completing strength training at a higher intensity causes the heart to beat significantly faster. This is because of the constriction of blood vessels and subsequent increase in blood pressure that occurs during strength training. Therefore, how quickly your heart beats during a minute of push-ups and sit-ups depends on your current strength levels and whether completing the repetitions for a minute is difficult for you.

Jumping Jacks

Doing jumping jacks is a cardiovascular activity, which requires submaximal movement throughout your entire body. It requires a constant stream of oxygen and glucose for fuel, and thus incorporates your heart and lungs. Therefore, your heart rate is likely to increase more when completing a minute of jumping jacks than when doing a minute of any strength training activity. However, a minute of jumping jacks may not provide much difficulty for the heart to handle for those in better cardiovascular shape and how much your heart rate increases depends on how quickly you complete the jumping jacks. Moving faster and jumping higher will cause your heart rate to increase further.

Conclusions

The activity that causes your heart rate to increase the most depends on your current cardiovascular shape and muscular strength. However, to acquire the health benefits that come from elevating your heart rate during exercise, you should focus on completing at least 30 minutes of a cardiovascular activity. Cardiovascular activities improve your heart's health by improving its abilities to pump blood efficiently and transport glucose. Doing jumping jacks for a minute will elevate your heart rate, but is not adequate for improving your heart health.