When your muscles exert force, your heart pumps faster to meet the increased energy requirements. Any physical activity can increase your heart rate, but jumping jacks are an effective way to get your heart going because they incorporate muscles in the upper and lower body. Also, they require no equipment, making them convenient for home workouts and stretching routines.
Function
To perform a jumping jack, stand with your arms at your sides. Jump slightly and stretch your legs outward so that, by the time you land, you're in a wide posture with your feet far apart. Simultaneously, clap your hands over your head. Jump again and return to the original, standing pose.
Number
The more jumping jacks you do, the more energy your muscles burn. As muscles use up their stored energy, they signal your body for more. Your heart beats faster to push more blood through the circulatory system to your muscles. If you perform heart-rate elevating exercises regularly, your cardiovascular system will grow stronger and more efficient. Eventually, your heart will be able to pump more blood with less effort, so your resting heart rate will decrease and your ability to perform many jumping jacks will increase.
Intensity
If you find it easy to perform many jumping jacks without breaking a sweat, raise the intensity level. Increase the rate of the jumping jacks to elevate your heart rate more, or add new movements to the exercise to increase the difficulty. For example, alternate twisting your upper body to one side, then the other. Jump higher to tax your muscles more.
Considerations
Many people use jumping jacks to prepare their bodies for an intense workout. For example, before intense sports training, athletes often do jumping jacks together. The exercise engages many muscle groups across the body, making it an effective way to stretch stiff limbs while elevating the heart rate. Before engaging in intense physical activity, get your heart rate going by performing gentle exercises and stretches, jumping jacks, jumping rope, pushups and running in place.
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