More than two-thirds of adult Americans are classified as overweight or obese, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories through daily activity and purposeful exercise than you consume. Regular exercise can help you burn significantly more calories; jumping jacks can be incorporated into your program to help speed weight loss. Consult your doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen.
Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks are a total-body, cardiovascular form of exercise. Start by standing with your feet together and your arms to your sides. Jump out with your feet, so they are about twice your shoulder width. At the same time your feet are jumping apart, raise your arms out to the sides and overhead. Jump back together and bring your arms down for one complete jumping jack. Perform the movement repeatedly for a set number of repetitions or duration.
Intensity and Weight Loss
Intensity of exercise is a key component to weight loss. Exercise sessions should be moderate- to high-intensity to burn the maximum amount of calories during each workout. Jumping jacks fall into this moderate-to-high category even though they are considered a beginner-level activity because they are high-impact. They use multiple muscle groups and your own body weight to raise both your heart and respiration rates. The higher your heart rate, the more intense the exercise.
Incorporating Jumping Jacks
To produce significant weight loss, you should exercise at least five days per week for 30 to 60 minutes at each session. Performing jumping jacks for that length of time may not be feasible for you and can be very boring. Instead, incorporate jumping jacks into cardiovascular and resistance training sessions to increase intensity. You can walk or jog for five minutes and alternate with one to two minutes of jumping jacks for the recommended amount of time. During resistance training such as weightlifting, you can perform 30 jumping jacks between sets to increase calorie burn.
Considerations
Jumping jacks are a high-impact exercise and might not be appropriate for everyone. If you have joint problems or are severely obese, consider a lower-impact activity instead of jumping jacks. If you can perform them without pain, start slowly. Do only 10 to 20 jumping jacks or 20 to 30 seconds to start. As it gets easier, go for longer or add more repetitions so that it is challenging to finish. Make sure you are on a stable surface with good traction and that you are wearing athletic shoes while performing jumping jacks.
References
- "ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription"; American College of Sports Medicine; 2010
- Military.com; Want to Lose Weight?; Stew Smith
- WeightTraining.com: Jumping Jacks
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