You can’t spot reduce the stomach area with exercises. Instead, cardio exercises help burn fat all over your body, including your belly. Certain exercises also help build and tone muscles. Vigorous types of cardio activity, such as jumping jacks, help you burn overall fat quicker because of their high intensity and the large number of calories that are burned.
Calorie Deficit
If you want to lose belly fat with jumping jacks, it’s important to create a calorie deficit. A calorie deficit occurs when your body takes in fewer calories than it needs. As a result, your body is forced to tap into stored fat, causing weight loss. For every 1 lb. of body fat you want to lose, you need to shed about 500 calories daily. Increase body fat loss even more by burning 1000 calories daily; this results in a 2-lb. weekly weight loss.
Jumping Jacks and Calories
You might wonder how many calories are burned with jumping jacks. The answer depends on your bodyweight. Generally, the more you weigh, the more calories you burn. For example, a 160-lb. person burns about 588 calories an hour, reports “Fitness” magazine. If you weigh 200 lbs., calorie-burning increases to 735 calories an hour. A person who weighs 240 lbs. burns about 882 calories an hour with jumping jacks. This means as you lose weight, you’ll need to work harder to burn calories.
Circuit Training
Increase calorie burning even further with a circuit-training approach. Circuit training burns about 30 percent more calories, reports “Fitness” magazine. Start out with a tummy-toning exercise, like abdominal crunches. After completing this exercise, alternate to jumping jacks for a few minutes. Rotate between a new core toning exercise and jumping jacks for at least 30 minutes.
Toning Exercises
If you decide to use a circuit-training approach, you might wonder which types of exercises to alternate with jumping jacks. Tone your lower abdominal muscles with the abdominal hold. Start out sitting on the edge of a firm chair. Slowly lift your feet about 2 to 4 inches off the floor and hold for a few seconds. Release and continue to repeat this exercise for a minute.
Another exercise to alternate with jumping jacks is the squat with twist. This will tone the sides of your abdominal muscles. Start in a standing position, feet about shoulder-width apart. Lower into a squat position with both arms extended to shoulder height. At the bottom of the squat, rotate the upper body to the right. Return to standing. Repeat the exercise eight to 12 times on each side of your body.
Member Comments