Why jumping jacks are good for you

We know and understand how challenging it is to determine which types of exercises should be included in a fitness routine. While there are numerous techniques to optimize your strength and increase your fitness level, many are overwhelmed by the choices and are limited in the amount of time that they have to dedicate to their workout. This is why the 7 Minute Workout was developed. Not only does it outline the absolute best exercises for getting in shape, the exercises are simple.

Best of all, it only takes 7 minutes to achieve your fitness goals. This is the first installment of our series. Here, you will learn the health benefits associated with jumping jacks. What are Jumping Jacks?

Jumping jacks are a special type of jump that is performed from the standing position. The legs are placed together and the arms are placed at the side of the body.

When the jump occurs, the legs are spread apart and the arms are quickly moved to the area above the head. You know what that means. It means losing weight. There is another weight loss benefit that you get from doing jumping jacks, which is an increased metabolic rate. Most kinds of exercise increase your metabolic rate , or in other words, the rate at which your body consumes calories or eats away at your fat reserves.

The more you exercise by doing something like jumping jacks the more your metabolism gets revved up and the longer it stays that way for. Even when you stop exercising your body will continue to burn an increased number of calories , thus greatly assisting in your weight loss goals.

The next benefit that your body reaps from doing jumping jacks has to do with your bones. You see, you can train your bones to be bigger and stronger much in the same way as you do for your muscles.

Your bones get bigger and thicker through a type of exercise known as a weight bearing exercise. These are exercises that force you to bear an increased amount of weight, weight which your bones support. This also goes for exercises where you jump , such as jumping jacks, because each time you land on both your feet, gravity and your weight pulls them towards the ground, and puts an increased amount of stress on your bones, which effectively translates into an increased amount of weight being put on your bones.

This weight bearing type of exercise causes your osteoblasts, the cells in your bones which produce bone matter , to lay down more matter. This ends up making your bones denser and thus stronger, and also bigger and thicker too. The end result is that some simple jumping jacks can make your bones a whole lot more resilient towards anything you can throw at them. Building stronger bones is especially important as you get older and your bones naturally get more brittle.

Doing some jumping jacks now can make the difference between a simple bruise and a whole broken bone, not to mention that bone building exercises also help to stave off conditions such as degenerative bone diseases in the future. Yet another great thing about jumping jacks is that they help motivate you to exercise more.

You can always start by doing some jumping jacks then slowly add on some more exercises to the routine, eventually creating a whole circuit that will have you healthy and fit in no time at all.

The fact that jumping jacks can be done by anybody and everybody is a short and sweet testament to their versatility as a type of exercise. People of all ages can do jumping jacks because when done with care they can be a fairly unchallenging exercise.

The next benefit of doing jumping jacks is that you can easily increase their intensity to make them harder and help you build muscle even more as time goes on. The beauty is that you can always add heavier ankle and wrist weights, and you can always increase the weight of the vest too.

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Your feedback has been received! Thank you! Your submission has been received! Sep 23, The bedroom, kitchen, hotel room, garage, garden or public park. Hell, you could probably do them at the back of an airplane too! Now jumping jacks are not push ups or squats which build a bit more muscle, but nevertheless you are still using and strengthening a host of muscles. Your arm muscles get worked every time you swing them above your head. From having to use your arms and legs for various tasks, to walking up and down stairs, carrying heavy loads or playing sports.

As you will see further down below, jumping jacks can easily be integrated with any type of workout. And having jumping jacks in your back pocket to throw in between sets is always a good idea! Do a total of 5 sets, with 30 seconds rest in between each set.