15 Health and Fitness Benefits of Jumping Jacks

When browsing several different circuit training regimens, you will most definitely see that they are saturated with jumping jacks, but why?

It goes without saying that jumping jacks are really good for you and your body, which is exactly why we have put together 16 major benefits of doing jumping jacks that will leave you definitely satisfied.

The concept of getting healthier and in better shape is easier said than done, to be honest. It may look simple in theory, but to put all of those things needed into practice is a lot harder than it looks.

Nothing is as straightforward as it seems, as it’s rather simple to tell someone to just exercise more and eat less, no?

When your goals shift to getting more out of working out, then you need to know the specific exercises you need to implement and when exactly to do them, and this is exactly where jumping jacks come into play.

This particular exercise is extremely beneficial, and if you ask us, it’s pretty underrated too, and that needs to change ASAP.

Just to prove how great jumping jacks are, we take a look at various different benefits that the exercise offers, that will have you enthusiastically jumping from now on.

15 benefits of jumping jacks

1. A fairly simple way to burn fat

This is what many people that are working out look for, an efficient but simple enough way to shed extra fat.

But how exactly does that happen?

It’s simple really, jumping jacks are a pretty physically demanding exercise. However, don’t let that turn you away from doing them.

To explain it further we look at how jumping jacks are done, at its premise you begin by placing your arms and legs together while standing, then you jump upwards and extend both of your arms and legs outward somewhat similar to the shape of a star, before ultimately bringing them back together again.

By repeating this process over and over again you will find that your heart rate will get noticeably elevated and you will burn a significant amount of calories as well!

In conclusion jumping jacks are a fantastic exercise to include in a weight loss routine.

2. They are a pretty fun exercise

When you are performing any type of exercise the goal, besides the obvious – getting in shape and losing weight, is to have fun while doing it.

Everyone hates when exercising becomes a chore to do, and since it’s something that requires a high level of energy, why not make it fun as well?

So, instead of spending a lifetime at the mundane treadmill, why not switch that out for a couple of jumping jacks? It’ll make it worthwhile; we promise.

Make working out a fun process by including a uniquely different set of exercise!

3. Doing jumping jacks improves your coordination

Another additional reason to put jumping jacks into your training plan is the fact that they help in improving your overall coordination.

As jumping jacks are not that easy to do, and most of the time it takes people a while to get the coordination of limbs just right.

This exercise is centered almost solely on the right limb coordination with every jump, and the more jumping jacks you do, the better your coordination becomes!

4. They’re easy to do when you get use to them

If you’re part of the people that have a bit of trouble when it comes to coordination and such when doing jumping jacks, don’t worry!

The more you do them, the more your body gets used to them, and by the time you have mastered the correct form and technique that is required to do them, it’ll be a breeze to do in the future.

As there is no need of fancy equipment or any specific way of doing the exercise that is super complicated, jumping jacks are regarded as one of the easiest exercises ever.

5. No gym? No problem!

One of the important reasons why jumping jacks are so heavily praised is that to do the exercise you absolutely don’t need a gym, so we can check that accessibility box off.

We understand that, especially in this day and age, time is of precious importance to everyone, and not everyone has time or access to the gym – especially with a pandemic going on. So, finding time or a gym to work out in is going to be pretty difficult.

Whether you don’t have time or access toa gym, but you still want to improve your health while working out, you can still do some jumping jacks in the comfort of your own home.

So, as long as you can find an open space where you have enough room to not bump anything over, you can do this exercise. Whether it be your bedroom, lounge, hotel room, garage, local park, garden or office, anything can become your makeshift gym for the time being.

6. A great option for a warm up exercise

By now we know that jumping jacks are great for virtually anybody that is looking to shed some fat and lose weight, but did you know that this exercise makes a great warm up for your work out?

A large number of well known athletes do some gentle warm up jumping jacks before, quite literally, jumping into their intense work out.

That is mainly because jumping jacks are an excellent exercise for raising your core body temperature, boosting your overall circulation, while also gently increasing your heart rate and helping to loosen up those stiff and tense muscles some may have.

So, if you are searching for an efficient and great way to warm up before jumping into your work out, then jumping jacks is the exercise for the job!

7. You actually can save money

We all know that in many cases putting some money aside for a gym membership every month, or even equipment, can put quite the dent in a person’s overall spending budget. So, in order to save money, while keeping fit, why don’t you opt for a fitness plan that is based around jumping jacks that you can do at home?

It’s clear that there is no paywall to do jumping jacks. This means no need for some overpriced gym membership or lengthy diet plan.

All in all, if you are looking for ways to save money, jumping jacks are a perfect way to stay fit in a budget friendly approach.

8. Jumping jacks boost flexibility

Another thing jumping jacks are good for boosting flexibility, which is something that many people in the present day lack due to their sedentary lifestyle.

So, if your struggle is with flexibility, there is no time like the present to start doing some more jumping jacks.

This exercise helps people to improve their overall flexibility and mobility, which in turn will help them out in more than one area in their everyday life.

It helps with many things ranging from stretching your muscles before starting a work out, to lacing up your shoes before going on a run, having that little bit of extra flexibility helps a lot more in the real world than you think.

We note this down as another win for this simple exercise.

9. A bona-fide mood improver

It is a known fact that exercising is a great way to improve your mental health even by a bit by putting you in a better mood.

When talking about the benefits of jumping jacks, it is important to note that they can work magic on your mood. Basically, when you exercise your body produces endorphins that make you feel relaxed, content and most importantly happy, and jumping jacks are no exception to this.

By doing them continuously, both your health and body will benefit from it, which in turn will make your self confidence skyrocket and you will find yourself feeling happier, not only with yourself but in general.

So, when it comes to the troubles of anxiety, depression and everyday stress, you need a form of mental boost, and jumping jacks are the perfect exercise for the job.

10. They can strengthen your bones

As a vital part of your body, your bones should be taken care of and looked after just as much as any other part of it, especially when you grow older.

Making your bones stronger will provide you with many benefits that will come in later in life, one example being lowering the chances of developing osteoporosis and arthritis which become increasingly common later in life.

So, when it comes to the overall health of your bones, this is another benefit of jumping jacks as they have been found to help strengthen the bones and improve their density.

All of this means that the chances of developing things like osteoporosis, brittle bone disease or even arthritis become staggeringly low later in life.

11. You will see improvements in cardiovascular health

As with the bones in your body, there are many major internal organs located in the human body that need to be looked after and cared for, the heart being tone of the most important ones.

Obviously so, if lack of care has been put into when looking after your cardiovascular organ then you become at risk of developing various different types of heart related diseases such as heart disease, stroke, heart attack, hypertension and many more.

Facts state that heart disease is the leading cause of death each year compared to other illnesses, so that alone should show you the severity of this issue.

And since we’re talking about benefits here, we can’t overlook the fact that jumping jacks are very beneficial when it comes to the health of your heart.

This exercise assists greatly when weight loss is the goal, as they speed up your metabolism, they help to improve your overall circulation  while also lowering your blood pressure which helps to prevent obesity and lower your LDL or bad cholesterol, which all ultimately help strengthen your heart.

This comes out as the ultimate combo of benefits that lead to a really healthy heart.

12. The reduce bad cholesterol, aka LDL

Bad cholesterol, also known as LDL, is the harmful type of cholesterol that is found in your body that can ultimately cause fatty blockages, deposits and build ups.

This type of cholesterol can then potentially be fatal, leading to strokes and heart attacks at any time in life if it’s in excess.

One more reason you should add jumping jacks to your work out routine, as well as jump rope as they help to reduce the bad cholesterol in your body.

So, this could potentially make them a type of life saving exercise, that is of extreme importance.

13. Makes for a stronger core

Above in the article we have already mentioned the fact that doing jumping jacks engage your core muscles, and now we will further explain that.

So, you see, because of the type of exercise jumping jacks are, your core stabilizer muscles get a pretty good work out when you do them.

And not only are you actively engaging your core muscles, your abs and obliques also get activated during the work out, which then helps to gently tone those muscles and make your core stronger than ever before. The stronger your core becomes the more of an efficient athlete you will become.

Another benefit of a stronger core is the fact that it makes you less at risk of an injury, as it will help you get stronger and perform better athletic wise.

All of these benefits mixed into one just add on to how awesome of an exercise jumping jacks are.

14. They havе great scalability

One of the other benefits that jumping jacks provide is the fact that they are scalable, and by this we mean you can scale up the exercise as you see fit.

Take this for an example, in one session you may perform about 4 sets of 10 gentle jumping jacks, in the next one though you might increase this to, say, 15, or just increase the speed and intensity of them.

There are virtually countless possibilities, you can up the number of jumping jacks you do, or increase or reduce their intensity, or even doing them over a period of time until you just can’t do any more.

Due to the fact that there are so many different training options when it comes to doing jumping jacks, it makes every one of your work outs exciting and fresh, and keep you interested in training more.

15. Definitely can be used as a part of a bigger training plan

Last but certainly not least on our rather lengthy list of benefits, is the fact that jumping jacks can be used as a part of a bigger training plan.

While searching the term you will definitely find a plethora of CrossFit WOD, or Work Outs of the Day, that include jumping jacks among wall sits, pull ups, burpees, and push ups, as do many circuit training classes, gymnastics classes and many more.

Jumping jacks work well enough by themselves, but they work greatly when combined with other training plans and work out regimes.

In conclusion, according to the list of benefits we compiled above, which certainly are not all of the benefits that jumping jacks provide for you, they are a viable exercise that helps you in getting fit, flexible and lean, while aiding you in coordination and living a healthy lifestyle.