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Doing 100 jumping jacks a day can be great for your heart and lungs. It’s a simple, effective exercise for weight loss, too.
However, there are many more benefits of doing jumping jacks that you should know about.
I’m a pro trainer, and today I’ll explore the potential benefits of incorporating 100 jumping jacks into your daily routine.
Keep reading if you want to burn calories, get strong, and improve your cardiovascular fitness in the simplest way.
Let’s jump right into it!
What are jumping jacks?
Jumping jacks are a full-body exercise where you jump the legs apart while raising the arms above the head. It works the shoulders, core, hip flexors, quads, glutes, and calves while challenging the heart and lungs.
They’re also considered an easy plyometric exercise to help athletes jump higher and run faster. A variation called star jumps gives options to those more advanced in training.
What I love about jumping jacks is that they are performed in the frontal plane, which involves moving side-to-side. This is something we don’t often do; most exercises at the gym are performed in the sagittal plane (forward-backward movements).
All athletes must move efficiently through all planes of movement. That’s why jumping jacks are an excellent exercise for preventing injuries (ACL, ankle sprains), increasing stability, and improving balance.
Not to mention, they’re excellent for cardiovascular fitness and endurance!
Are jumping jacks good for weight loss?
Related: The Complete Calisthenics Workout Plan With PDF
Jumping jacks can be good for weight loss because they help burn calories, raise the heart rate, improve aerobic capacity, and burn fat.
You can burn as much as 8-10 Kcals per minute just by doing jumping jacks, depending on your fitness level and current weight.
However, don’t rely on one exercise to do the job for you. Add jumping jacks into your circuit training session, your warm-up before weight training, or do them while watching TV. This way, you can increase the chances of losing weight.
Also, take into consideration your fitness level. If you are starting from a completely sedentary lifestyle, any exercise will make a difference, including jumping jacks or stepping jacks.
But if you have been training for a long time, losing weight will take loads more effort than just doing jumping jacks.
Even though it’s a great way to keep active anytime and anywhere, you need to progress your training to see noticeable changes in your physique. Progressing jumping jacks to star jumps may be a good start.
Another essential factor to consider when trying to lose weight is diet. If your calories exceed your calories out, you will gain weight, not lose it. Aim for a healthy balanced diet and calorie deficit!
How To Do Jumping Jacks
Related: The Best Calisthenics Exercises List
Proper form is important when performing jumping jacks as it prevents injuries and improves your coordination and balance.
So here is the method:
- Stand upright with your arms at your sides and your feet together
- Jump with the legs shoulder-width apart and simultaneously bring the arms up above your head
- To return to the starting position, jump back and bring the arms down beside you
- Breathe in as you jump apart and breathe out as you return to the start
- Repeat for the desired reps and sets.
How many jumping jacks should I do?
Related: Is 100 Kettlebell Swings A Day Enough?
How many jumping jacks you should do depends on your current fitness level, injury history, and goals.
While we are all different, here are some general suggestions.
Coming from a sedentary lifestyle?
When going from a passive (static) lifestyle to an active one, it’s very important to progress training gradually. Your body may not be used to any exercise.
Therefore, you should start stepping jacks, which means you step out to one side while raising the same side arm above the head and return back to the start.
Then, you repeat it on the other side. This is low-impact, but still works the full body while building up your fitness.
Perform two to three sets of 10-20 stepping jacks.
You can of course try jumping if these don’t feel challenging at all. We are all different, so adjust it to your needs and level!
Beginner to Intermediate
If you’ve been doing some sort of exercise quite regularly, you may just want to spice things up. Jumping jacks serve that purpose, too.
If you are up for a challenge, aim for 100 jumping jacks a day, or go extreme, figure out your level, and adjust the reps accurately.
Advanced
As an experienced athlete looking to increase performance, jumping jacks are a great addition to your warm-up as long as you’re focusing on form.
This adds lateral movement to your training that you may need for your sport to change direction quickly without getting injured.
You can also go an extra mile and challenge yourself by doing up to 1,000 jumping jacks a day for a month. Or, reduce the reps and mix it up with star jumps.
Please note that no matter your experience level, you should always start slowly and gradually increase the amount of reps and sets as you get stronger.
Most importantly, aim for the amount of jumping jacks that you can perform without straining your muscles or joints and getting injured.
How many jumping jacks a day to lose weight?
It’s important to remember that weight loss is most effective with regular exercise and a healthy diet. Jumping jacks should complement your training and healthy lifestyle rather than making up your whole plan.
They do indeed increase your heart rate and burn calories, and any new physical challenge you put your body through can contribute to positive changes, including weight loss.
To make it a physical challenge, you need to adjust the number of reps you do accordingly over time.
In my experience training clients at different levels, a beginner can do two to three sets of 15-20 jumping jacks with some rest. More advanced gym goers can do 30-50 jumping jacks for three sets with shorter breaks in between.
Some people can complete way more than that without rest!
| PRO TIPS: For individuals with knee injuries, I often modify jumping jacks to stepping jacks. It’s important to consider that not everyone can handle the same level of impact. By making this adjustment, you can still incorporate variations of jumping jacks while minimizing the risk of worsening your injury. |
Is 100 jumping jacks a day good?
Doing 100 jumping a day is a great way to stay on track with daily exercise and stay motivated. It is also trackable.
What I mean is you can control the intensity, do it slower, quicker, bring the arms higher, you can step, modify it to your needs, and see how you are getting better at it. Over time, you will be able to do loads more than a 100, just by staying consistent.
Also, they don’t require much space or time to complete. The treadmill or other cardio equipment usually requires a gym membership. This makes jumping jacks more time and cost-effective.
100 jumping jacks a day can also reduce your stress levels, as exercise boosts our happy hormones called endorphins.
What happens if you do 100 jumping jacks a day?
The American Heart Foundation recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week. While 100 jumping jacks a day may only take two minutes, it is a great addition to your training and to strengthen your heart.
Jumping jacks and any exercise that raises your heart rate, body temperature, and breathing improves the blood flow to the heart. It may even prevent heart attacks or other cardiovascular diseases.
Also, increasing your activity level by doing 100 jumping jacks a day, combined with a healthy diet and active lifestyle, can aid in weight or fat loss.
Your body will change, your heart becomes stronger, you get fitter, healthier, and much happier in general!
Potential Health and Fitness Benefits of Doing 100 Jumping Jacks a Day
Doing 100 jumping jacks a day has several benefits, such as:
Improves cardiovascular health
Jumping jacks increase your heart rate, breathing, and body temperature, which is great for warming up.
By increasing the intensity and the length of the exercise, you may:
- Improve your aerobic capacity
- Strengthen your heart and lungs
- Increase blood flow and reduce risk of heart disease
- Reduce blood pressure
- Improve metabolism
- Prevent obesity
Burns calories, aiding in weight loss
This may not come as a surprise, but we may think how such an accessible exercise can burn so many calories.
However, burning 8-10 kcals a minute (depending on your weight) can aid weight loss. The results will still depend on a lot of factors, such as your diet. If you eat junk food daily, you won’t see the benefits of doing jumping jacks at all.
So, I suggest combining it with other training styles like strength training and HIIT and a healthy, balanced diet. This way you will achieve some incredible results others will notice, too!
Improves endurance
Jumping jacks are an aerobic exercise. Performing them regularly strengthens your heart and lungs and improves your blood flow, which can help you build stamina and endurance.
Strengthens muscles
Jumping jacks work your full body, including the core, quads, hamstrings, shoulders, calves, and even the hips by jumping to the side.
This can be very handy for everyday movements like playing with the children, getting up from the chair, you name it!
Improves coordination
When you are performing jumping jacks you need to consistently ensure you’re synchronizing the movement of the legs and arms. This will help improve coordination.
Reduces the risks of injuries
They also stabilize the pelvis, which can reduce the risk of lower back pain and knee injuries, especially while changing directions.
Improves athletic performance
Jumping jacks work muscles essential to acceleration, jumping, and lifting. By strengthening these muscles you can improve athletic performance.
Also, its plyometric component, full-body activation, and requirement for coordination can aid in better sports performance.
Adds variety to your training
You can start doing jumping jacks by stepping, progressing to jumping jacks, and then star jumps. These variations are great as you can adapt the exercise to your fitness level and also add variety to your training routine.
Increase bone density
As a weight-bearing exercise, jumping jacks can improve bone mineral density, possibly reducing the risk of osteoporosis. That’s because low or high-impact exercises build more bone, making it denser.
| A study had a group of women perform 10 jumps with 30 seconds rest between jumps, twice daily for 16 weeks. After 16 weeks of high-impact jump training, hip bone mineral density was significantly improved in premenopausal women by jumping 10 or 20 times. Another reason to do jumping jacks! |
If I do 100 jumping jacks, how many calories will I burn?
The calories you burn depend on your fitness level, weight, height, and more.
As an example, I put my Fitbit on and tracked how many calories I burned by doing 100 jumping jacks. I also had my client do it as he weighs more than me. This way, we can compare the results and differences.
We did it first thing in the morning at 6.30 am, without warm-up. This makes the possibility for a higher average heart rate greater.
Why? In the morning, our muscles are cold. We need a longer warm-up to get our muscles warm, regulate our body temperature, heart rate, and breathing.
So, the first few minutes of your training and warm-up you may see a sudden increase in your heart rate, which will get better over time! I do suggest a longer, 10-15 minute warm up if you are training in the mornings.
I burned 5 kcals by doing 100 jumping jacks, which took me around 1.5 minutes to complete. I can say I went moderate intensity, not super quick.
My client weighs 190 pounds (87 kg) and is 5 ‘9’’ (182 cm). He burned 11 Kcals in 1 minute and 20 seconds. He was a bit quicker than me.
As you can see, I burn fewer calories by doing 100 jumping jacks than someone heavier.
Weight, intensity, and fitness level will always influence how many calories you burn. But in general, 100 jumping jacks burns between 5-15 calories.
What are the results of doing 100 jumping jacks a day for 1 month?
While I can’t promise you extreme weight loss when doing a 30-day jumping jacks challenge, I can indeed promise you will gain several other benefits.
Week 1 Results
If you haven’t done any exercise for a while, the first week will feel tough. But don’t worry, you will overcome, just be patient! Instead of doing 100 jumping jacks back-to-back, do sets of 15-20 at a time and rest until you reach 100.
As you get better, increase the amount you do without taking a break.
By the end of the week, it starts becoming easier. Your endurance starts to improve and your breathing will become better.
Note: Try to breathe through your nose and exhale slowly!
Week 2 Results
The second week is still fun and you are dedicated to completing your monthly challenge. Your form is better, the exercise feels easier.
The weight may not have changed much, but the moving itself improved your mood and reduced your stress levels.
Week 3 Results
Don’t yawn! Week 3 can feel like a struggle and you are getting bored. Spice things up – clap, do star jumps, step, and add some music to move with the beat. You can do this!
Also, I’m sure you feel it yourself, you are becoming the king or queen of jumping jacks. Have you reached 100 jumping jacks without a break yet? I think you did!
Week 4 Results
Your jumps are showing and maybe your weight has dropped. It won’t be dramatic, but considering the small amount of time you have to invest, it is amazing. You may lose 4-8 pounds in a month! Well done!
You should also feel stronger, fitter and healthier.
Pro Tips for a 100 Jumping Jacks a Day Routine
I want you to make the most of your jumping jacks journey, so here are some tips to take along with you.
Follow a proper diet
No shortcuts, peeps!
If you want to look healthy and gain visible benefits of exercising, then your diet should be made up of nutritious meals.
It’s not as hard as you think. You can cook and flavor food to your taste. Add plenty of colorful veggies and fruit as well as whole grains. The results will come way quicker than you think!
Get enough sleep
Sleep has several benefits. It can regulate your hormones, including stress hormones and growth hormones, speed up recovery, and aid in weight loss!
You should have a regular consistent sleeping routine and get seven to nine hours nightly.
Use proper form
If you want to keep training, you need to focus on your form. There is a saying: “The only incapable athlete is the one injured, that’s because they can’t train.”
No training, no benefits. That’s why quality should come before quantity.
Modify it to your needs
Are you a newbie? Start by stepping instead of jumping jacks. Are you advanced? Do star jumps for more intensity!
There is always an option for everyone when it comes to jumping jacks.
Conclusion
Doing jumping jacks every day improves endurance, strength and fitness, reduces your risk of injuries, and keeps you active.
And while it isn’t a magic bullet for weight loss, they do burn calories. They’re also easy to do nearly anywhere.
But don’t forget, long-lasting results come from a healthy diet, adequate recovery, and various training styles and exercises.
If you decide to jump into action, don’t forget about us! We would like to hear what you think and how many jumping jacks you can do daily.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do 100 jumping jacks a day do?
It improves your cardiovascular fitness, stamina, strength, and endurance. It also burns calories, which can aid in weight loss.
How many jumping jacks to burn 100 calories?
Around 400-600 jumping jacks, depending on your weight and fitness level.
How many jumping jacks should I do a day?
As long as you can perform them with good technique, you can do as many as you like! However, 100 a day can be a good aim, as it burns calories and can be completed within three minutes.
How many jumping jacks a day to lose weight?
If you really want to lose weight, don’t rely on just one single exercise. Add jumping jacks to your circuit training, warm up for strength training, or bodyweight routine at home. This will guarantee weight loss.
Although, if you only want to lose weight through jumping jacks, work your way up to 1,000 daily and follow a healthy, balanced diet.
Is 100 jumping jacks a good workout?
It’s a great workout as it raises your heart rate, burns calories, and it can be done in a very short period of time, anywhere!
Are jumping jacks good for abs?
Jumping jacks do NOT directly work your abs, but they do work your core. As you are jumping, your core has to stabilize the position to maintain balance and an upright torso.
So, they can strengthen your core, but they won’t give you abs unless you supplement it with resistance or strength training.
How many jumping jacks equal a mile?
The general amount of calories you burn by running a mile is 100. This is a general guideline as you can burn more or less depending on your weight.
So, to burn 100 kcals with jumping jacks, you need between 800-1,000 jumping jacks to equal a mile.
Can 100 jumping jacks burn belly fat?
You can burn fat by jumping 100 jumping jacks daily. However, jumping jacks do not have the power to get rid of all the body fat you may carry.
Combine it with healthy meals and additional workouts at home or at the gym, and you will maximize fat burn, especially around your waist.
How much weight will you lose if you do 100 jumping jacks?
You won’t lose weight just by doing 100 jumping jacks. If you do it daily and consistently for a long time and gradually progress the intensity, you will lose weight.
Newbies or those who haven’t done any exercise at all will experience the quickest weight loss with 100 jumping jacks daily.
You can lose one or two pounds weekly, especially if you watch your diet, too.
How many calories do you burn doing 100 jumping jacks?
You can burn anywhere between 5-15 kcals by doing 100 jumping jacks. Those closer to 120 pounds will more likely burn less (5-10 kcal) while those around 160 pounds will burn more (10-15 kcal).
