Is 1000 Jumping Jacks Per Day a Good Fitness Routine?

Stemming from the lessons learned during the coronavirus pandemic, many fitness enthusiasts are now interested in fitness routines that they can perform in their homes or at least in small spaces. One such physical exercise is jumping jacks, leading many to wonder if they can rely on jumping jacks for physical fitness. As a result, this article will explore whether 1000 jumping jacks per day is a good fitness routine. 

Jumping jacks

Jumping jacks are relatively common callisthenic exercises that are also easy to do, especially in tight spaces. They come with several health and fitness benefits, and you require no equipment to perform them. If you do not know how to perform it, you are simply rhythmically opening and closing your legs and arms in sync. You will require shock-absorbing shoes to perform it safely, and I recommend the Nike Romaleos 4 – Men's.

To begin, keep your feet together and your arms on along your body. Then energetically spread both your legs while you simultaneously do the same for your arms. Your arms should go higher than your shoulders and point diagonally to the sky. After this, bring your legs and arms back to their starting position. You should note that you are performing all of this in quick succession. As your arms and legs open up, they close back repeatedly until you are satisfied. You need free shorts to enjoy the exercise, and I recommend the Rogue Black Ops Shorts 6.5″ 2.0.

Is 1000 jumping jacks a day a good fitness routine?

The short answer is yes. Any calisthenics exercise performed with decent volume and consistency is excellent for your physical fitness and health. 

However, you should also know what you can expect from this routine and what not. Doing 1000 jumping jacks daily is unlikely to result in muscle growth as such a routine is not challenging enough for your muscles. Furthermore, one primary ingredient of muscle development is progressive overload. Your muscles get used to the strain, so the only way to develop them continuously is by progressively overloading them, so they always have to adapt by getting stronger. A routine with a set number of reps will see your muscles get used to them quickly and remain stagnant.

Instead, you are better off incorporating the exercise into your weight loss routine as the exercise is good for burning calories. You will need to incorporate it into a more extensive weight loss program, as 1000 daily jumping jacks may not be enough to burn considerable calories. If your goal is to lose weight in addition to physical fitness, you may be better off with more challenging exercises like running, jumping ropes, swimming, or running up the stairs. If you are doing jumping jacks because you are pressed for space, consider mixing them with jumping ropes.

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Benefits of jumping jacks

Despite that it may not result in muscle growth, here are some other essential benefits of jumping jacks:  

Improving cardiovascular fitness

Jumping jacks may not develop your muscles, but it raises your respiration and heart rate, positively stressing your cardiovascular system. Finishing your extended jumping jacks sets and improving how long your sets last will see you enjoy significant gains in your endurance and aerobic fitness. To optimize this benefit, aim to move as quickly as possible with proper form, finishing the complete range of motion with every jump. You can begin with 30-second sets and slowly climb to sets of several minutes or more.

Developing leg strength

Jumping jacks is a lower body workout as it engages all the primary muscles in your lower body, strengthening your hamstrings, glutes, quads, calves, hips, and shins. Faster and higher jumps directly correlate with the strength and power you will develop. As I stated, you can also use weighted vests to increase your load and intensity. An extra benefit is that developing leg strength via jumping jacks can manifest in other exercises. As a result, your squats, vertical jumps, deadlifts, stair-climbing ability, and running speed have improved.

Works your total body

Jumping jacks is a full-body workout as it targets almost every major muscle in your body. The exercises will engage your arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, and abs. Because of this, many professionals consider jumping jacks an efficient move as it concurrently strengthens and conditions your body. You can easily incorporate the exercise into your warmup routine because it elevates your heart rate and increases blood circulation to your connective tissues and muscles, preparing them for more challenging exercises. In addition, you can use them for warm-ups as they serve as a dynamic hip, back, and shoulder stretching exercise.

Burns calories

While it may not do so as much as other exercises, jumping jacks burn their fair share of calories. This is because the exercise involves almost all your muscles, making them metabolically demanding, depending on your body weight. However, you will enjoy its calorie-burning effects if you regularly incorporate intense sets of jumping jacks into your general fat-loss program. This is more so if you combine the exercises with a well-rounded, total-body exercise routine and a healthy diet.

Improves mobility

Because jumping jacks move and engage several of your joints across their entire range of motion, an extra benefit you enjoy is better mobility. For example, shoulders and hips both adduct and abduct. They move out to the side and back in the frontal plane, and the jumping jack helps improve this motion. This is mainly because the motion is uncommon in other exercises that involve forward-and-backward movement, like walking, rowing, running, hiking, or squats. Mobility in these joints reduces the risk of injury and decreases the chances of discomfort and stiffness.

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