Conditioning
Jumping jacks
- Kit
- No kit
- Works
- calves · shoulders
- Also
- hip abductors · quads · upper back · core
Jumping jacks are a whole-body conditioning movement: you jump your feet out and sweep your arms overhead in the same rhythm, then reverse it. They raise your heart rate quickly, warm the shoulders and hips, and need nothing but a patch of floor. Useful as circuit work at any level of fitness, since you can keep the arms low and the feet quiet if you need to.
Form
How to do jumping jacks
- 1Stand tall with feet together, arms relaxed at your sides, knees soft.
- 2Jump both feet out to about shoulder width while sweeping your arms out and overhead in one continuous motion.
- 3Land on the balls of your feet with soft knees, then jump the feet back together and bring the arms back down to your sides.
- 4Keep a steady, repeatable rhythm rather than rushing, and breathe in an even pattern instead of holding your breath.
- 5Stay light on your feet for the whole effort. If the landings get loud or heavy, slow the tempo and keep moving.
Watch for
Common mistakes
Landing flat footed with locked knees, which jars the legs.
Fix: Land toes first and let the ankles and knees bend to absorb each landing.
Arms stopping short of overhead or drifting out of sync with the feet.
Fix: Time one full arm sweep to one foot jump so the hands meet above your head as the feet land wide.
Sprinting the first part of the effort and then stopping dead.
Fix: Pick a pace you could hold to the end of the set and settle into it from the first jump.
Variations
Easier and harder
Sessions
Put it in a workout
None of the fixed workouts uses it. Pick a workout for your kit, or start today's session on /gym.