Jumping Jacks
Overview
This exercise focuses on your quadriceps, glutes, and calves. Quads are the extensor muscles for your knees and cover the top part of your thigh. They extend from your hip to your knee.
Your gluteal muscles are located on your posterior, wrapping around from the side of your hips between your legs. The scientific name for your calves is “triceps surae,” but people often confuse that with your arm triceps, so we’ll just call them calf muscles. They extend from just behind your knee to your Achilles tendon.
Instructions
To begin, stand with your feet at shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, with your arms at your side.
Now jump, widening your stance and bringing your arms up over your head, bent slightly at the elbow.
Jump again to return to your starting position.
Exhale on your first jump, inhale when you jump back. Breathing is very important in this exercise.
Tips
The most common mistake is leaning forward as you jump. This puts undue pressure on the base of your spine and, honestly, you might fall over and embarrass yourself.
Beginners should be able to do jumping jacks for 30 seconds straight. Try that for two sets. If you’re more advanced, you should be able to do four sets of 60 seconds.
Jumping jacks are very simple, but if you do them properly, they’re a great all-around exercise. Thanks for watching!
