Jumping Jacks
Classic warm-up and cardio move — shoulders, hips and heart rate in one.
Execution
- Stand tall, feet together, arms by the sides.
- In one jump, spread the legs sideways while raising the arms overhead.
- On the next jump, return to the start.
- Keep it rhythmic, landing soft on the balls of the feet.
Tips
- Perfect warm-up before push-up or running sessions — 2-3 minutes is enough.
- Knees complaining? Step-touch instead of jumping for a low-impact variant.
The warm-up classic
Jumping jacks get the heart, shoulders and hips going in a short time and need neither equipment nor much space. That's exactly what makes them the standard opener for almost every warm-up routine: they move several joints through a large range and raise the heart rate gradually rather than abruptly.
As standalone endurance training they're less suited — the stimulus is too low for a trained person to hold zone 2 for long. As an element in a circuit or interval, they work well.
Execution
From standing, the legs jump apart sideways while the arms are raised overhead. Back to start in one flowing motion. Land softly over the balls of the feet with slightly bent knees — not with straight legs on the heels.
Variants and adjustments
- No jump. Tap one leg out to the side at a time, arms as usual. For joint issues and as an entry point.
- Half arms. If raising the shoulders overhead isn't pain-free, bring the arms only to shoulder height.
- As an interval. 30 seconds brisk, 30 seconds rest, several rounds.
Common mistakes
The most widespread is a hard landing with straight legs; it strains the knee and ankle unnecessarily. The second is an incomplete arm path — if the hands only reach head height, the mobility component that makes the exercise valuable as a warm-up is lost.