Jumping Jack
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A jumping jack, also known as a star jump and called a side-straddle hop in the US military, is a physical jumping
exercise Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...
performed by
jumping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and ...
to a position with the legs spread wide. The
hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...
s go overhead, sometimes in a clap, and then return to a position with the
feet The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...
together and the
arm In human anatomy, the arm refers to the upper limb in common usage, although academically the term specifically means the upper arm between the glenohumeral joint (shoulder joint) and the elbow joint. The distal part of the upper limb between ...
s at the sides. The jumping jack exercise's origin has sometimes been erroneously identified as World War I U.S. General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, who is said to have developed it. The name comes from the jumping jack children's toy, which makes similar arm swing and leg splay motions when the strings are tugged. Although he did not invent the exercise, the late fitness expert
Jack LaLanne Francois Henri LaLanne (; September 26, 1914 – January 23, 2011), the "Godfather of Fitness", was an American fitness and nutrition guru and motivational speaker. He described himself as being a "sugarholic" and a "junk food junkie" until he ...
was credited for popularizing it in the United States. LaLanne used the jumping exercise during routines he promoted in decades of television fitness programming.


Variations and progression

The exercise can be made more or less intense with different variations. In general, squatting deeper will make jumps more difficult, although not resulting in greater height than squats at <90. According to studies, greater height is achieved when jumping from a shallower squat position (star jumps are often performed from a quarter squat position). In contrast, deeper squats are more effective at improving vertical jump height.


Low impact

The legs are stepped to the side without jumping, with the knees slightly bent and aligned with the ankles. In an intermediate variation, the legs hop out to shoulder width while raising the arms, then hop back together while lowering the arms.


Power jacks

Power jacks are like jumping jacks, but land in a wide squat position. As with other jumps, jumping out of a deeper squat position increases the intensity of the exercise, and this can result in injury if proper form is not maintained in the deep squat position between successive jumps. Power jacks can be performed over multiple counts to pull the legs back to center, with two small incremental jumps to return to the starting position.


Squat jacks

Squat jacks are performed by jumping the legs out and in while staying in a half squat position.


Star jumps

Star jumps are more explosive and performed with greater height than regular jumping jacks. Instead of landing in a wide stance, the legs are swung out laterally in the air and pulled back to center to land in a tucked, narrow squat. They are a rebounding jump beginning and landing in the tucked narrow squat position to continue successive jumps.


Half jacks

A similar jump exercise is half-jacks. They were created to prevent
rotator cuff The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles a ...
injuries, which have been linked to the repetitive movements of the exercise. They are like regular jumping jacks, but the arms go halfway above the head instead of all the way above it. The arms also hit the sides to help tighten the jump.


Split jacks

The split jack is a variation on the jumping jack, similar to the split jump. It is performed by standing in a staggered stance, while having the right foot in front of the left. Then the actual jumps are done while swinging an arm opposite the jumping foot, switching legs throughout the process.


Records

The most jumping jacks performed in one minute is 136 - achieved by Binod Thapa in
Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
,
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
, on 28 July 2023. In 2010, ''
National Geographic Kids ''National Geographic Kids'' (often nicknamed to ''Nat Geo Kids'') is a children's magazine published by National Geographic Partners. In a broad sense, the publication is a version of ''National Geographic'', the publisher's flagship magazine, ...
'' organized an event in 1,050 locations as a part of
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
's " Let's Move!" exercise campaign in which 300,365 people were measured doing jumping jacks (for one minute) in 24 hours.


References


External links


Star Jump Demonstration
{{Use dmy dates, date=October 2020 Aerobic exercise Jumping sports