Do Jumping Jacks Burn Belly Fat?
You can't spot reduce the stomach area with exercises. Instead, cardio exercises help burn fat all over your body, including your belly. Certain exercises also help build and tone muscles. Vigorous types of cardio activity, such as jumping jacks, help you burn overall fat quicker because of their high intensity and the large number of calories that are burned.
Do Jumping Jacks Burn Belly Fat? (Image: Mike Powell/Digital Vision/Getty Images)Calorie Deficit
A calorie deficit occurs when your body takes in fewer calories than it needs. (Image: Flying Colours Ltd/Photodisc/Getty Images)If you want to lose belly fat with jumping jacks, it's important to create a calorie deficit. A calorie deficit occurs when your body takes in fewer calories than it needs. As a result, your body is forced to tap into stored fat, causing weight loss. For every one pound of body fat you want to lose, you need to shed about 500 calories daily. Increase body fat loss even more by burning 1000 calories daily; this results in a two pound weekly weight loss.
Jumping Jacks and Calories
As you lose weight, you'll need to work harder to burn calories. (Image: Duncan Smith/Photodisc/Getty Images)From afar, jumping jacks look easy; but once you're in the fray, performing them, you realize how they might help you lose fat overall. The simple movement of jumping your feet apart and clapping your hands overhead and then jumping your feet back and lowering your arms can burn about 585 calories an hour for a 160 pound person, reports Health Status. If you weigh 200 pounds, calorie-burning increases to 732 calories an hour. A person who weighs 240 pounds burns about 878 calories an hour with jumping jacks. This means as you lose weight, you'll need to work harder to burn calories.
Circuit Training
Increase calorie burning even further with a circuit-training approach. (Image: Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images)Increase calorie burning even further with a circuit-training approach. Circuit training burns about 30 percent more calories, reports "Fitness" magazine. Start out with a tummy-toning exercise, like abdominal crunches. After completing this exercise, alternate to jumping jacks for a few minutes. Rotate between a new core toning exercise and jumping jacks for at least 30 minutes.
Toning Exercises
Tone your lower abdominal muscles with the abdominal hold. Start out sitting on the edge of a firm chair. Slowly lift your feet about 2 to 4 inches off the floor and hold for a few seconds. Release and continue to repeat this exercise for a minute.
Another exercise to alternate with jumping jacks is the squat with twist. This will tone the sides of your abdominal muscles. Start in a standing position, feet about shoulder-width apart. Lower into a squat position with both arms extended to shoulder height. At the bottom of the squat, rotate the upper body to the right. Return to standing. Repeat the exercise eight to 12 times on each side of your body.
