Today’s Workout: Walking jacks get the heart pumping - Canton Daily Ledger

One of the quickest ways to get your heart pumping is to simply start jumping up and down! Throw in a little overhead arm movement, and the blood is sure to be flowing.

Sounds a lot like a jumping jack. Well, you’re right, it is.

That’s not our work out today, but it is close.

There are a lot of exercises out there like our jumping jack but not everyone can execute, whether it be a physical restriction, coordination or injury. We modify the more difficult portion of the movement so everyone can join in.

Our move today is a walking jack. All you need is some free space. This move is intended to warm you up and be used for a cardio exercise in place of actual jumping jacks.

Begin this exercise by standing tall, holding your chest high, and engaging your core for balance and strength. Start by stepping out wide to the side with your right foot. And at the same time you are taking that wide step, proceed to swing both arms out and around to extend straight up overhead, just like you would do in an actual jumping jack. Once that leading foot is stable on the ground, follow by stepping the left leg in close. At the same time swing the arms back down to your starting position.

As soon as you complete one side step, repeat the movement going the opposite direction: Stepping out with the left foot, swinging the arms around, dragging the right foot in and tucking the arms back in.

Continue this walking jack side to side for either a determined amount of time, or at least 20 times on each side.

Once you get the rhythm down, you can quicken your steps, and get even more out of this movement.

This walking jack is a great way to warm up for any other exercises and also a great foundation to build in to actually jumping up and down.

Marlo Alleva, an instructor at Gold’s Gym and group fitness coordinator at Fontaine-Gills YMCA in Lakeland, Florida, can be reached at faluvzpa@msn.com.