{"id":3686,"date":"2025-02-02T15:32:26","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T15:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/mastering-squat-jacks-for-enhanced-quad-glute-and-core-strength.html"},"modified":"2025-02-02T15:32:26","modified_gmt":"2025-02-02T15:32:26","slug":"mastering-squat-jacks-for-enhanced-quad-glute-and-core-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/health\/mastering-squat-jacks-for-enhanced-quad-glute-and-core-strength.html","title":{"rendered":"Mastering Squat Jacks for Enhanced Quad, Glute, and Core Strength"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Squats are popular for a reason. No matter which\u00a0variation\u00a0you choose, they not only help build a stronger lower body, but also fire up your\u00a0core\u00a0and increase range of motion when performed correctly.<\/p>\n<p>Jumping jacks, too, deserve the esteemed reputation they\u2019ve had with fitness since, well, forever. They build stamina, burn calories, and boost\u00a0cardiorespiratory endurance.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more powerful than these moves? Combining them. Welcome to squat jacks.<\/p>\n<h2>Squat Jack: Step-by-Step Instructions<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stand with your feet together and your arms at your sides.<\/li>\n<li>Keeping your back straight and core engaged, push your hips back, bend your knees, and lower your body into a deep squat. Touch your hands to the sides of your ankles. This is the starting position.<\/li>\n<li>Explode upward, raising your hands over your head and jumping your feet out to your sides. Your body should form an \u201cX\u201d at the top of the move.<\/li>\n<li>Jump back to the starting position in one fluid motion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> If you have joint issues or injuries that are exacerbated by jumping, avoid plyometric moves\u00a0like this one until they\u2019re resolved.<\/p>\n<h2>Benefits of Squat Jacks<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe squat jack is a great way to make the classic jumping jack more challenging, and can help you increase muscular endurance and explosive power, especially in your legs,\u201d says Trevor Thieme, C.S.C.S.<\/p>\n<h3>What muscles do squat jacks work?<\/h3>\n<p>Thanks to the large range of motion required, the squat jack works three major muscle groups.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112875\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/quad-muscles-thigh-anatomy-NEW.jpg\" alt=\"quad muscles | thigh anatomy\" width=\"600\" height=\"260\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quads:<\/strong>\u00a0As you explode up from your squat, your thigh muscles will fire to propel you into the air.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-144924\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/02123539\/do-squats-make-your-butt-look-bigger-600-glutes.jpg\" alt=\"glute muscle anatomy | do squats make your butt look bigger\" width=\"600\" height=\"267\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Glutes:<\/strong> Same goes for your butt. You\u2019ll engage your glute muscles each time you straighten your legs.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-168214\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/12100424\/squat-jacks-600-core-muscles.jpg\" alt=\"Diagram of Abdominal Muscles | Squat Jacks\" width=\"499\" height=\"437\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Core:<\/strong> Your rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis, and other core muscles will help maintain your stability, so you can generate more power.<\/p>\n<h2>Top Squat Jack Tips<\/h2>\n<p>Heed this advice from Thieme to master proper squat jack form.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Keep your feet together at the bottom of the move.<\/li>\n<li>Touch the sides of your ankles each time you drop down into a squat. If you find that challenging, slow down.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure your back remains flat throughout the exercise. Rounding it will increase your risk of injury and\u00a0low-back pain.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure to raise your arms as high as possible. People often \u201ccheat\u201d the move by bringing their arms up halfway. Not only does that reduce the intensity of the exercise, but the shortened range of motion also limits the move\u2019s benefits to shoulder\u00a0mobility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>You can also make the squat jack more challenging by going faster or adding a 180-degree turn each time you jump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Squats are popular for a reason. No matter which\u00a0variation\u00a0you choose, they not only help build a stronger lower body, but also fire up your\u00a0core\u00a0and increase range of motion when performed correctly. Jumping jacks, too, deserve the esteemed reputation they\u2019ve had with fitness since, well, forever. They build stamina, burn calories, and boost\u00a0cardiorespiratory endurance. What\u2019s more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1669,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}