Juggle Fitness Exercises
Below you’ll find a collection of well-known fitness exercises that combined with juggling becomes a lot more fun 😀
As your arms and hands will be busy with juggling, the exercises mostly target the lower-body, abs, core and back muscles.
You can use regular juggling balls to add fun and extra calorie burn to these exercises. Or, you can use heavier weight training juggling balls to target and train multiple muscles at the same time. Thus making for a great full body workout.
NOTE: Some exercises require a specific juggling technique (such as over the head) but most can be done juggling a standard 3-ball cascade or any other pattern that you are comfortable with.
| Name of exercise | Description and tips | Muscles worked |
|---|---|---|
| Juggle Sit-ups or Crunches | Regular sit-ups or crunches become a lot more fun (and challenging) when combined with juggling. For this exercise you’ll need to be able to juggle while sitting down and while lying on your back – this is a trick in itself and might take some time to learn, but once you do, doing situps will never be boring again 🙂 TIP: Be careful when using weighted juggling balls for this exercise. | Abdominal muscles, triceps and shoulders |
| Juggle Sit-ups or Crunches | Regular sit-ups or crunches become a lot more fun (and challenging) when combined with juggling. For this exercise you’ll need to be able to juggle while sitting down and while lying on your back – this is a trick in itself and might take some time to learn, but once you do, doing situps will never be boring again 🙂 TIP: Be careful when using weighted juggling balls for this exercise. | Abdominal muscles, triceps and shoulders |
| Juggle Leg Lifts | Legs lifts og leg raises are excellent for training your abs and can be combined with sit-ups and crunches. For this exercise you need to be able to juggle while lying on your back as well. Remember to be careful if using weighted balls. | Upper- and lower abs |
| Juggle Squats | This is a truly great exercise that anyone who can juggle a cascade can do. Simply do regular bodyweight squats, but juggle while doing so - using normal or weighted balls. | Thighs (quadriceps, hamstrings, outer thighs, calves), glutes, and core (abdominals and all the muscles that support your spine) |
| Juggle Lunges | Combine regular lunges (and variations such as back stepping/reverse lunges) with juggling for a great workout. | Glutes in your hips and butt along with the hamstrings and quadriceps in your thighs. The calf muscles in your lower legs, your abdominal muscles and your back muscles act as stabilizers during this exercise |
| Juggle High-Knees | High-knee exercises goes well with juggling and can also be a great warm-up for joggling (juggling while running). | Core, upper thighs, buttocks and calves |
| Juggle Leg-hops | Leg-hops works well with juggling and also trains your balance and agility. This is a good exercise if you are also into slacklining. Simple juggle while jumping forward and backward on one leg at the time. Make sure to keep your body straight while doing so. | Legs and feet |
| Juggle Single-legged | Like leg-hops, standing on a single leg while juggling trains your balance and agility | Legs and feet |
| Juggle Single-legged Squats | Start out with just standing on one leg, then advance into a single-legged squat. while juggling. This one is also great for balance. | Thighs, hips, buttocks and more |
| Side juggling | Juggle any pattern of your choosing, but keep the pattern as far to one side of the body for a about 10-20 seconds (then switch). Avoid rotating your back. This essentially targets the same muscles as a correctly performed russian twist. You should be able to feel you abs and core burning | Obliques and core |
| Juggle box jump | The box jump is a popular crossfitness exercise that can also be done while juggling - although it requires a bit of practice to time correctly. You don't necessarily need a box to jump onto, you can also stack two madrasses, use a bench or something similar. As long as it can hold your weight. | Core, glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves |
| Jumping squad to overhead juggling | In this combination-exercise you start by juggling a cascade into a squat, then explode upward and move into an overhead juggling position. Keep that for about 10 seconds, then go back to the cascade and repeat. | Thighs, hips, buttocks, shoulders, arms, core |
| Shoulder press and double shoulder press | This is done without actually juggling, but just using weighted juggling balls as a sort of dumbbell. You can grip 3 ball in one hand to increase the weight. This can be added to any juggling fitness routine. | Shoulders |
| Juggle wall sits | Do a regular wall-sit while juggling | Glutes, hamstrings, and your quads |
