30 min of jumping jacks. Has anyone done this?

I have limit space and money for equipment.  I rode my exercise bike last night.  I would normally jog/run through my house for 30 minutes but someone yesterday suggested jumping rope for a better cardio work out. 

I do have to get a jump rope.  I'm returning my monitor because it's not accurate.  Just don't know if I'll get to it tonight because I could exchange it for a rope.

I was wondering if doing 30 minutes of jumping jacks (I've never done for that amount of time.) would be equivalent? better/worse? Or I could just simulate jumping rope? OR a combination?

It's probably effective (30 min of jumping jacks), but it sounds kind of boring.  

Running in place is also an option, as well as other calisthenic moves like burpees (which are hard as hell, but worth the effort).  

I'd be mixing things up like 2 min jacks, 2 min rope, 2 min steps (like on an aerobic step), 8 burpees, repeat - that kind of thing.

Wow, if you did 30 minutes non-stop of jumping jacks, that would be incredible, but as santonacci said, very boring.  My calves are screaming after 200 jacks!

In cardio classes I take at the gym, parts of the routine do simulate jumping rope (complete with moving feet to different jumping rhythms, speeds, etc.) as well as marching in place (again, high/low, faster/slower).  Maybe you could come across a DVD that has some non-equipment-using routines.  Things like walking lunges and walking squats give your legs (and your heart to an extent) a workout, too. 

Good luck!!

If you haven't tried to do jumping jacks for a solid 30 minutes, I think you might not know what you are getting into.   I do a combination of jumping jacks, jump rope (without the rope), butt kicks, and punches while I'm watching tv in 1 minutes intervals - try not to take a break in between sets until you hit the 30 minute mark. 

My body bugg says I burn about 10 calories a minute which means I burn about 300 calories.  I would highly recommend doing Jillian Michaels' 30 day shread part 1.  It will give you some ideas of what you can do with very limited space.

So I found the 30 day shred Jillian thingy on U-tube and tried it.  I actually lasted through about half of the warm up exercises.  Of course I may never walk again.  I had no idea I was in that bad physical condition.  I honestly don't think I could ever finish part 1 of that program but I am thinking of buying the DVD.

When i was younger, I wanted to use my huge bedroom as a 'track' and run in circles but I got yelled at by my mom that my shoes would wear the carpet too quick. Jumping rope is killer cardio, just get indoor shoes and that goes for any indoor cardio if you don't have any. Another killer cardio - going up and down your stairs repeatedly. you do not even have to run, see how quick it takes before you sweat ;) or add in some running intervals to rev it up. I've also done step ups using bottom of stairs and first step and just repeat that. This past april I climbed the CN Tower (1776 steps, until recently world's tallest building) in 20 min 13s and boy was that amazing cardio.

I used to be addicted to the Caribbean Workout show - they filmed in Barbados and looked amazing, no stupid work out clothes and leader was toned. I taped the shows and had a mini trampoline and a step. They did high/low, step aerobics, mini tramp, free weights, yoga, etc depending on the episode. Wonder if it still runs on tv. was on TSN or something like that.