Burpees

The Indispensable Full Body Exercise

Burpees build strength in all major muscle groups.  They also build cardio endurance.  They are one of the best fat burning exercises you can do because you are using the entire body.

Get the technique right and do them at a pretty rapid rate.  That's where working out in a group is helpful.  There are always a few people who, for whatever reason, can just knock these things out.  That's good.  Put yourself them and try to keep up.

This exercise is the staple of boot camp workouts because it has everything.  How about these traits for one exercise?

• Build Strenth
• Improve Conditioning
• Burn Fat
• Totally Portable
• No Equipment Needed
• Absolutely Free

It's no wonder these are the staple of almost every boot camp workout.  Sure, they might not be everybody's favorite exercise.  Why do you think that is?

Technique

• Start in a standing position.
• Drop down to a squat position and put your hands on the ground.
• Kick your feet back to the pushup plank position.
• Do a pushup.
• Snap your feet back to the squat position.
• Jump straight up raising your arms in the air.
• That is one rep.  That’s all there is to it.  It’s just that easy.



A quick note on kicking the feet back to the plank position.  Some people kick the feet back and bend the arms simultaneously so they end up at the bottom of the pushup.  Then they will push up with the arms and kick the feet back to the squat position together.

Try doing some burpees that way.  You'll soon realize that isn't cheating.  It's tough.  But it's also a little faster.

Keep In Mind... 

• Hold the form.  Burpees are a demanding full body exercise and it is easy to break down. 
• As crazy as this sounds, as you get tired, make sure you have your arms under you when you kick your feet back to the pushup position.  You know the old saying “No sense bashing your face doing burpees”.
• Make sure you at least get off the ground with your jump at the top!  Don’t lazily stand back up from the squat, flail your arms in the air and pretend it’s a jump.  Exploding up is where you get a ton of benefit.

Modifiers

Forego the Pushup

To make the exercise easier, take out the pushup.  Just shoot the legs back to the pushup position, then bring them back to the tuck position to get ready to jump.

Knee Pushup

Or keep the pushup, but do the knee modification to the pushup.  I find this helpful when I get to the almost drop set zone.

2 Pushups

Add a second pushup to each burpee.  That takes away the momentum from the other movements and focuses it on the pushup.

Triple Burpee

Squat down and kick your legs back to the plank position and bring them back to the squat position three times.  After kicking your legs back the third time, do three pushups.  Bring your feet back to the squat position and jump three times.

Tuck Jump

The tuck jump adds a ton to the explosiveness.  As you jump, pull the knees up toward the chest.  It takes a certain amount of strength to get your feet off the ground during the regular jump.  It takes a lot more to do a quality tuck jump.

Box Jump

Similar to the tuck jump, the box jump forces you to really explode out of the squat position and get a good jump.  This modifier will make you an athlete!

Add Dumbbells

As with any bodyweight exercise, when it gets a little too easy, add weight.  Put a dumbbell in each hand and do the movement.  You will definitely feel the difference in the arms, shoulders, legs, and in your breathing.

Pull Up

To add some work for your back and biceps, do burpees under a pull up bar.  When you jump, grab the bar and do a pull up.

8 Count Body Builder

The only difference between a burpee and an 8 count body builder is kicking your legs apart and back together while in the pushup position.  After the pushup, kick your legs apart scissors style.  Then kick them back together.  Then snap your feet back to the squat position and jump up.