The Ultimate Guide to Burpees for Full-body Fitness

Burpees, love it or hate it, offer a multitude of benefits. A full-body exercise, they can provide several fitness benefits, but their effectiveness rides on proper technique and effective execution. Recent research* has confirmed that burpees are a versatile cardiovascular and strength exercise that can be adapted to various fitness levels. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the fitness benefits, precautions, common mistakes, modifications, progressions, interesting variations, and tips for staying motivated when doing burpees.

Our short video will take you through every step along the way, and here is a little snapshot!

Benefits of Burpees

Burpees offer a wide range of fitness benefits, including:

• Cardiovascular Endurance: Burpees elevate the heart rate quickly, effectively increasing cardio fitness for a stronger heart and lungs.
• Brain Function: Improves blood flow to the brain for an alert mind.          
• Strength: By engaging multiple muscle groups, including the chest, arms, core, glutes and legs, burpees build lean muscle strength and endurance in both your lower and upper body.
• Calorie Burn: A high-intensity exercise, burpees can help burn a significant number of calories in a short period. They also speed up your metabolism, leading to increased calorie burn throughout the day.
• Coordination: The combination of movements in burpees—such as jumping, squatting, and push-ups—helps improve coordination and body awareness.
• Power: Burpees require explosive movements, which contribute to increased power output. This can be beneficial for athletic performance and everyday activities.
• Mobility and Flexibility: Improves mobility and flexibility by moving multiple joints, flexing and extending the ankles, knees, hips and shoulders.
• Portability: Performing burpees requires no equipment and minimal space. It’s free… and you can take this functional exercise anywhere!

Technique

To perform a burpee, follow these steps:

• Stand with your back and neck in neutral, shoulders back, feet just wider than hip-width apart and toes turned out slightly (around 15 degrees).
• Squat with your knees behind and in line with the toes.
• Place your hands on the floor in front of you, inside the line of the feet.
• With your weight on your hands, brace the abdominals and kick your feet back to a plank (four-count burpee) or pushup position on your hands and toes.
• In plank, ensure a diagonal line from head to heels, rather than drop or lift the hips (see our video and article on performing planks).
• Jump your feet back to the starting position.
• Leap up and land softly back into a squat.
• From the squat, jump straight back to plank again.

Precautions and Common Mistakes

While burpees can be highly beneficial, they also carry the risk of injury if not performed correctly. Common mistakes to avoid include:

• Allowing the lower back to arch during the push-up portion.
• Landing heavily or with your feet/knees misaligned, which can lead to joint strain.
• Rounding the back during the squat-thrust position, which can strain the lower back.

To mitigate these risks, it’s important to maintain proper form and technique throughout the exercise and listen to the body’s signals to avoid overexertion.

Modifications and Progressions

Modifications

• Step back and forward instead of jumping: For individuals with lower fitness levels or joint issues, stepping back into the plank and forward to a standing position, instead of jumping, can reduce impact. This is also a great place to start – building fitness takes time and commitment!
• Elevated surface: Performing burpees with your hands placed on an elevated surface, such as a low wall or yoga blocks, can reduce the load on the upper body.

Alternatives

When a four-count burpee is included in a structured class format, there may be times when this is out of your reach. As an alternative, you can:

• Squat with a hip extension
• Simply perform squats (as shown in the video above).

Progressions & Interesting Variations

• Adding a tuck jump: After returning to standing position, add a tuck jump to intensify the exercise.
• Adding plank jacks: From a plank position, jack the feet in and out before jumping back to the starting position.
• Adding frog jumps: From a plank position, jump the feet forward and back before leaping forward and up.
• Spiderman burpees: Incorporate a knee-to-elbow movement during the plank phase.
• Adding switch climbers: Similar to spiderman burpees, just jump both feet up from plank, with one knee approaching the opposite shoulder.
• Surfer burpees: Instead of a vertical jump, add a side turn/broad jump into a wide squat. This adds challenge to the obliques and an element of proprioception.

Another option is to build up to a routine where combinations of these movements can be interspersed, for example, with side shuffles, running or long jumps.

Research-Backed Versatility of Burpees

Let’s dive into the research-backed advantages. A March 2022 study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research investigated the effects of high-intensity functional training (HIFT) on cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular performance, as well as inflammatory and muscle damage markers. The research found that HIFT exercises like burpees can lead to significant improvements in both aerobic and anaerobic fitness when incorporated into a regular training routine.

The lack of a standardised burpee makes it challenging to conduct definitive research; however, burpee variations offer an element of fun that can aid interest and participation… a goal worth pursuing for the health and wellbeing of the community.

Tips for Staying Motivated

• Set specific goals, such as increasing the number of burpees completed in a set time. It’s OK to rest! Proper form is paramount.
• Incorporate burpees into a circuit training routine for variety.
• Track, progress and celebrate milestones to stay motivated and engaged with the exercise.

In conclusion, burpees are a valuable addition to any fitness routine, offering a wide array of benefits when performed with proper form and technique. By understanding the precautions, modifications, progressions, interesting variations, and leveraging research findings, individuals can maximize the effectiveness of burpees as a versatile cardiovascular and strength exercise. Staying motivated and consistent with burpee workouts can lead to notable improvements in overall fitness and endurance.

Conclusion

A dynamic, functional and effective exercise, burpees offer a multitude of fitness benefits. By mastering proper technique, considering precautions, and exploring modifications and progressions, you can harness the power of burpees to ramp up your cardiovascular endurance, strength, mobility and coordination. Stay motivated and consistent, integrate burpees into your fitness routine and notice remarkable improvements in your overall health and fitness!

Further Information

Gist, Nicholas H., Freese, Eric C. And Cureton, Kirk J., Comparison of responses to two high-intensity intermittent exercise protocols, Metabolism and Body Composition Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.

Kinet, J Hum, International Standards for the 3‐Minute Burpee Test: High‐ Intensity Motor Performance, National Institute of Health, National Library of Medicine, 2019 Oct; 69: 137–147.

Les Mills, Technique – How to Safely Do a Burpee?

* Posnakidis, Georgio¹; Aphamis, George; Giannaki, Christoforos D.; Mougios, Vassilis; Aristotelous, Panagiotis; Samoutis, George; Bogdanis, Gregory C. High-Intensity Functional Training Improves Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Neuromuscular Performance Without Inflammation or Muscle Damage, The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, March 2022.

Reed, K. PhD, How Many Calories Do Burpees Burn and How Many You Should Be Doing, Positive Health Wellness, September 2016.

Disclaimer

Please consult your physician before commencing any exercise program. The advice and video in this article are not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. You agree that by participating in the exercises demonstrated there is the possibility of injury, and you assume the risk and responsibility for this.