Introduction
The burpee is a full-body exercise that involves a rapid transition between a squat, a push-up, and a jump. It's primarily beneficial for cardiovascular endurance, strength, and agility due to its dynamic nature and multiple muscle groups engagement. Effective for individuals aiming to improve overall fitness levels quickly, burpees are often incorporated into high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts.
Muscles Worked
- Primary: Chest, Shoulders, Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings
- Secondary: Abs, Triceps, Biceps, Calves
How to Do It (Step-by-Step)
- Start with your feet shoulder-width apart and hands by your sides.
- Lower into a squat position, placing your hands on the floor in front of you.
- Kick your feet back to a plank position while simultaneously jumping your legs back, keeping your body straight.
- Immediately return to the squat position by jumping your feet forward and bringing your arms overhead.
- Leap up explosively from the squat position, clapping your hands overhead before landing softly in the starting position.
Tip: Keep your core engaged throughout the exercise to maintain proper form and minimize strain on your lower back.
Rep & Rest Guidelines
- Strength: 4–6 reps, 2–3 min rest
- Hypertrophy: 8–12 reps, 60–90 sec rest
- Endurance: 12–20 reps, 30–60 sec rest
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Form Tips
- Start in a squat position with feet shoulder-width apart and hands on the floor in front of you.
- Jump your feet back into a plank position, keeping your body straight.
- Quickly jump your feet back to the starting position while exploding upward with your arms overhead. Repeat for desired number of repetitions.
When to Use It
- High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): Burpees are effective during intense bursts of activity in HIIT workouts due to their full-body engagement and ability to raise heart rate quickly.
- Functional Fitness: Incorporating burpees into functional fitness routines builds strength, agility, and endurance for everyday activities by mimicking movements such as jumping, pushing, and pulling.
- Bodyweight Conditioning: Burpees are an efficient bodyweight exercise that can be used in conditioning workouts to challenge muscle endurance, particularly targeting the chest, abs, legs, and arms.
Workout History provides a comprehensive record of your workout sessions, helping you track progress and improve your fitness over time.
Burpees primarily target the core, chest, and legs, but they also engage various other muscle groups such as the arms, shoulders, and glutes.
The number of burpees can vary based on fitness level. A common goal is to aim for sets of 10-20 burpees with rest periods in between.
Start standing, squat down and place hands on the ground, jump back into a plank position, perform a push-up, jump feet back to the starting position, and immediately jump straight up explosively.
Yes, you can adjust the difficulty by skipping the push-up or removing the jump at the end.
Burpees build full-body strength and endurance, improve cardiovascular fitness, and increase agility and power.
