Burpee exercise: Health Benefits, Muscle work, How to do?

What is burpee exercise?

Burpees are a plyometric exercise. This exercise uses your whole body weight for resistance. By doing this exercise you will focus on a full-body aerobic workout that aims to build muscle strength and endurance in your lower limb and upper limb muscles.

A standard burpee exercise helps to strengthen the muscles located in your legs, hips, buttocks, abdomen, arms, chest, and shoulders.
This exercise can be performed as part of a high-intensity interval training regimen. High-intensity interval training is a type of cardio workout that requires you to do short bursts of intense exercise, followed by a less rest period.
This is an excellent fat-burning exercise that use to build muscle strength and helps your metabolism system throughout the day. This will help you to burn calories and belly fat.

You, do not need any types of equipment for this exercise all you need is your body weight and enough space to do this exercise. so even if you are in a small room or tiny office you can still get your blood pumping by performing this exercise.
The burpee exercise is a squat thrust with an additional stand between two repetitions. This is a full-body exercise used in strength training. The movement itself is primarily an anaerobic exercise, but when done in perfect form over a longer period can be utilized in aerobic exercise training.

The current version of a burpee exercise is now a six-count movement, which includes three jumps, a couple of squats, a push-up, and a not-insignificant amount of torment.

Which muscles are used in burpee exercise?

• Glutes
• Quadriceps
• Core muscle
• Calves
• Shoulder muscles
• Chest muscles
• Triceps

There have many benefits of burpee exercise.

• Burpee helps you to get a stronger heart and lungs.
• Helps to improve blood flow in the whole body.
• By doing burpee you are at lower risk of heart disease and diabetes.
• Helps to lower blood pressure.
• Helps improve cholesterol levels.
• Helps to improve brain function.
• Helps to burn calories
• This exercise uses Multiple Muscle Groups at one time
• This exercise uses Your Core for a workout
• Helps to Improve Your Mobility.
• Helps to maintain good Posture
• Improved Balance
• Do not need any equipment to perform Burpee

How to do the burpee exercise with perfect form?

• For this exercise you have to stand with a shoulder hip-width apart then flexed your knees to get a full squatting position. your back should be straight. then slowly lower your hands to the ground in front of your body just under your feet.
• Then your body weight on your hands kicks your foot backward so your whole weight on hands and toes, as like a plank position. keep your body straight from head to heels, then perform one push-up.
• Not to let your back sag and stick your buttocks in the air. perform frog kick by jumping to your foot get back to the initial position.
• Stand and move your arms above the head. jump quickly in the air, so you come back to the initial position as soon as you land with knees flexed and get into squatting position and perform the next repetitions.

• Many people can perform about 20 to 25 burpees in a minute ,but every person has a different capacity so in starting phase you have to complete 10 burpees then gradually you will increase the repetitions.

Burpees Video

Here are the six steps of the burpee as it is most commonly done:

1. Squat

From a standing position, you have to perform a squat and then place your hands on the ground in front of you.

2. Plank

Jump both feet back and your whole body weight on toes and hands. so you are in plank position.

3. Push-up

From plank position you have to perform push up— your chest should touch the ground.

4. Plank

Then back to plank position.

5. Squat

Jump your foot back toward your hands.

6. Jump

Explosively jump into the air, reaching arms straight above the head.

How do you make burpee easier?

If a basic burpee is too challenging for you, then you can make some adjustments to get down the intensity. Try the below variations if you are a beginner.

Skip the pushup and jump.
You have to start with a squat thrust. It starts just like a burpee, but instead of doing a pushup and then jumping in the air, you simply come into a squat position, kick your legs back so you are in a pushup position, and then return to your initial stance.

Skip the jump.
Instead of doing jump into the air after the pushup, you may return to the squatting position.

Skip the pushup.
If your chest muscles or shoulders are not ready for pushups, you can hold a plank position for a2 seconds instead of doing a pushup. You also can perform a partial pushup until you build up more strength.

How to make burpees more challenging?

There are several ways to ramp up the challenge of a standard burpee.

Burpee box jump

How to perform it?

• For this variation, you will need a plyo box or a bench, or any solid object that will support your weight.

• You have to Stand in front of the bench in your usual squatting position, but instead of dropping down to the ground for a pushup, put your hands on the bench, and perform a modified pushup.
• Then, instead of jumping into the air, jump up on the bench.
• Land gently on the ground, with your knees, flexed, and move straight for the next repetition.
• Complete two to three sets of five to seven repetitions.

Burpee with a Bosu ball

How to perform it?

• For this variation, you will need a Bosu ball.

• You have to hold a Bosu ball in your hand with a flat surface upside. then come into squatting position, lower your hands to the ground withholding a Bosu ball, put Bosu ball directly beneath you place your hands on flat surface of Bosu ball with performing push-ups.
• Then hold the opposite edge of the Bosu ball by your hands and raise it overhead as you stand up.
• Lower it to the ground and do this same movement again.

Burpee with dumbbells

How to perform it?

• For this variation, you will need a 5-pound dumbbell.
• You have to start this with a squat position holding a 5-pound dumbbell in both hands.
• Lower yourself to the floor, with the dumbbells beneath your shoulder joint. Hold onto the dumbbells while you perform the pushup.
• Instead of jumping into the air, you have to stand and raise both dumbbells over your head.
• Lower the dumbbells to your side and return to the initial position.

Burpee Knee Tucks

How to perform it?

• For this variation, you have to follow the same instructions as the basic burpee.
• However, when they explode jump at the end, you will try to tuck your knees toward your chest, land gently on both feet, and then move to another repetition.

Pull-Up Burpee

How to perform it?

• For this variation, you have to follow the same instructions as the basic burpee.
• However, you will complete the burpee just below the pull-up bar.
• At the end of the repetitions, when you jump up in the air from the plank position, you have to grab the pull-up bar and complete one pull-up before lowering down and moving into the next repetition.

Push-Up Burpee

How to perform it?

• For this variation, you have to follow the same instructions as the basic burpee.
• Once you are in a push-up position and before jumping your feet back up to their chest, you will complete one push-up.
• After coming up from the push-up position, you will jump with your feet forward and explode up to complete the repetition.

Safety and tips for burpees

• Like all exercises, burpees are very effective if you perform them safely and avoid injury.

• Start slowly and just do a few repetitions in the starting phase. Once you are comfortable and able to do this exercise easily then gradually increase the repetitions.
• Try to complete 8 or 10 repetitions one time before taking a pause, then go for the next set.

• Burpee exercise needs to perform a pushup, this can put extra stress on your wrists and shoulders. so, Be careful during push-ups you will not go so fast, it will twist your wrist when you land.
• Make sure you have to complete the basic components of the exercise before you add some weights or extra pushups or jumps.
• Burpees can be a very exhausting exercise.
• If you are not aware of this exercise then ask a physiotherapist or certified trainer to help you.

When did you not do a burpee?

• If your doctor advised you to take a rest.
• If any bone is fractured.
• If you were recently undergone surgery.
• If you feel any pain or discomfort during this exercise then immediately stop doing this exercise.