How to Videos: The Many Faces of the Burpee.
Post by Olivia Martino, Certified Personal Trainer and Co-Owner, Nourish Northwest
We all let out a groan when told we have to perform this exercise, yet deep down we know it’s going to be better for us in the long run. It’s true, it’s hard. It hurts. We hate it, yet love it and need it all at once. My friends, I’m talking about the burpee.
So why does this tortuous exercise appear so frequently in our group fitness classes?
The main reason that we love the burpee is that it incorporates almost every major muscle group into one exercise, while also raising and keeping the heart rate elevated; a mix of cardio and strength training all in one fellow swoop. You’ve got your legs propelling you up into the air, your core working to stabilize you and your arms resisting against gravity as they lower you to the floor.
Another great reason to love the burpee is that you can do it anywhere. This exercise requires no special equipment or space. Do a few right when you get out of bed in the morning or in your hotel room. Stop at the park in the middle of a jog and bang out a few. Do burpees during the duration of a commercial break.
Lastly, we love the burpee because it’s modifications are endless and can be tailored to any fitness level. This means any beginner can perform this exercise and continually challenge themself by adding things on to make it harder. So, let me walk you through a few of these modifications and then leave you with a challenge: just 10 burpees a day. Right when you wake up, in the afternoon, before lunch… whenever you can squeeze them in. I promise, you will see results with just as little as 10 per day. And I have a feeling you’ll start to love them too.
The basic burpee
Starting in a standing position, fold over your legs and place your hands on the ground.
Walk your feet out one by one into a plank position.
Walk your feet back into your hands, one by one.
Stand back up.
Burpee with a hop
Starting in a standing position, jump your feet back into a plank.
Jump your feet back into your hands.
Hop up and land back in a standing position
Burpee with a push up
Starting in standing position, jump or walk your feet back into a plank.
Lower yourself down to the ground and back up, completing a full push up.
Walk or jump your feet back into your hands.
Hop back up and land in standing position.
Burpee with a jack
Starting in a standing position, jump your feet back into a plank.
Jump your legs out and in, as if you were doing a jumping jack.
Jump your feet back into your hands.
Hop up and land back in a standing position
Burpee with a frog jump
Starting in a standing position, jump your feet back into a plank.
Jump your feet back into your hands.
Jump your feet up to your hands, landing in a squat position.
Jump your feet back into your hands.
Hop up and land back in a standing position