How To Do a Burpee

The Burpee. It's an exercise with a funny name, but it works the whole body and can really get your heart rate going! Since I use burpees in my workouts all the time, I thought I'd give you a little breakdown of what it is and how to do it, so that I can use this as a reference without having to break out the steps each time.

The term "burpee" was coined in the 1930's when Dr. Royal H. Burpee developed the exercise as part of a fitness test. Since then, tons of different variations have been developed and it's become one of the most-used exercises in cross-fit and high-intensity exercise routines.

Normally, a burpee consists of 4-steps, but today I'm going to show you the way I do it, which adds two small steps and makes not only more difficult, but helps engage more muscle groups.

Here we go—how to do a burpee:

Top: Thrifted Victoria's Secret // Shoes: Nike Free Run // Pants: Champion

BURPEE STEPS:

1. Reach up: Reach toward the sky, extending your body. If you add the jump in Step 6, you will only do this the first time.
• Targets: calves
2. Bend to the ground: Bend down and place your hands on the ground.
• Targets: hamstrings
3. Jump out to a plank (push-up) position.
• Targets: core
4. Do a push-up.
• Targets: chest, shoulders, triceps
5. Jump feet back toward hands.
• Targets: core
6. Jump up: Jump up as high as you can. When your feet touch the ground, begin your next burpee (start at Step 2).
• Targets: quads, calves

A traditional 4-count burpee consists of Steps 1, 2, 3 and 5 (stand, bend down, jump out to a plank, jump your feet back in, stand & repeat). I add the push-up and jump to make it harder, which makes it a "burpee push-up with a jump."

Other burpee variations that I like to do include:

• Long-jump burpees (jump forward like a leap frog instead of up in Step 6, this one is really intense)
• One-legged burpees
• Dumbbell burpees (hold dumbbells in each hand while you do the exercise)
• Pull-up burpees (jump up to a pull-up in Step 6, this one is also difficult and usually turns a couple heads at the gym, so I only do it if the gym isn't too crowded)
• 8-count burpees (kick your feet out to a Y and bring them back together between Steps 3 and 4).

If you're a burpee pro, try some of the other variations! More burpee styles can be found here. If you're a beginner, try the simple 4-count burpee.

I have an awesome 10-20-30 workout that includes burpees coming soon, so keep an eye out. What's the verdict? Are you going to give burpees a shot? Let's get fit!