Burpee
Description
The burpee is a full-body bodyweight conditioning exercise that combines a squat, plank, push-up, and vertical jump into one continuous movement. It elevates the heart rate quickly, builds muscular endurance across the entire body, and requires no equipment, making it a staple of high-intensity interval training and metabolic conditioning workouts.
Muscle Group
Equipment Required
Burpee Instructions
- Start standing with feet shoulder-width apart and arms at your sides.
- Squat down and place your hands on the floor in front of your feet, roughly shoulder-width apart.
- Jump or step both feet back into a high plank position with your body forming a straight line from head to heels.
- Perform a full push-up by lowering your chest to the floor, then pressing back up to the plank position. Keep your core braced and your hips level.
- Jump or step your feet forward to land just outside your hands, returning to a low squat position.
- Drive through your heels and explode upward into a vertical jump, reaching your arms overhead.
- Land softly with your knees slightly bent, then immediately drop into the next rep. Keep moving for the prescribed time or rep count.
Burpee Form & Visual
Burpee Benefits
- Trains cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance simultaneously
- Works the entire body: legs, chest, shoulders, triceps, and core in every rep
- Burns a high number of calories per minute
- Requires no equipment and minimal space
- Easily scaled up or down by adjusting speed, push-up depth, or jump height
- Builds mental toughness through sustained high-intensity effort
Burpee Muscles Worked
- Quadriceps
- Glutes
- Hamstrings
- Calves
- Pectoralis major (chest)
- Triceps
- Anterior deltoids
- Core (rectus abdominis and obliques)
Burpee Variations & Alternatives
- Half Burpee (no push-up, no jump)
- No-Push-Up Burpee
- Step-Back Burpee (lower impact)
- Burpee Box Jump
- Burpee Pull-Up
- Burpee Broad Jump
- Burpee Tuck Jump
- Single-Leg Burpee
- Burpee with Mountain Climber
- Dumbbell Burpee (with dumbbell rows or presses)
