The most complete and most dreaded bodyweight exercise. The burpee combines a push-up, a squat and a jump in a fluid movement that explodes your cardio and engages every muscle in your body.
Execution
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down and place your hands on the floor in front of you. Jump your feet back to land in a push-up position. Perform a full push-up (chest to the floor). Jump your feet back toward your hands. Jump vertically, raising your arms overhead. Land softly and immediately chain the next rep.
Breathing
Inhale on the way down to the floor, exhale on the way back up and during the jump. Your breathing rhythm naturally adapts to the intensity — the key is to never hold your breath.
Benefits
- •Full-body work in a single movement: push, squat, jump, core
- •Simultaneously develops strength, endurance and power
- •Maximum cardio effect: raises heart rate in just a few reps
- •Burns a large number of calories by engaging major muscle chains
- •No equipment, minimal space required
Variants
Burpees without push-up
Jump to plank and return without performing the push-up. Reduces difficulty while keeping the cardio effect. A good starting point to build endurance.
Burpees without jump
Replace the final jump with a simple stand-up. Less joint impact — ideal in an apartment or for those with knee sensitivities.
Burpees with tuck jump
The final jump is replaced by a tuck jump (knees to chest). An advanced version that increases explosiveness and cardiovascular demand.
Our tips
- 1.Find a sustainable pace. A steady rhythm beats 5 fast burpees followed by 30 seconds gasping for breath
- 2.The push-up must be complete — if you can no longer do full push-ups, switch to burpees without push-up rather than cheating
- 3.Land softly on the balls of your feet, not stiff-legged
- 4.Keep your abs contracted throughout the floor phase to protect your lower back
Common mistakes
- •Skipping the push-up or doing a half push-up — it's an integral part of the movement
- •Lower back sagging in the plank position — brace your core before jumping your feet back
- •Landing with straight legs after the jump — bend your knees to absorb the impact
- •Going out too fast and collapsing after 4–5 reps — the burpee is a marathon, not a sprint
- •Forgetting to breathe — breath-holding under effort is the number-one trap with this exercise