Burpees Exercise Challenge
When I first started out as a personal trainer, burpees were my nemesis.
It’s true. I was challenged by them. I felt poorly coordinated, I could hardly catch my breath, and I wanted to give up after the first few reps. Most of the time, I just avoided them altogether. But in working with my clients, I began to realize the true value of this high intensity exercise. And so I stuck with it, and eventually, burpees got easier and easier every week.
Now, I use burpees regularly in my own fitness routine and in the programs I develop for my clients. They’re an incredibly effective tool for jumpstarting your metabolism, getting your heart rate up, and involving every major muscle group in a few series of moves.
What Are Burpees?
If you’re not familiar with burpees, let me explain. A burpee is considered a high intensity exercise and is often used as part of high intensity interval training.
It’s essentially a sequence of movements that repeat, requiring nothing more than your body weight (which makes them a great option for home or the gym).
The starting position for a burpee is standing with your feet at about shoulder width and your hands hanging at your sides. Quickly lower your body into a deep squat, with your buttocks nearly touching the floor and your palms on the floor in front of you. At the moment you reach the bottom of your squat, press your hands into the floor and kick your feet straight back, entering a standard pushup position, elbows straightened. Then quickly jump back to the squat position, keeping your back straight. Once there, jump up quickly, raising your feet off the ground and lifting your hands straight to the ceiling.
That’s one complete burpee. But you want to keep moving, repeating the sequence as many times as possible without rest. The entire sequence should not include any actual pauses. Instead, you want to flow from movement to movement.
