What are the benefits of doing burpees exercise?
Other than the obvious benefits, like being a fantastic cardio session and an excellent strength builder – there are a few less obvious ones as well.
And today, I’ll tell you all about them!
Contents
How to do a Burpee: The Basics
A burpee goes like this:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Lower into a squat.
- Place your hands on the floor in front of your feet.
- Jump your feet back into the plank position and complete a push-up.
- Jump your feet forward to their original position.
- Reach your arms above your head and jump with as much force as you can.
- REPEAT
The burpee is a full-body workout, which means that you are working a truckload of muscles from head to toe in one single exercise.
Every single muscle in your entire body gets a piece of the action when you’re doing the burpee movements!
Utilizing the burpee in a home exercise routine is perfect, incorporating both strength training and cardio in one go…
Yeah, I know. Pretty cool!
There are many variations to the burpee; some are harder than others.
At the end of this article, I have listed a few of them, but first -let’s have a look at why the burpee is so great:
The Benefits of Burpees Exercise
Burpees Builds Strength!
When you build muscle, you do so through muscle tension, muscle damage, and metabolic stress.
Muscle tension occurs when you do something your body was not previously adapted to. When you’re sore after a workout, you’re feeling muscle damage.
Metabolic stress is the burning feeling you feel during a workout. When your cells swell around the muscle, they help heal and strengthen that muscle.
The burpee causes all three!
“A single burpee demands that your entire body work to perform six bodyweight movements in a row (including three separate jumps) that take you from vertical to horizontal, back to vertical again.”
Reference: huffingtonpost.com/ Greatist – A Brief History Of The Burpee
The more burpees you do, the more of each you cause, -which contributes to muscle growth.
And:
The more muscle we have, the higher our basal metabolic rate, -helping us lose weight.
Pretty nice, huh?
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Do Killer Cardio Workouts With Burpees
The burpee isn’t just strength training, however.
Actually, it is more so cardio.
When we raise our heart rates to a certain point, we are engaging in cardiovascular exercise.
Cardio leads to:
- weight loss,
- a stronger heart,
- less stress,
- better sleep,
- reduced risk of heart disease,
and a lot more!
The burpee couples strength training with cardio to bring you the benefits of both worlds!
Try doing a Tabata session only doing burpees…
I promise, it will be one of the toughest 4 minutes of exercise you have ever experienced!
There are Tons of Burpee Variations
Burpees come in a lot of forms.
Some do mountain climbers in the push-up step of the exercise, further adding to the strength training component of a burpee.
Others do the double burpee, performing each step twice instead of once.
Some even replace the push-up with a donkey kick!
However you choose to change it, I will promise you this:
The burpee will NEVER bore you!
For ideas of variations, check out this excellent list showing you 15(!!!) different varieties of burpees: 15 New Burpees You Must Try.
Pro tip: Wear a weight vest while doing your burpees to x2-up the challenge!
Burpee Challenge: The Burpee One Minute Race
A simple, but yet super-effective cardio challenge with burpees is the “one minute race”.
Every day, you time one minute to see how many burpees you can complete.
This is a measure of your overall fitness because the number of burpees you can do should increase over time as your general fitness level gets better.
Don’t expect a lot of changes from one day to the next but more gradually over a few weeks.
Push your self to make sure your body really works towards its limit to get the best effect!
Fun fact:
“Cameron Dorn holds the world record for doing the most Burpees in 24 hours – 10,105! Keep that in mind next time you think your trainer is making you do too many.”
Reference: fbbcblog.com – 5 FUN FACTS ABOUT BURPEES
Final Words: Start Doing Burpees!
So, what are the benefits of doing burpees exercise?
Well:
The burpee is one of the most exhaustive exercises you can do without any equipment!
Using nothing but your body weight, willpower, and drive, you can work every major muscle in your body with this one exercise!
So; -with this, I challenge you:
Start each morning with the one minute race and be prepared to see results to your general fitness level within weeks!
Do you accept?
PS! If you’re looking for ways of doing cardio, check out my definite guide on cardio workouts at home. Here you’ll find an in-depth look at 8 different cardio forms, and a ton of different cardio workout programs.
Now it’s your turn. Do you love burpees? Or do you hate them? I would love to know!
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