How to Do a Burpee
A burpee is a full-body conditioning move that blends a squat, a plank, and a jump to get your heart rate up quickly. Drop hands to the floor, move your feet back to a tight plank, bring them back under you, then stand and jump softly. Burpees work well when you want a hard effort with zero equipment.
What Muscles Does a Burpee Work?
Burpees hit your legs hardest (especially quads and glutes) because you’re repeatedly squatting and standing. Your chest and triceps assist when you add a push-up, and your abs work to keep your plank position from sagging or piking.
| Role | Muscles | Function in the burpee |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Quadriceps, glutes | Stand up from the squat and control landings |
| Secondary | Chest, triceps | Press out of the bottom if you include a push-up |
| Stabilizers | Abdominals | Keep a straight-line plank and protect the lower back |
How Do You Perform a Burpee?
Move smoothly from squat to plank to jump, keeping a strong plank line and landing softly so the reps stay safe and repeatable.
- Start tall: Stand with feet about hip-width and your weight spread across the whole foot.
- Hands to floor: Hinge and squat down until your palms are planted just in front of your feet.
- Kick back to plank: Jump or step your feet back into a tight plank (glutes squeezed, ribs down, head neutral).
- Optional push-up: Lower chest toward the floor, then press back up while keeping your hips from sagging.
- Feet back in: Jump or step your feet outside your hands so you can stand without rounding hard through your back.
- Stand and jump: Drive up, then jump with a soft landing (quiet feet, knees tracking over toes).
- Breathe and pace: Exhale as you stand or jump, then inhale as you drop into the next rep.
If your wrists don’t love burpees: Turn hands slightly out, use fists on a soft mat, or use push-up handles/dumbbells so your wrists stay neutral.
What Are the Benefits of Burpees?
Burpees build conditioning and full-body coordination without requiring equipment or a lot of space.
- High heart-rate stimulus: They raise breathing and heart rate quickly, making them useful for intervals.
- Full-body coordination: You practice transferring force from floor to stand repeatedly.
- Easy to scale: You can step, elevate hands, remove the push-up, or reduce jump height.
- Time-efficient: A short burpee finisher can deliver a lot of effort in a few minutes.
What Are Common Burpee Mistakes?
The most common problem is letting the plank collapse and turning the rep into a low-back “worm.”
Are your hips sagging in the plank?
Problem: Your belly drops and your lower back arches when your feet shoot back.
Why it happens: You’re rushing the transition or you’re not bracing.
Fix: Step back instead of jumping back, and cue “ribs down, glutes tight” before moving your feet.
Are you landing with loud, stiff feet?
Problem: You slam the landing with knees caving or heels popping up.
Why it happens: You’re trying to go too fast or jump too high.
Fix: Jump lower, land quietly, and think “abs on, knees track over toes.”
Are you turning it into a straight-leg fold?
Problem: You keep legs almost straight and reach for the floor with your back.
Why it happens: Tight hips/ankles or fatigue.
Fix: Widen stance slightly and squat your hips down so hands reach the floor without a big back round.
Are you “snaking” off the floor on the push-up?
Problem: Chest comes up first, hips lag, and the rep looks like a wave.
Why it happens: The push-up is too hard at your current pace.
Fix: Remove the push-up, elevate your hands, or do the push-up from knees.
Are Burpees Good for Beginners?
Yes, as long as you scale them so you can keep a clean plank and safe landings. Most beginners do best starting with step-back burpees (no jumping back) and a small “pop” at the top instead of a high jump.
How Do You Scale and Progress Burpees?
Think of burpees as two parts: the floor transition (squat → plank → squat) and the power (stand/jump). Scale the part that’s breaking down first.
Make them easier:
- Step-back / step-in burpee: No jumping your feet.
- No-push-up burpee (squat thrust): Hold a plank instead of lowering to the floor.
- Hands-elevated burpee: Put hands on a bench to reduce load and protect the low back.
- No-jump burpee: Stand up and reach overhead instead of leaving the ground.
Make them harder:
- Add a strict push-up: Keep the rep honest before speeding up.
- Standardize the bottom: Choose chest-to-floor or no-push-up and stick with it for the whole interval.
- Add a target: Tap a wall ball target or clap overhead to standardize range.
- Increase density: Same minutes, more reps with the same form.
Simple 4-week progression (conditioning focus):
- Week 1: 6–8 rounds of 20 seconds burpees / 40 seconds rest.
- Week 2: 8–10 rounds of 20 seconds on / 40 seconds off.
- Week 3: 8 rounds of 25 seconds on / 35 seconds off.
- Week 4: 10 rounds of 25 seconds on / 35 seconds off.
How Often Should You Do Burpees?
For conditioning, 2–4 times per week is plenty if your joints tolerate them and you vary intensity. Keep hard burpee sessions away from heavy lower-body strength days if your legs feel beat up.
What Are the Best Alternatives to Burpees?
If burpees bother your wrists, shoulders, or low back, these alternatives keep the “conditioning + full-body” intent with less impact.
Alternative Exercises
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Squat thrust (no push-up, no jump)
Best for: Getting the heart-rate effect with simpler mechanics.
Key difference: Plank in/plank out without going to the floor or jumping.
Difficulty: Easy to moderate.
Mountain climbers
Best for: Core + cardio with less impact.
Key difference: Hands stay planted; legs drive fast under a stable trunk.
Difficulty: Moderate.
Jumping jacks
Best for: Low-skill intervals and warm-ups.
Key difference: Upright cardio without floor transitions.
Difficulty: Easy.
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