Despite the proliferation of various types of exercise equipment, many people are choosing instead to focus on calisthenics – using your bodyweight as resistance. This week, we’re looking at how to properly execute an old favourite – the burpee.
By Robert Carry
Burpees are generally used as an anerobic drill which boosts your cardio and helps you to drop excess body fat. However, they also work your trapezius, lower back, triceps, pectorals, deltoids, hamstrings, glutes, quadriceps, calves, and abdominals. Like other compound exercises, they stress the body in such a way as to trigger higher testosterone production. This in turn leads to the development of more lean muscle.
Here is how it goes:
- Start off in a standing position.
- Drop into the squat position with your hands palm down on the floor in front of you.
- Kick your legs out straight while bending your arms so you are at the bottom of a push-up position.
- Quickly return your feet to the squat position, while simultaneously pushing up with your arms.
- Jump as high as you can from the squat position, with your back straight and your arms overhead.
- Repeat the steps once you land.
Note, you should be explosive as possible when carrying out each part of the burpee in order to get maximum benefit.
There are a number of variations of the burpee, one of which involves the use of a medicine ball. It differs in that the push up part of the drill is done with the ball between your hands and the floor, and you then pick it up and hold it over your head for the jump portion.
It can also be made more difficult by the introduction of a pull up bar. Position yourself under a bar and grab hold of it when you jump. Then you do a chin-up before dropping back to the ground.
By way of further explanation, here is a ludicrously good looking blonde girl with the best body ever created by the hand of God (and man), doing burpees for your informative pleasure:
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