Add Burpees to your Workout Routine: you won't Regret it!
Burpees aren’t new at all. In fact, this exercise is nearly one hundred years old. It was created in the 1930s and became popular during World War II because American soldiers wanted to measure their physical abilities. It’s tough and fun, so you should definitely add burpees to your workout routine.
Burpees have been part of most military training around the world, as well as security forces, firefighters and professional athletes. However, it became particularly popular in the second decade of the 21st century among non-professional athletes.
CrossFit made it popular by adding it to its circuit training, and now it’s so famous that it’s hard to imagine a group workout that doesn’t include it.
All in one: add burpees to your workout routine
One of the great advantages of burpees is that doing them doesn’t require any special equipment. All you need is a small space, comfortable clothes and shoes.
This exercise can adapt to any level, so no matter if you’re a beginner or a professional in terms of physical training. In fact, it’s recommended in the rehabilitation process of people with limited mobility.
Also, burpees are a combination of strength, resistance, and coordination, which works for all muscle groups.
More specifically, burpees have a huge impact on the development of chest muscles, triceps, shoulders, quads, hamstrings, calves, abs and glutes. Plus, this exercise optimizes the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. And not only that; burpees are ideal for the beta-oxidation of fatty acids, maintaining a fast metabolism for a few hours after your training.
At the same time, it strengthens and increases muscle mass. It’s an extremely efficient way to burn calories, with a rate of about 1.40 kcal per burpee.
Burpees: step by step
Before doing burpees, you should warm up first and do some stretching. Try a jump rope warm up or running on a treadmill.
Once your body is ready for the real action, start by standing up, with your legs hip-width apart, and your arms relaxed.
The first step is squatting down until you reach the floor with your hands right in front of your knees. Immediately after, and still supporting yourself with your hands, put your legs behind you with a jump until you’re in the plank position. At this point, if you want to make it a bit more challenging, you could do a push-up.
Try to keep the movements fluent and fast as you bring your knees back to your chest. Finally, jump up as high as you can and stretching your legs, and put your arms above the head to reach a completely vertical position.
An optional variation could be flexing your knees to your chest as you jump up and keeping your arms to the front, parallel to the floor. Then, land on your feet, and return to the initial position. Repeat as many times as you can in one minute, and then rest for 30 seconds.
You can do this three to four times. Burpees tend to be a compliment for other exercises, such as treadmill running, push-ups, planks, squats or lateral jumps.
Variations
Although burpees are already very challenging on their own, there are some variations that make it even more challenging and efficient. One of them is the kettlebell burpee, which is basically a burpee but holding a weight in your hands. The amount of weight will, of course, depend on the level and strength of each person.
Another option is the star jump burpee, which as you can guess from the name, involves jumping up in the air with your arms and legs as open as you can.
Finally, the monkey burpee is a very explosive variation; when you’re jumping up, you must hold on to a bar and then bring your legs to hip height. Or if you’re feeling very energetic, push yourself up above the bar!
