Conditioning
Burpees
- Kit
- No kit
- Works
- quads · chest · front delts
- Also
- glutes · triceps · calves · abs
The burpee moves you from standing to the floor and back in one continuous cycle. It trains your legs, chest and shoulders while pushing your breathing hard, which is why it works as a work movement in a circuit. It suits anyone with room to lie down and the joint comfort to drop and stand repeatedly.
Form
How to do burpees
- 1Stand with your feet hip width apart and a clear arm's length of floor in front of you.
- 2Squat down, plant both hands on the floor and jump or step your feet back into a straight plank with your hips level.
- 3Lower your chest to the floor, then press back up, keeping your ribs and hips moving together rather than sagging.
- 4Jump or step your feet back in toward your hands, then stand or jump up tall, landing with soft knees.
- 5Breathe out on the way up out of the floor and in as you set up for the next cycle. Keep the pace steady enough to hold that rhythm for the whole set.
Watch for
Common mistakes
Hips sag or pike up when the feet land in the plank.
Fix: Squeeze your glutes and brace your middle before the feet land so the plank arrives in one straight line.
Starting at a sprint and stalling halfway through the effort.
Fix: Pick a pace you could hold to the end of the set and keep it even.
Landing the jump with locked knees and a thud.
Fix: Land on the middle of your foot and let your knees and hips bend to absorb it.
Variations
Easier and harder
Sessions