Burpee

intermediate cardio exercise · body weight · targets cardiovascular system

Body part: cardio
Primary target: cardiovascular system
Equipment: body weight
Difficulty: intermediate

The burpee is the most-cursed exercise in fitness — and arguably the most efficient. From standing, you drop into a squat, kick the feet back to a plank, do a push-up, jump the feet forward, and explode upward into a vertical jump. Five movements compressed into a single rep that hits the chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, glutes, calves, and core, all while spiking the heart rate above 170 bpm in seconds. Its efficiency is what makes it a staple of military training, CrossFit, and home workouts everywhere. There's no other bodyweight exercise that compresses as much full-body work into as little time as the burpee. Ten minutes of interval burpees produces a cardiovascular and muscular demand similar to a 30-40 minute moderate run, with the added benefit of upper body work that running doesn't provide. What keeps people from using burpees more is how brutal they feel. Most beginners can do 5-10 reps before form collapses; trained athletes hit 30-50 reps in a 5-minute test. The exercise rewards consistency more than any flashy variation — a basic burpee done correctly is enough; you don't need to add jumping jacks, tucks, or push-ups in the air to get the benefit. Master the standard version, then decide if added complexity actually serves your goals.

Why train the Burpee?

Hits every major muscle group — chest, shoulders, legs, back, and core — in a single repetition.
Spikes heart rate faster than running for short conditioning blocks, saving session time.
Builds work capacity that transfers to almost every sport and physical task.
Trains the body to recover quickly between bursts of effort, not just sustain steady pace.
Requires no equipment and minimal space — works in a hotel room or backyard.
Provides clear progression in time-based tests (e.g., max burpees in 5 minutes), which motivates training.

How to do the Burpee: step by step

1Start in a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2Lower your body into a squat position by bending your knees and placing your hands on the floor in front of you.
3Kick your feet back into a push-up position.
4Perform a push-up, keeping your body in a straight line.
5Jump your feet back into the squat position.
6Jump up explosively, reaching your arms overhead.
7Land softly and immediately lower back into a squat position to begin the next repetition.

Muscles worked

Primary

cardiovascular system

Secondary

quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, chest

Common mistakes to avoid

Letting the lower back sag in the plank position
When you kick the feet back, the hips often drop and the lumbar spine takes the load. Brace the abs the moment your hands hit the ground — the plank should be a flat line, not a sagging hammock.
Skipping or shortening the push-up
Under fatigue, the push-up becomes a chest tap or disappears entirely. If you can't complete a clean push-up at the bottom of every burpee, lower your rep count or rest more between sets — partial reps just teach bad form.
Landing the final jump on stiff legs
Coming down hard with locked knees sends impact straight into the joints. Land on the balls of the feet with knees soft, ready to absorb into the next squat.
Slamming the wrists into the ground on the kick-back
Hard impact on the wrists during the kick-back accumulates over hundreds of reps and leads to wrist tendinopathy. Place the hands deliberately, not by collapsing onto them — bend at the elbows slightly to absorb the descent.
Pacing too aggressively at the start of a long set
Burpees punish over-pacing harder than almost any other exercise. The first 10 reps feel manageable; reps 20-50 feel impossible if you sprinted out of the gate. Settle into a sustainable rhythm from rep one.

Easier and harder variations

Easier

Step the feet back one at a time instead of jumping them, and skip the vertical jump at the top. Or do a no-push-up burpee (drop into plank, jump back to feet, jump up). Both reduce intensity by 40-50%.

Harder

Add a tuck jump at the top (knees to chest) for more lower-body explosiveness. Or wear a weighted vest. Or progress to dumbbell burpees — burpee with a row at the bottom of the plank using dumbbells.

Alternative exercises

Jack burpee
Adds a jumping-jack arm/leg pattern at the top of each rep. More lateral demand on shoulders and hips than the standard burpee.
Up-down (no push-up)
Burpee minus the push-up. Useful when chest and triceps are fried but you still want full-body conditioning.
Manmaker
Burpee with a row at the bottom, using dumbbells. More strength-focused with less cardio than a true burpee.

How to program the Burpee into your training

Burpees are conditioning, not strength training. Program them as a finisher or as the conditioning piece on a dedicated cardio day, never as the main work of a strength session. For metabolic conditioning: 6-10 rounds of 20-30 seconds maximum effort with 30-60 seconds rest. Total work time of 3-5 minutes will leave most people thoroughly cooked. For circuit conditioning: pair with upper body and core movements. Example circuit — 8 burpees, 10 push-ups, 30-second front plank, 12 reverse lunges — repeated 3-4 times with 90 seconds rest between rounds. For an EMOM (every minute on the minute) format: 6-8 burpees at the top of every minute for 10 minutes. The slower your reps, the less rest you get; this teaches consistent pacing under accumulating fatigue. For max-rep tests: 3, 5, or 10 minute burpee tests as a fitness benchmark, performed every 4-8 weeks. Track your numbers over time as a marker of conditioning progress. Schedule them no more than twice per week. Even at 2 weekly sessions, watch for general fatigue in other training — if your strength numbers start dropping, reduce burpee frequency rather than letting overall training quality suffer. Avoid combining burpees with other high-impact conditioning in the same week (sprints, plyometric circuits, jump rope intervals). The cumulative joint stress adds up fast.

Recovery and frequency

Burpees are the most demanding bodyweight conditioning exercise commonly used. Plan for 48-72 hours of reduced training capacity after a hard burpee session — even strength work feels heavier the day after. Wrists and lower back tend to take the most cumulative load. If either area starts feeling cranky, drop frequency to once per week and address mobility: wrist circles and cat-cow movements daily can preempt most issues. Hydration and protein intake matter more than usual on burpee days because of the total muscle mass involved. Sleep is the biggest recovery lever — aim for 8+ hours after high-intensity conditioning days.

Frequently asked questions

How many sets and reps of burpees should I do?

Work in time intervals — 6-10 rounds of 20-30 seconds work with 30-60 seconds rest. Counting reps under fatigue tends to break form, while time blocks force you to pace.

How often should I train the burpee?

1-2 times per week max as a primary conditioning piece. They're so taxing that more frequent training cuts into your recovery for actual strength work.

How many calories does a burpee burn?

Roughly 8-12 calories per minute of work for an average person, depending on body weight and intensity. A 10-minute burpee session burns 80-120 calories during the work plus continued elevated metabolism for hours after.

Are burpees better than running for fat loss?

Different tools, similar effect. Per minute, burpees burn more calories and recruit more muscle than steady running, but you can't sustain them for 30 minutes the way you can sustain a jog. Both work; pick what you'll do consistently.

Can I do burpees every day?

Not at high intensity. Daily low-volume burpees (10-20 reps) are fine as a conditioning maintainer. Daily max-effort burpee sessions lead to overtraining and joint issues within a few weeks.

Why does the burpee make me feel sick?

The repeated up-down motion drops and raises your blood pressure quickly — combined with high heart rate, this can cause nausea or dizziness, especially in untrained or under-fueled trainees. Build up slowly, eat a small snack 1-2 hours before, and stay hydrated.