How To Do A Burpee and Not Hate It

We are talking how to do a burpee…and not hate it. I’m breaking this exercise down move by move, and offering modifications for every fitness level.

How To Do A Burpee and Not Hate It

Hiiii!

Good Morning and Happy Monday!

We are chatting burpees today! I’ve been blogging under the Burpees for Breakfast name for a few years now and I have yet to share a post on how to do a burpee…and not hate it! A couple weeks ago, I included a burpee in one of my cardio intervals for my Sunday class. One of my participants asked how to work up to a burpee with her chest touching the ground. My initial answer was that her chest didn’t need to touch the ground. Then I broke it down and gave her a few options.

A burpee will look different for everyone based on their level of fitness. 

A burpee will look different for every level of fitness #burpee #sweatpink @fitapproach Click To Tweet

See that up there? If you are unable to do a burpee with your chest touching the ground and a huge jump at the end, not to worry! I’ll share a few variations of a burpee, based on your level of fitness.

A burpee can be broken down in to 4 basic exercises: a squat, a plank, a push-up and a jump. But first, let’s talk posture.

POSTURE

Having good posture is the foundation of all moves, especially for the burpee. Starting from the bottom up:

Stand with feet hip width apart, knees slightly bent, squeeze the glutes and quads, tuck pelvis slightly and engage core by exhaling and blowing all your air out. Chest should be lifted, shoulders rolled back and down, engaging the lats. Head should be up, gaze looking forward.

THE SQUAT

Next up, is the squat. Driving through the heels, sit butt back as if you were sitting in a chair. Lower down and reach arms to the ground.

THE PLANK

When lowered into the squat, place your hands on the ground and move back** into plank position. In plank, hand should be suction cupped to the ground, pressing through the palm and fingertips, not just the wrist. Think about that standing posture – pelvis should be tucked, core engaged, shoulders back and down. Squeeze the glutes and quads. Shoot the heels to the back of the room, while on the balls of your feet.

** FOR BEGINNERS: Step back into plank position, rather than jump.

THE PUSH-UP

Now that you are in plank position, it’s time to lower down to the ground into a push-up. Bend at the elbows (should be at about a 45 degree angle, if looking overhead) and lower your chest all the way to the ground**. Once your chest touches the ground, push through the palms and the balls of your feet to come back into plank position.

** FOR BEGINNERS: Skip the push-up. After plank position, move back up into the squat.
** FOR INTERMEDIATE: If you aren’t ready to have your chest touch the ground yet, just perform a push-up until those elbows are at about 90 degrees.

THE JUMP (x2)

After assuming plank position, ensure that core is engaged, press through palms and the balls of your feet to jump the legs up** towards the hands, back into squat position.

** FOR BEGINNERS: Step back up into squat position, just like you did with the step back into plank.

Once you land in squat position, drive through the heels and bend the knees as you jump up high** and land back on your feet**.

** FOR BEGINNERS: A couple options, completely cut out the jump at the top and just stand at the top. OR, drive through the heels and come up on your tip toes, squeezing those glutes and quads.

How To Do a Burpee & Not Hate It #burpee #sweatpink @fitapproach Click To Tweet

There you have it! I encourage you to try out a burpee in a way that matches your level of fitness. Keep in mind, that if you have knee or back trouble, skipping in the jumps might be helpful. As you continue to build your fitness, slowly work on progressing your burpees!

Disclaimer: While I am a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, I am not YOUR personal trainer or group fitness instructor. I stand behind the workouts I share on the blog. Please be mindful of the exercises and workouts you perform. Work smart and safely, and when in doubt please consult your physician. 

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How was your weekend?! DO anything exciting? Friday was a relaxing self-care night. The Hubs and I made homemade pizza, ate ice cream and watched almost the entire 3rd season of Rules of Engagement. We started watching it a few weeks ago and like it enough to watch an episode or two a night. Although, David Spade is not believable as the player of the show. Like not believable.

Saturday, I spent the morning at my favorite coffee shop, working on blog and business stuff. I made a quick stop home for lunch, an Oscar walk and to start laundry. Then I met up with Sarah of Creating A Better Tomorrow at Starbucks and we chatted business and blog stuff. It was so fun! Be on the lookout for a collaboration soon! I had about 1.5hr until my next coffee date, so I did a little work and made a run to Trader Joe’s. The traffic was INSANE and what should have been a 15 – 20 minute trip took 45!! I made it 10 minutes late to my next coffee date with friend and Beta tester, Abbie from Abbie G Meyer, which was great! I did some cleaning and more work when I got home and hung out with The Hubs.

Sunday I was up super early. I did a good amount of work before doing a little cleaning and teaching my Sunday class. I met up with another friend and Beta tester to chat nutrition. Came home to do food prep, take blog workout photos and relax for the night because it was a full and productive weekend!

SO, TELL ME:

Burpees, love ’em or hate ’em?
What did you do this weekend?!

XOXO,
JEN

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