by David Colello

Created on: November 23, 2010

Gymnastics offers an overall fitness regime, and one such popular exercise is called a Burpee.  A Burpee consists of several movements performed in combination. There can be several different variations, but the basic moves are the same. To begin with, you should find a clear space where you will not bump into any walls or furniture.

The basic Burpee consists of a squat, a pushup, then another squat and a vertical jump. You start with feet roughly shoulder width apart.  While swinging your arms upward, jump explosively and reach your arms towards the ceiling or sky. When coming back down, go directly into a squat as soon as your feet touch the ground.  Place your hands on the ground next to your feet and jump both feet backwards, catching yourself in the pushup position. Proceed with a pushup, then jump your feet forwards next to your hands. Stand back up and repeat from the beginning.

Now there are ways to help improve your ability to do Burpees beyond just doing the full combination of moves.  For instance, practicing each move separately will greatly enhance your skill.  You should vary this with the full Burpee.  Perform a set of 15 squats, then do 15 Burpees.  Next do 15 pushups followed by 15 Burpees.  Finally do 15 vertical jumps followed by 15 Burpees.  Repeat this entire cycle for 10 minutes at first, then gradually increase this by 5 minutes each time you work out until you can manage to keep going for a full 30 minutes.

There are other variations of exercises that can be done in the Burpee routine that will keep things interesting and challenging. One common switch that you can try is to swap squats for lunges. Each Burpee should consist of a lunge with an alternating leg forward. This will increase the difficulty level when you have become adept at doing the regular Burpee.

Yet another variation involves adding an entirely new part to the Burpee.  After coming back up from the pushup position, jump with both feet together to your side, then proceed with the squat and pushup once again. 

Doing Burpees can be an intense full body workout, and one that you can do without any extra equipment or special training.  In fact, one could stay in shape while doing little else but these exercises. With practice you will be adding your own variations to the regular combinations, pushing yourself further and surprising yourself with how far that you have come.

Learn more about this author, David Colello.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.