Burpee (exercise)
Encyclopedia
The burpee is a full body exercise used in strength training
and as aerobic exercise
. It is performed in four steps, and was originally known as a "four-count Burpee":
Knee push-up burpee : The athlete bends their knees and rests them on the ground before performing the push up.
Jump up Burpee : The athlete jumps up as high as they can in at the end of the movement and before beginning the next Burpee.
Long-jump burpee : The athlete jumps forward, not upward.
Tuck-jump burpee : The athlete pulls their knees to their chest (tucks) at the peak of the jump.
Jump-over burpee : The athlete jumps over an obstacle between burpees.
Box-jump burpee : The athlete jumps onto a box, rather than straight up and down.
One-armed burpee : The athlete uses only one arm for the whole exercise including the pushup.
Dumbbell burpee : The athlete holds a pair of dumbbells while performing the exercise.
Parkour burpee : Following one burpee on the ground, the athlete jumps upon a table and performs the second burpee on the table, then jumps back to the initial position.
Hindu push up burpee : Instead of a regular push up, do a hindu push up.
Pull-up burpee : Combine a pull-up with the jump or do a pull-up instead of the jump.
Muscle-up burpee : Combine a muscle-up (a variation of a pull-up
) with the jump or do a muscle-up instead of the jump.
Double burpee : Instead of one pushup, do two in a row. This cancels the drive from landing after the jump and makes the next jump harder. Each part of the burpee might be repeated to make it even harder.
One Leg burpee : The athlete stands on one leg, bends at the waist and puts hands on ground so they are aligned with shoulders. Next jump back with the standing leg to plank position. Jump forward with the one leg that was extended, and do a one-leg jump. Repeat on opposite side.
Side burpee : The athlete bends at waist and places hand shoulder-width apart to the side of right or left foot. Jump both legs out to side and land on the outer and inner sides of your feet. Jump back in, jump up, and repeat on opposite side.
Military 8 count bodybuilder : (1)Squat with hands on the ground, (2) Kick back your feet, (3) Down for push up, (4)Up for Push up, (5)Kick feet back in, (6) Stand up, (7) Motion one of a jumping jack, (8) Motion two of a jumping jack. Rinse and repeat.
Wall / incline / air burpee : The athlete kicks his feet up against a wall / up on a table / up in the air, instead of back. Usually, these variants are performed without a pushup.
, the exercise was named in the 1930s for American psychologist Royal H. Burpee, who developed the Burpee test. However, Royal H. Burpee was not a psychologist. He was a physiologist. He earned a PhD in Applied Physiology from Columbia University in 1940 and created the "Burpee" exercise as part of his PhD thesis as a quick and simple way to assess fitness. The exercise was popularized when the United States Armed Services adopted it as a way to assess the fitness level of recruits when the US entered WWII. Consisting of a series of the exercises performed in rapid succession, the test was meant to be a quick measure of agility, coordination and strength.
Strength training
Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction...
and as aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise is physical exercise of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. Aerobic literally means "living in air", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism...
. It is performed in four steps, and was originally known as a "four-count Burpee":
- Begin in a standing position.
- Drop into a squatSquat (exercise)In strength training, the squat is a compound, full body exercise that trains primarily the muscles of the thighs, hips and buttocks, quads , hamstrings, as well as strengthening the bones, ligaments and insertion of the tendons throughout the lower body...
position with your hands on the ground. (count 1) - Extend your feet back in one quick motion to assume the front plankPlank (exercise)The plank is an isometric core strength exercise that involves maintaining a difficult position for extended periods of time...
position. (count 2) - Return to the squat position in one quick motion. (count 3)
- Return to an upright standing position. (count 4)
More challenging variants
Burpee push up : The athlete performs a push-up after assuming the plank position.Knee push-up burpee : The athlete bends their knees and rests them on the ground before performing the push up.
Jump up Burpee : The athlete jumps up as high as they can in at the end of the movement and before beginning the next Burpee.
Long-jump burpee : The athlete jumps forward, not upward.
Tuck-jump burpee : The athlete pulls their knees to their chest (tucks) at the peak of the jump.
Jump-over burpee : The athlete jumps over an obstacle between burpees.
Box-jump burpee : The athlete jumps onto a box, rather than straight up and down.
One-armed burpee : The athlete uses only one arm for the whole exercise including the pushup.
Dumbbell burpee : The athlete holds a pair of dumbbells while performing the exercise.
Parkour burpee : Following one burpee on the ground, the athlete jumps upon a table and performs the second burpee on the table, then jumps back to the initial position.
Hindu push up burpee : Instead of a regular push up, do a hindu push up.
Pull-up burpee : Combine a pull-up with the jump or do a pull-up instead of the jump.
Muscle-up burpee : Combine a muscle-up (a variation of a pull-up
Pull-up (exercise)
A pull-up is an upper body compound pulling exercise where the body is suspended by the arms, gripping something, and pulled up with muscular effort...
) with the jump or do a muscle-up instead of the jump.
Double burpee : Instead of one pushup, do two in a row. This cancels the drive from landing after the jump and makes the next jump harder. Each part of the burpee might be repeated to make it even harder.
One Leg burpee : The athlete stands on one leg, bends at the waist and puts hands on ground so they are aligned with shoulders. Next jump back with the standing leg to plank position. Jump forward with the one leg that was extended, and do a one-leg jump. Repeat on opposite side.
Side burpee : The athlete bends at waist and places hand shoulder-width apart to the side of right or left foot. Jump both legs out to side and land on the outer and inner sides of your feet. Jump back in, jump up, and repeat on opposite side.
Other variants
8 count body builder : A burpee with a jumping jack on the ground. The 8 counts are: (1) squat with your hands on the ground, (2) kick your feet back, (3) kick your feet out to form a Y shape, (4) bring your feet back together, (5) down into a push-up, (6) up part of the push-up, (7) bring your feet back under you, (8) jump in the air.Military 8 count bodybuilder : (1)Squat with hands on the ground, (2) Kick back your feet, (3) Down for push up, (4)Up for Push up, (5)Kick feet back in, (6) Stand up, (7) Motion one of a jumping jack, (8) Motion two of a jumping jack. Rinse and repeat.
Wall / incline / air burpee : The athlete kicks his feet up against a wall / up on a table / up in the air, instead of back. Usually, these variants are performed without a pushup.
Origin
According to the Oxford English DictionaryOxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
, the exercise was named in the 1930s for American psychologist Royal H. Burpee, who developed the Burpee test. However, Royal H. Burpee was not a psychologist. He was a physiologist. He earned a PhD in Applied Physiology from Columbia University in 1940 and created the "Burpee" exercise as part of his PhD thesis as a quick and simple way to assess fitness. The exercise was popularized when the United States Armed Services adopted it as a way to assess the fitness level of recruits when the US entered WWII. Consisting of a series of the exercises performed in rapid succession, the test was meant to be a quick measure of agility, coordination and strength.