Burpees have to be the most controversial exercise on the planet.
I haven’t seen another exercise cause so many fights in the comments section of social media.
That being said, the hooting and hollering over burpees being “dumb, dangerous and mindless” is worn out.
I don’t think burpees are the greatest exercise on the planet.
But, when you’re stuck in a hotel room or simply looking for a short burst dose of exercise, burpees deliver.
A burpee is a squat/hinge, sprawl, push up, return to stand, jump.
It’s not rocket science.
Deconstructed, these are all basic movements.
But… but… buuuut………. the abuse of burpee to elicit a “hardcore” workout is where things went wrong. More on that further down.
I’m curious to know how many trainers/coaches who playing around with burpees behind close doors, but bashing them on their social media pages?
Probably the same amount who rip on CrossFit and and then go test out Fran in their basement. Or the same amount of people barking about diet who secretly smash donuts in private.
I bet the number is higher than you’d think.
We all have our guilty pleasures.
Again, that being said, I do not think burpees are the greatest exercise on the planet.
Here’s a reality, people go too far with a lot of things in life.
Alcohol, food, video games, sex, drugs, social media, political views, religious views, TV, etc.
It’s not your flatscreen’s fault we can’t press the power button and find something better to do. Alcohol is not a fault for a person’s inability to stay sober. Goddamn Republicans. Goddamn Democrats. Social media is the devil!
Burpees are just an exercise, a really small tool in a gigantic tool box.
Deconstructed, burpees are nothing more than a series of smaller exercises woven into one giant exercise.
People don’t seem to have a problem with the smaller exercises that comprise a burpee.
Push up, squat/hip hinge, jump, sprawl, moving from a prone lying position to a standing position with some tempo (or vice versa).
But they have a problem with the burpee itself.
Fatigue is a major concern and factor with the burpee haters.
I get it.
But fatigue creates problems with ANY exercise after a certain point.
From a resource standpoint, burpees can be a pretty damn good conditioning builder, all without any equipment, a super small space and minimal time commitment.
Holy shit can burpees elevate heart rate in a hurry.
Like this burpee variation… whew!
Should you engage in a decent warm up before hand? Absolutely. Get some quality mobility training, dynamic movements and activation going before you engage in a burpee massacre.
You can leverage burpees to create a cardio-strength (some are calling it “strength aerobics” these days) type training effect without going overboard.
Imagine this… you could do quality 5 burpees, rest for 45 to 60 seconds, then do another 5 burpees, then rest for 45-60 seconds.
You work hard and smart for 5 good reps, then pace around and breathe deep to recover before starting the next set.
Part of the reason people hate on burpees so bad is because of the obnoxious work sets and prescription.
Doing 100 burpees AFAP creates horseshit body position after rep 15, yet the person flails around for the next 85 reps to set a “PR”.
By rep 40, the technique is so bad you can’t tell what’s happening. At rep 75 it looks like a panic attack.
Instead, you could try slow down the entire cycle of a burpee and control the hell out of it.
Table Push Aways for Body Transformation
For those using burpees to burn calories… it’s not that it’s wrong. It’s just that you could push away from the table a little sooner each day and spare yourself the physical torture.
Crushing your soul with a massive set of burpees, creating unnecessary aches and pains isn’t really a great strategy to reveal your six-pack or fit in that wedding dress.
Physical exertion does burn calories and can help to achieve body transformation goals, but it’s a really small piece of a larger pie.
You could increase the focus and discipline with quantity and quality of calorie intake. Sleep more. Improve hydration. Walk a lot.
Easier said than done yes, yet, completely reasonable.
People are traveling to the moon riding rockets, so it’s definitely humanly possible to place the fork down softly on the table a few bites early during lunch and dinner.
From the lens I look through, it’s a lot more efficient to eat a little less each at each meal, compared to wrecking my body and redlining my heart rate with 200 burpee workouts.
Very few average Joes (which an overwhelming majority of the people on this planet are) can out train their diet.
And yes, you are likely average. Sorry. I’m average too.
But hey, every person over the age of 18 years old is considered to be an adult, and can therefore make independent adult decisions on how they want to organize their life.
Extreme rep schemes of burpees look terrible. Atrocious. It doesn’t make you move better. It makes you tired and more susceptible to a stupid injury.
That being said, extreme work sets of squats, push-ups, pull-ups, sprints, jumping jacks, planks, deadlifts, inverted rows, lunges, box jumps also look disgusting.
It’s not burpees fault. Stop hating.
Mobility and strength is also a factor with burpees. People lack mobility, big time. They also lack strength.
Shit, some people might watch my movement and think I lack mobility.
It’s probably not a good idea to “crush” burpees if you’re lacking in any one of the smaller exercises that make up a full burpee.
For example, take a basic hip hinge.
A kettlebell swing is a GREAT example of a hip hinging exercise.
You don’t need a Kinesiology degree or a CSCS certificate to know how to push your hips back.
Literally, just push your hips back and lower your belly button closer to your thighs. You might feel a little pull in your hamstrings, squeeze your butt cheeks a little bit..
Boom. That’s a hinge. Some folks can’t make that happen on command.
Others cannot perform a quality rep of isolated push up or bodyweight squat.
You don’t need burpees.
People fear spine movement, particular flexion. I’m no longer afraid of spinal flexion. We flex our spines in everyday life, so why not condition for it?
Can you jump? No? Scrap burpees. Work on jumping.
Practice the isolated exercise that make up a burpee, before combining them into a gut busting cardio torture session.
Hammering these exercises in isolation will build strength, endurance, efficiency, lean muscle and fitness.
Any one of these programs can help you tremendously.
You’ll prep your body gradually for cranking out those burpees.
The number of people who don’t have a regular exercise routine is staggering.
I’m not talking about ramping your deadlift and squat up to 2x bodyweight either. I’m talking about the basics, maintenance, the bare minimum. Accumulating adequate steps most days of the week.
Modern humans exercise because we aren’t moving like once did.
The average person is sitting more than ever, and moving less than ever.
Deadly combination.
But again, that is not the burpees fault. You can’t point fingers at burpees and label them as a trash exercise.
It’s just an exercise.
Burpees are not the worst exercise on the planet, and they are also not the greatest.
They’re just an exercise.
Use them, or don’t.
I’m still going to use them here and there, responsibly, WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT. 👊
M(eaux)tion Fitness 