Burpee Utopia: A 5-Variation Workout

Burpee Utopia: A 5-Variation Workout

Learn to love the burpee; it will prepare your for almost anything. For this burpee workout, find a pull-up bar, tree branch, or anything you can hang from. Perform these 5 variations.

Warm-up

  • Dynamic warm-up

Burpee Workout: Main set

  • 1 minute towel-over-bar dead hang, then

5 rounds for time:

  • 5 hand-release burpees (at bottom of push-up, lift hands off ground)
  • 5 burpee pull-ups (jump into a pull-up)
  • 5 strict push-up burpees (perfect plank push-ups)
  • 5 burpee broad jumps (jump forward as far as you can)
  • 5 burpees (race standard)

Then,

  • 1 minute towel-over-bar dead hang

Cool Down

  • Stretch

Beginner Version: Don’t worry about the burpee pull-up; you can leave it out. Do 1 to 3 burpees of each burpee instead of 5.

Advanced Version: 10 to 15 of each burpee, and include a 15-minute hard run after the burpees, but before the final hang.

How to 10X Your Burpees

1. Think about your backside

 In the upward phase of the burpee, it’s really important to keep both your legs and core in mind. “When you push off the ground, allow your body to naturally arch while engaging your glutes,” suggests Paoli. By doing this, you’ll keep your lower back in a safe position.

2. Keep an upright chest.

Just like when you’re performing heavy Olympic lifts, like a squat or a snatch, it’s important to maintain an upright chest position any time your feet have full contact with the ground in your burpee. “Lift your chest up proud,” he suggests. “By doing this, you’ll be able to gain essential momentum that can carry you into your jump.”

3. End where you started

The last thing you want to do is start the burpee at point A and end it at point Z. If you’re far off your starting mark at that top jump, your form is likely all over the place—and you’re doing extra work. “You want to jump and try to land in the same place and with the same stance as you took off,” he says.

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