Burpee or Squat Thrust is a full body exercise used in strength training and as an aerobic exercise.
The basic movement is performed in four steps and known as a “four-count burpee”.
Burpees have a dumb name, but they’re actually pretty awesome.
They combine strength training and aerobic conditioning as few other bodyweight exercises ever could.
And burpees also have a special place in the Spartan world. For a number of good reasons, it’s one of the best exercises you can do.
Second to understanding what are burpees is understanding what they do. First, burpees work nearly every muscle in your body.
The squatting and kicking back work your legs. The hand plank works your arms, chest, and shoulders.
The combination of kicking back and planking works your lower back.
Burpee or Squat Thrust: Progression
Leg Progression
- Replace the standing up a step with a jump squat
- Replace the jump squat with two jump lunges—one on each side
- Add a pair of mountain climbers at the bottom
- Replace mountain climbers with Spiderman lunges
- Replace jump lunges with a box jump
Push-Up Progression
- Add a push-up at the bottom, after entering the hand plank position
- Add a half-second pause at the bottom of each push-up
- Extend the pause to one second
- Extend the pause to two seconds
- Replace the push-up with a plyometric push-up
- Clap your hands in midair on each plyometric push-up
Chin-Up Progression
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to optimally work your biceps, forearms, and upper and middle back without having something to grab onto
But if you have a chin-up bar handy, you can add chin-ups in order to make the burpee the most complete full-body exercise of them all.
- Two-second dead hang after standing/jumping up
- Chin-up without getting your chin over the bar
- Full chin-up, with your chin over the bar
- Full chin-up with slow eccentric—lower yourself over two to three seconds
The burpee is one of the best exercises you can do for whole-body strength and endurance—and with these progressions, it just got even better.
And the best part about burpees? It’s part and parcel to knowing what are burpees: You can do them right now. So what are you waiting for?
