How to do burpees: Step-by-step guide and tips for beginners

Looking for a full body exercise? Burpees are perfect to charge up your whole body. Learn how to burpees and its variations.
burpees for fat loss
Try burpees for quick fat loss! Image courtesy: Adobe Stock
Manasvi Jain Published: 16 Mar 2023, 17:30 pm IST
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Burpees are a full-body exercise that can be challenging, but also very effective in building strength and improving cardiovascular fitness. In this article, we’ll go over how to do burpees step-by-step, as well as some tips for modifying the exercise to make it easier or more challenging depending on your fitness level.

Burpees are a full-body exercise with multiple health benefits

1. Improving cardiovascular fitness: Burpees are a high-intensity exercise that can elevate your heart rate quickly, helping to improve your overall cardiovascular fitness.

2. Building strength: Burpees work multiple muscle groups, including the chest, arms, shoulders, back, core and legs, making them an effective exercise for building overall strength and muscle tone.

3. Increasing endurance: Since burpees require both strength and cardiovascular fitness, they can help increase your endurance and stamina over time.

4. Burning calories: Burpees are a calorie-burning exercise that can help you burn fat and lose weight when combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

5. Convenience: Burpees are a bodyweight exercise that can be done anywhere, without the need for any equipment. This makes them a convenient and accessible exercise for people with busy schedules or limited access to a gym.

6. Boosting metabolism: Since burpees are a high-intensity exercise that work multiple muscle groups, they can help boost your metabolism and continue burning calories even after your workout is over.

metabolism
Speed up your metabolism with burpees! Image courtesy: Shutterstock

Let’s take a look at how to do burpees

Here is a step-by-step guide to doing burpees.

Step 1

Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides.

Step 2

Drop down into a squat position, placing your hands on the ground in front of you.

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Step 3

From the squat position, kick your feet back so that you end up in a plank position, with your arms straight and your body in a straight line from head to toe.

Step 4

Lower your body down to the ground by bending your arms, keeping your elbows close to your body.

Step 5

Once you’re on the ground, push yourself back up into the plank position.

Step 6

Jump your feet forward to return to the squat position.

Step 7

Stand up straight and jump up, reaching your hands overhead.

Step 8

Land softly and immediately drop back down into the squat position to start the next rep.

how to do burpees
Here is the proper way to do burpees. Image courtesy: Shutterstock

Also read: These 5 sinister mistakes while doing burpees will never let you lose weight

How to do burpees for beginners?

If you’re new to burpees or find them too challenging, there are several modifications you can make to ease into the exercise:

1. Take out the push-up: If you’re struggling with the push-up portion of the exercise, you can skip it and simply step your feet back and forth from the plank position instead.

2. Skip the jump: If the jumping portion of the exercise is too challenging, you can skip it and simply stand up straight at the end of each rep.

3. Slow it down: If you’re finding the exercise too difficult to complete at a fast pace, you can slow it down and focus on performing each movement with good form.

How to make burpees more challenging

1. Add a jump at the end: Instead of simply standing up straight at the end of each rep, jump up as high as you can and reach your hands overhead.

2. Add a tuck jump: In addition to the regular jump at the end of each rep, tuck your knees up towards your chest to add an extra challenge.

3. Do a burpee ladder: Start with one burpee, then rest for 30 seconds. Next, do two burpees, rest for 30 seconds, and so on, adding one rep each time until you reach 10 reps. Then, work your way back down the ladder, doing nine burpees, then eight, and so on.

burpee variation
Add an extra step to make the burpees more advanced. Image courtesy: Shutterstock

Also try: Here’s a jumping jack variation that can give burpees a run for its money

By following these step-by-step instructions and modifying the exercise to fit your fitness level, you can incorporate burpees into your workout routine and see results over time.

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About the Author

Manasvi Jain is a professional writer with a keen interest in spreading awareness about various health and wellness issues through her articles. She writes well researched articles by connecting with various doctors and health experts. ...Read More

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