How to do a Burpee

Find out how to do a burpee with our easy to follow, step-by-step instructions.

A firm favourite of the Crossfit community, the humble burpee is a notoriously famous movement. When seen in a workout, there’s usually a sharp intake of breath and a whisper of ‘not burpees’. But despite that, we keep coming back for more! And why? Because they’re simple in concept and incredibly effective.

Who knew getting down on the floor, back up again and doing a little jump would be so hard? Well, if you do that over and over again, you’ll find out that actually it is pretty hard!

The magic of a burpee is that it involves every single part of your body, giving you an unbeatable range of movement. And, on top of that, it also gives your cardiovascular system a hard time too, meaning you’ll definitely feel this on in your lungs.

So, if you’re looking for something to up the ante on your cardio conditioning workout, then the burpee is your new best friend. And let’s be honest, they may be tough, but really we absolutely love to hate them! There’s nothing quite like them. So, without further ado, let’s look a little bit closer at how to do a burpee.

How to do a burpee

1. Stand with your feet at around shoulder width apart
2. Bend forward and put your hands on the floor, jumping (or stepping) your feet back until you’re in a high plank position
3. Bend at the elbows to lower your chest down to the floor, try not to flop at the waist here, but lower your knees to the ground first if you’re struggling with a full press up
4. When your chest touches the floor, push up again with your arms. Again, if you can’t do a full press up keep your knees down
5. When your arms are straight, jump your feet up so they’re under your hips, or thereabouts
6. Carefully stand up fully so your hips are fully extended
7. In this position, jump as high as you can, reaching your arms up and above your head as if you’re trying to touch the ceiling
8. When you land, start the process all over again.

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There you have it! now you know how to do a burpee! And now you know how, you’re sure to want to include them in every workout you do… right?

Even if you don’t like them, they’re so good for you body that, trust us, after a while you’ll kinda, sorta, come to love them. And, you know they’re always there in your back pocket just incase you’re doing a workout and start to think it’s getting a little easy!

Looking for more cardio-based exercises and workouts? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We’ve created a whole section of our website on workouts for women. Check them out here, or read through the list below.

• How to do a kettlebell swing – one of the most effective movements you can do for cardio and strength, never underestimate the humble kettlebell swing.
• 10 Amazing Hip Dip Exercises You Have to Try –  an unmissable set of exercises that won’t disappoint
• How to do Walking Lunges – Definitely one of the most effective glute movements around. And, throw a bodyweight version into a workout and you’ll quickly see how good they can be for cardio too.

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