Burpee
Primary muscles: Full body (cardiorespiratory system, core, shoulders, quadriceps, glutes)
Overview
The burpee is the most universally used full-body metabolic conditioning exercise in CrossFit. It is a sequence in which you go from standing to the floor, lie flat, then get back up and jump, and with no equipment it raises heart rate quickly and recruits muscle throughout the body with great efficiency.
The burpee originated in the 1930s with the American physiologist Royal H. Burpee, who developed it as a fitness test; it was adopted in military training and then spread to fitness communities worldwide. CrossFit builds on it by adding the chest-to-ground standard and the jump-and-clap standard, applying stricter criteria.
By the CrossFit standard, one rep is the chest and thighs touching the floor at the same time, then standing back up and jumping with the feet leaving the ground, clapping overhead. This standard ensures a full range of motion.
Burpees can be modified in many ways to adjust difficulty and muscle recruitment: the box burpee (jumping onto a box), the bar-facing burpee (burpee beside a bar and jumping to touch it), the burpee pull-up, and more.
High-intensity burpee training is very effective for improving cardiorespiratory fitness, burning fat, and building muscular endurance, and at a pace of 15–20 per minute, heart rate reaches its maximum.
Step-by-step
Starting position
From a standing position, squat down toward the floor and place the hands on the ground.
Transition to plank
Jump or step both feet back at the same time into a plank position.
Touch the floor
Lower the body so the chest and thighs touch the floor at the same time.
Stand up
Push the floor away with both hands, jump both feet to the hands at the same time, and stand up.
Finishing jump
Jump with the feet leaving the ground and clap overhead.
Technical Standards
The chest and thighs must touch the floor at the same time (chest-to-ground)
Pass through a plank and jump both feet to the hands at the same time
Jump with the feet leaving the ground from a fully standing position
Clap overhead, or at least bring both hands overhead
Full-body extension at each phase
Perform rhythmically and continuously to maximize energy efficiency
Common Faults
Touching with only the chest or only the thighs: only one of the two touches, falling short of the standard
Stepping one foot at a time: stepping out instead of jumping both feet at once lowers intensity
Standing without jumping: skipping the jump where the feet leave the ground reduces metabolic demand
Spinal collapse from fatigue: when tired, the back bends and the body drops to the floor
Scaling
Incline burpee — place the hands on a box or bench in a plank position and step out. Less impact means less strain on the joints.
No-push-up burpee — lie with the chest on the floor without doing a push-up. The intensity is lower, but the movement pattern stays the same.
Burpee box jump-over or burpee pull-up — after the burpee, jump over a box or grab a pull-up bar and add a pull-up, for a higher intensity.