Burpee
Muscles Worked: Burpee
The burpee mainly works your legs, especially your quads and glutes, because they drive the squat, stand-up, and jump. Your calves help you leave the floor on the jump, while your abs brace hard to keep your torso from folding as you drop down and pop back up. Because each rep moves your whole body fast, the exercise also pushes your heart and lungs. You should feel the movement becoming more demanding as reps add up, with your breathing and overall fatigue rising quickly during hard sets (Polevoy et al., 2022).
Technique and form
How to perform the Burpee
- Start in a standing position with your feet hip-width apart, arms at your sides, and your core engaged.
- Bend your knees, push your hips back, and place your hands flat on the ground directly in front of your feet while keeping your spine neutral.
- Jump or step your feet back to land in a high plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders, forming a straight line from head to heels.
- Lower your chest to the floor by bending your elbows, keeping them close to your body in a push-up motion while inhaling.
- Push through your palms to extend your arms and return to the high plank position while exhaling, maintaining a rigid torso and engaged core.
- Jump or step your feet forward to land just outside your hands, dropping your hips low into a squat position.
- Drive through your heels, extend your hips and knees to explosively jump upward while reaching your arms overhead, fully exhaling at the top.
- Land softly with your knees slightly bent to absorb the impact, immediately transitioning into the next repetition by bending your knees again.
Important information
- Keep your core engaged throughout the entire movement to protect your lower back, especially during the plank and push-up portions.
- Land softly on the balls of your feet when jumping to minimize joint stress, and always maintain proper wrist alignment under your shoulders during the plank.
- Modify the exercise by stepping rather than jumping if you're a beginner or have joint issues, and remove the push-up component if needed.
- Maintain a consistent breathing pattern, exhaling during exertion (jumping up, pushing up) and inhaling during the descent phases.
Is Burpee effective for endurance?
Yes. The burpee is effective for endurance because burpee-focused training has been shown to improve endurance performance, so it can help you keep working hard while fatigued (Polevoy et al., 2022). It is especially useful when you want a simple bodyweight move that raises fitness fast without equipment.
- Whole-body conditioning — Each rep blends a squat, plank-like support, stand-up, and jump, so your heart rate climbs quickly while your quads, glutes, calves, and trunk keep working from start to finish. That makes burpees a strong choice when you want more work in less time.
- Works well in intervals — Burpees fit short hard bursts and repeat rounds very well. Research on whole-body interval training shows that how you split the work changes how hard the session feels, which matters when you are trying to keep quality high across multiple rounds (Machado et al., 2022).
- Can feel more doable than other hard cardio — One study found burpee interval training led to a better mood and more positive session feel than traditional high-intensity exercise, which matters because workouts you tolerate better are easier to stick with (Mayr Ojeda et al., 2022).
- Easy to scale with similar moves — If full burpees are too much, you can build capacity with mountain climber work for nonstop core and shoulder support, or use jumping jack sets to practice rhythm and light-footed conditioning before adding the floor transition.
Programming for endurance
Do 3-6 sets of 8-15 reps with 45-90 seconds rest, or use 20-30 seconds of work with 30-60 seconds rest for 6-10 rounds. Train them 2-3 times per week. Lower reps with cleaner speed work best for beginners, while longer intervals build more fatigue resistance once your pacing and form stay consistent.
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FAQ - Burpee
Burpees engage nearly your entire body, with primary emphasis on your quadriceps, glutes, chest, shoulders, and core. Your cardiovascular system also receives significant training, making burpees one of the most efficient full-body exercises available.
Begin with step-back burpees (stepping instead of jumping feet back), eliminate the push-up portion, or reduce the jump at the top to a simple stand. As you build strength and coordination, gradually add components back until you can perform the full movement with proper form.
For beginners, start with 3-4 sets of 5-8 reps with adequate rest between sets. Intermediate fitness levels can aim for 10-15 reps per set or timed intervals of 30-45 seconds. Quality always trumps quantity—maintain proper form throughout.
The three most frequent errors include allowing your lower back to sag during the plank position, landing with locked knees after the jump, and rushing through repetitions with poor technique. Focus on maintaining a neutral spine, soft knee landings, and controlled movements throughout.
For optimal results without overtraining, include burpees 2-3 times weekly with at least 48 hours between high-intensity burpee sessions. They work exceptionally well as part of a metabolic circuit or as a standalone conditioning finisher after strength training.
Workouts with Burpee
Scientific References
Mayr Ojeda E, Castro FAS, Reich M et al. · Perceptual and motor skills (2022)
The Influence of Burpee on Endurance and Short-Term Memory of Adolescents.
Polevoy G, Cazan F, Padulo J et al. · International journal of environmental research and public health (2022)
Machado AF, Zovico PVC, Evangelista AL et al. · Frontiers in physiology (2022)
Sources are peer-reviewed academic publications from PubMed.
Burpee
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