How To Get Better At Burpees – The Definitive Guide

Today we’re going to be taking a look at how to get better at burpees.

If you’ve landed on this page, I can only assume you’re here for one of 2 reasons.

Either your conditioning really sucks and you want training tips to help you increase your overall work capacity and conditioning…

…or, your form is terrible and you want to learn how to transition smoothly between the many stages of the burpee.

Well lucky for you I’m going to be covering both of these topics, so sit back and relax while I take you on a magical journey into the wonderful world of burpees.

 

Why Should You Do Burpees?

Well, other than the extreme conditioning benefits you get with each and every burpee you complete. It’s also one of the best ways to increase your work capacity and overall full body strength.

I mean, let’s be honest. Burpees are hard as f*ck

And I find it hard to believe that anyone performs this crippling exercise just for the fun of it.

I’m pretty sure, and I think you’ll agree that it’s all down all down to the results to can provide if completed on a consistent basis.

So let’s begin by working on your burpee form…

 

How To Get Better At Burpees – Improving Your Form

Why does it seem like some people to transition so easily and smoothly through the motion of doing a burpee, while others seem to take an eternity to complete just one rep?

It’s all down to form…

Your form is by far the most important aspect of the burpee and if you don’t get this down to a tee then your simply asking for injury further down line.

So below I’ll be taking you through the 3 most common burpee mistakes to avoid and show you how to form as perfect as it can possibly be…

 

Mistake 1: Not Squatting

One of the most common problems I see when people perform burpees is the lack of a squat from the upright position.

What they tend to do is bend at the hips before placing their hands on the floor.

Not only is this a huge stress on your back, but it can affect other muscle groups as well.

I’ve even heard stories about people pulling their hamstring muscles due to the way they bend at the hips.

This video should give you a better idea of what I’m talking about.

Notice how he bends at the hips.

This isn’t how the exercise should look.

Not only is it bad form and a possibility for injury, but the lack of a squat takes away the added benefit of the burpee being a full body exercise.

No squat, no burpee. It’s that simple.

 

Mistake 2: Flaring The Elbows

The second mistake people often make is flaring their elbows during the pushup phase of the burpee.

This causes immense pressure to be applied to the shoulders during the pushup which if continued, can spell all sorts of trouble if not corrected ASAP.

It usually happens when people squat with their legs too close together.

What this does is almost forces a wide hand position at the bottom of the movement and as a result, leads to the elbows flaring out as far as the eye can see.

The easiest way to fix this is by squatting with your legs a little wider than shoulder-width apart.

This allows you to keep your hands and arms within your legs, helping you to keep your arms close to your body as you transition into the pushup position.

I’ll be showing you a demo of this a little further down the page.

 

Mistake 3: Landing With Stiff Legs

This is a big no-no, especially if you want to be walking after your workout.

I think it goes without saying that if you’re landing from any height big or small. There must be some degree of flex in your knees to absorb the impact of landing.

I don’t care if it’s ten inches or ten feet, the principals remain the same.

Just think of it this way…

…you wouldn’t run with straight legs, would you?

The same thing goes.

 

How To Get Better At Burpees – The Right Way

So now you know what NOT to do. Let’s take a look at the correct way to perform a burpee and get you smashing out reps faster than a speeding bullet.

It goes a little like this

• Start with your legs slightly wider than shoulder width apart
• Squat down so you are slightly lower than parallel to the floor (Remeber to keep your hands in between your knees and as close to the floor as possible)
• In one dynamic movement, place your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor while simultaneously kicking your legs behind you. (Remember to keep your core tight to avoid sagging at the hips)
• Perform one pushup (Optional)
• Jump back into the squat position, again with your quads slightly lower than parallel to the ground
• Jump into the air while extending your arms above your head. (Remember to keep your back straight to avoid any unnecessary twisting or turning)
• Land with your knees slightly bent and immediately return to the squat position to continue your next burpee.

Here’s a video demonstration of how to do a burpee with perfect form…

 

How To Get Better At Burpees – Workouts

Well, the obvious thing first would be to do more burpees. It’s not rocket science that to get better at any movement would be to practice the movement itself.

Even if you can only do say nine burpees before you fail. Next time, aim for ten, eleven or twelve burpee.s

It’s that simple.

That’s how we progress, by pushing the boundaries of what we can do to accomplish more over time.

Now, I know this may not be possible in all situations and other factors can come into play such as…

• Age
• Weight
• Current fitness level

And if this is you than I’ve got a few sneaky little tricks up my sleeve to show you how to get better at burpees.

 

Supplementary Exercises

As we’ve previously discussed there are 5 separate moves to completing the full burpee.

They are…

• The Squat
• The Dynamic kickback to pushup position
• The Pushup (optional)
• Returning to the Squat Position
• The Jump

So what better way to build up your conditioning for burpees than to practice these moves individually to build up a tolerance to each and every step of the burpee.

This will also pinpoint any weak points you may have and allow you to focus on improving them dramatically before returning to the burpee.

 

The Squat Jump

This is one of the major key players in the burpee and to improve, you must get better at performing a squat jump.

• Again, start with your feet shoulder width apart
• Squat down so your legs are just below parallel to the floor.
• Jump up explosively from the floor, aiming to jump at least 4 inches from the floor
• Land with your knees slightly bent to absorb the impact and repeat for as many reps as possible.

Here’s a video demonstration…

 

In & Out Abs

Now, you’ve got your squat jumps down it’s time to move on to the next phase of the burpee.

These are fairly similar to mountain climber the only difference being is that you are bringing both your knees toward your chest simultaneously, mimicking the dynamic in and out movement of the burpee.

Here’s how it’s done…

• Start in the pushup position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart
• While keeping your core tight, jump with both feet together bringing your knees in towards your chest.
• Jump back into the original pushup position

Repeat as many times as you can…

 

The Pushup

I’m going to assume that 99% of you reading this probably already know how to do a pushup.

If this is you then you can go ahead and skip this part.

If not then here’s the breakdown of correct pushup form and posture.

Again, remember to keep pushing yourself to do more and more reps everytime to increase your overall work capacity…

 

Once you’ve mastered the above moves I can almost guarantee you will notice a huge difference in your ability to complete burpees with ease

And now you’re officially a burpee ninja, let’s take a look at a few challenges you can take on to really take your burpees to the next level.

 

How To Get Better At Burpees – Challenges

 

Burpees For time: 10 Minute Challenge

First off, we have the 10-minute challenge.

As the name suggests, you’re going to be setting your timer for 10 minutes and repping out as many burpees as possible before the time is up.

It’s a great starter challenge as it allows you to work at your own pace for the duration of the workout.

As you get better you want to be aiming for at least 100 burpees within the 10 minute time frame.

If you can hit 150 reps then it’s safe to say that you’re in pretty good condition.

 

100 Burpee Challenge

This is one of the more popular burpee challenges that you will see on many popular YouTube channels.

It’s pretty basic, just simply set your stopwatch and hammer your way through 100 burpees as quickly as you can.

I’ve found that shooting for a time of 6-8 minutes is a decent goal to set yourself but this is dependant on other variables including your age, weight, fitness level etc…

I’m not sure what the current record for this challenge is but I’ve seen it done a few times in a little over 3 minutes.

Although I have to admit, their form wasn’t perfect…

 

Tabata Burpees

This is an interval based challenge that will take you to the very limit of your capabilities.

It’s 4 minutes of 100% max effort burpees.

But don’t let the short time frame fool you.

Tabata burpees are insanely hard as you will soon find out.

Here’ a breakdown of the workout…

• 20 Seconds: Burpees (Max Effort)
• 10 Seconds: Rest
• Repeat x8

Total Workout Time: 4 Minutes

And when I say max effort, I mean MAX effort.

For this workout to be effective you’ve gotta give it 110% during the workout or you’re simply not going to feel the benefit afterward.

Here’ how it should be done…

 

Death By Burpees – The Burpee Mile

I saved this one until last because, to be honest, I don’t really recommend you try it unless in supremely fit condition.

Plus you’re going to need to find some sort of running track to be able to do this workout effectively.

You’re going to be performing burpees. But instead of jumping straight up, you’re going to be performing a broad jump. Propelling yourself forward as far as you possibly can before setting yourself up for the next burpee.

Do this until you have completed 1 full mile of burpees.

The number of burpees you do will ultimately depend on how far forward you jump with each rep.

Take a look at the burpee mile in action here…

 

Conclusion

There’s no doubt about it, burpees are tough. But if it’s your mission to become as fit as you possibly can in the shortest amount of time then nothing compares to this savagely difficult exercise.

Do you have any more tips, tricks of secrets on how to get better at burpees? Let me know in the comments below…