How to perform burpees to get results and not get injured

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We analyze technique, errors and execution options for different purposes.

Burpee, or burpee (burpee), is an exercise that combines several movements at once: squats, push-ups and jumping out. It is complex, energy consuming and very efficient.

Why you should try burpee

Burpee helps to lose weight

Burpee burns a lot of calories, especially if you do the exercise intensively. If you do 20 burpees per minute, with a weight of 57 kg you will burn The Benefits of Burpees and How to Do Them about 10 kcal, and with a weight of 83 kg - as much as 15 kcal.

Exercise strengthens the muscles of the whole body

The muscles of the thighs and legs, chest, triceps and shoulders, and core muscles are included in the work.

Pumps heart and lungs

And it does it as well as sprints. When used as a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) burpee, the Comparison of Responses to Two High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise Protocols exercise is just as effective for building overall endurance as sprinting on a stationary bike.

How to properly perform burpees

Despite the many variations on this exercise, there are general rules.

• Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Bend over and place your palms on the floor.
• With a jump, go to the lying position. Keep your back straight. To prevent sagging in the lower back, tighten your abs and buttocks.
• Do a push-up until your chest and hips touch the floor. Do not spread your elbows to the sides, move your shoulders away from your body no more than 45 degrees.
• Squeeze yourself back into a lying position. Make sure that the body rises in one straight line, without kinks and waves.
• With a jump, put your feet to your hands.
• Straighten up and jump upward while clapping your hands over your head.

Despite the fact that burpees seem like a fairly simple exercise, beginners almost always do it with the wrong technique.

What mistakes can be made when performing a burpee

Here are the most common improper performances that prevent you from getting the full benefit of the exercise and can lead to injury.

Squatting

Many people in the first phase of the exercise do not lean forward to place their hands on the floor, but squat down, lifting their heels off the floor. After push-ups, they return to the same position and straighten out of it.

Doing this overloads the calf muscles and can result in pain in the legs, feet and knees.

If you do 10-15 burpees per workout, nothing bad will happen, but if there are much more of them, the calves will clog before you really get tired.

To avoid this, keep your heels on the floor and try to bend your legs less while bending.

The same applies to getting out of the lying position - immediately put your feet on your entire foot and straighten out of this position.

Going to an emphasis position through one leg

Often, beginners do not jump, but take turns unbending their legs. Firstly, it prevents your muscles from receiving an explosive load, and secondly, it greatly reduces the speed of execution.

Jump to support lying with two feet, extending the hips in one powerful movement.

Incomplete straightening at the top

Sometimes people do not straighten their bodies while jumping. Such a mistake can arise from fatigue and a desire to finish the approach as soon as possible.

Yes, this way you can do the burpees a little faster, but at the same time steal the load from the muscles and get used to the wrong technique. Such burpees will not be counted for you when participating in competitions.

Therefore, always fully unbend at the hip and straighten your back when you slam over your head.

Relaxing on the floor

In the process of full burpee, you touch the floor with your chest and hips, but this does not mean that you can relax and rest there.

Firstly, it reduces the effectiveness of the exercise, and secondly, it can be dangerous for your back. If you try to sharply straighten your spine while your core is relaxed, the movement could result in a lower back injury.

Therefore, do not relax the body at any of the points of the exercise: the buttocks and abs always remain tense.

How to make burpees for different purposes

The exercise can be performed in different ways: with or without push-ups, with squats, or with almost straight legs. This does not mean that some of the options are correct and the rest are not. It all depends on what goal you are pursuing.

To put more stress on the muscles of the arms and shoulders

Do push-up burpees until your chest touches the floor. The number and speed of movement will decrease, but you will put more stress on the muscles.

Alternatively, at the bottom of the exercise, tear off your palms from the floor and only then perform a strict push-up, returning to the lying position. This will ensure that you are working full range and paying sufficient attention to your shoulder girdle.

To take the strain off your back

Go into a squat up to the parallel of the hips with the floor and from it take a lying support. Make sure that your back remains straight.

The same is true at the exit from the lying position - first jump into the squat, and then straighten up. Keep your heels on the floor: squat on a full foot.

If you don't have enough stretching to get down into this squat, you can use an armrest to get started. This way you don't have to reach the floor and bend your back.

Avoid bending in the lumbar spine when lowering to and from the floor. To do this, tighten your abs and buttocks.

To make as many burpees as possible at a time

This can come in handy if you are competing in some kind of speed challenge, crossfit competition or functional all-around.

To prevent your arms from overstraining after the first ten repetitions, do not push up, but fall to the floor. When you descend slowly, you waste muscle strength in the eccentric phase. In the fall, gravity works for you.

Hands only slightly support the body, preventing a strong blow from the chest to the floor.

As soon as the chest touches the floor, it immediately rises. You straighten your arms by extending your back. At the same time, she does not relax in any way - all muscles are tense, the torso is rigid.

From a position below with a bent back and raised chest in one powerful movement, bend in the pelvis and place your feet on the floor next to your hands.

Try placing your legs wider - this reduces the range of extension of the body, which means you spend less energy.

After straightening, do not jump high - it is enough to lift your feet off the floor to count the repetition. So don't waste your time.

How to add burpees to your workouts

This is a truly versatile exercise. You can use burpees like this:

• As a warm-up - 10-15 burpees after dynamic stretching will warm up the body well and prepare it for stress.
• As part of bodyweight strength training. This option is suitable for beginners. Start with three to five sets of 10-15 burpees and gradually increase the number or difficulty of the exercise.
• As part of an intense interval complex. Burpees are simply created for HIIT, they go well with gymnastics, and with work on cardiovascular equipment, and with a barbell. Search for crossfit burpees and have fun.
• As the only physical activity of the day. Since the burpee pumps both muscle strength and endurance, it is great for those who don't exercise at all. Start with 30 times and add another five each day until you get to 100.

Do burpees every day, alternate different variations, complement with other movements and arrange speed or number of competitions with friends or yourself.