Jonathan Wilhoite Blog: Burpees: The Do’s and Don’ts!

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Burpees: The Do’s and Don’ts!

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Whether you love or hate burpees, they are one of the most efficient total body exercises out there. Here are effective tips for better burpees.

Anyone who has trained long enough in burpees will surely have a love/hate relationship with this workout model. They are a type of lung-busting total-body workout that is so effective but so nauseating at the same time. This article provides some do’s and don’ts for this highly effective workout which will help you make the best use of each precious rep. Who knows? You may even make burpees your new favourite workout out of them all.

The Set Up – Stand with the feet parallel and slowly squat down. Place your palms outside, just a bit forward of your feet.

Action – Thrust your feet backward to the traditional push-up position while your weight is supported by the hands. Do a push-up and return to the up position. Now jump your feet toward the hands in one movement. Stand in the start position and repeat the sequence.

Make sure you warm up beforehand. Trying to perform burpees without warming up is similar to sprinting 100 meters right after lacing your shoes. Your joints, muscles, ligaments, and cardiovascular system need to warm up if you are to continue doing burpees without hurling after rep 10. Jog or row for 5-10 minutes and do ten minutes of dynamic stretching before performing burpees. Focus on your hips, shoulders and back while stretching. Perform a set of 10 easy burpees first. Make sure you perform each of the steps slowly and under control. Now rest for one minute before continuing the rest of burpees.

You need to know your level before trying out the advanced stuff. If you are still a beginner, scale your speed and goal to match your abilities. Step your feet, one at a time, into a plank. Skip the push-up and step the feet underneath you to stand up again. If you are an advanced candidate, hop the feet behind you into the plank. Now do a push-up and hop the feet underneath you while exploding upwards in a leap. Clap overhead while leaping to complete one rep.

Do not drop your head, keep the chin lifted and maintain a neutral spine. Look in front of your hands a few inches, bringing the head up enough so that you are not straining the spinal column and muscles. Do not be sloppy with the planks and push ups. Your head, heels, and hips should be in line as you hop the feet behind you into a plank position. Maintain this position as you do a push up too. Your chest should touch the ground while you extend right back to the start. The more stable your hips and the tighter your core, the better you will fare.

Your elbows should b close to the sides of your body when you do the push-ups. The hands should be directly underneath the shoulders while the elbows should brush the sides as you lower toward the floor.

DON’T emulate Quasimodo when hunching over as you are standing up to the start. Make sure the hips are completely extended at the top. Give your glutes a little squeeze before going to the next rep.

Pacing yourself – Make sure you set a certain number of burpees to be completed in one workout such as 50. Start by performing 5-reps and rest for 10-20 seconds to catch the breath before continuing the workout. Once you are proficient in the workout, increase the number of continuous reps and then increase your goal number. These are some of the best tips for better burpees.

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