CrossFit: how to do burpees as a beginner?

You’ve been tempted by CrossFit, or at least thinking about adding a few exercises to your current workout routine. You’ve always heard that burpees are an excellent, all-in-one exercise — capable of working every muscle in the body and reshaping your silhouette. But as a beginner, you have no idea where to start. Here’s everything you need to know about how to do burpees, even when you’re just starting out!

What are burpees?

The burpee, named after its creator Royal H. Burpee, an American physiologist, is a strength and aerobic exercise. It was originally developed by the researcher to assess athletes’ physical fitness — both from a muscular standpoint (burpees engage every muscle in the body) and from a cardiovascular and respiratory perspective, as the exercise is extremely demanding in terms ofcardio. Being highly effective forburning caloriesand building balanced muscle tone, it didn’t take long for fitness coaches — particularly in CrossFit andHIIT— to adopt it and incorporate it into their training programmes.

Burpees consist of a sequence of classic fitness positions performed at a fast pace. They combine a plank, a squat and a jump. They simultaneously engage the upper body (arms and shoulders), the lower body (thighs andglutes) and the core. This makes them a complete exercise, ideal for quickly reducing body fat in favour oflean muscle. But beyond the physical challenge, they’re also a mental one — they require a fair amount of willpower! That said, burpees are accessible to everyone, even beginners.

What are the different steps to doing burpees as a beginner?

Want to give burpees a go but not sure where to start? No need to worry! The sequence is very easy to master, even as a beginner. Here’s how it breaks down:

• A leg bend with hands on the floor — simply squat down, a bit like a frog!
• Kick both legs back to reach the plank position, resting on your forearms (the classiccore hold).
• Bring both legs forward to return to the startingsquat position (knees bent, hips pushed back, hands clasped together).
• Jump up with arms raised and legs apart.

This sequence should be repeated several times — ideally in sets of around 10 burpees.

Are there variations of burpees?

As a beginner, you’ll start by mastering the “basic” burpee — the sequence described above. But once you’ve got it down, you can add extra steps to make it more challenging. These are known as variations, and there are plenty of them!

• Variation n^o1: Burpees with push-ups. Simply add one or more push-ups at the second step (plank position).
• Variation n^o2: “Old School” burpees. In the plank step, add a small leg jump-out and a push-up.
• Variation n^o3: “Dead Man” burpees. Instead of holding a plank, you lie flat on your stomach. Getting back up into the next movement is much harder, as you lose all momentum…
• Variation n^o4: Burpees + Lunges. Instead of finishing the sequence with a jump, perform two jumping lunges.
• Variation n^o5: Burpees withadded weight. The exercise involves adding resistance to your body — such as ankle weights or a weighted vest — to increase the intensity.
• Variation n^o6: “Tuck Jump” burpees. Instead of a standard jump at the end of the sequence, perform a tuck jump — jumping with knees pulled up to your chest and hands tapping your knees.
• Variation n^o7 : “One Leg” or “One Arm” burpees. In the plank (or plank + push-up) step, perform the movement on one leg or one arm, or alternate between sides. A highly demanding balance and coordination challenge.
• Variation n^o8 : Burpees + Mountain Climber. Perform a few Mountain Climber movements in the plank step to maximally tone thecore.
• Variation n^o9 : Burpees with clap push-ups. In the plank step, perform a clap push-up. What’s that? Simply a very explosive push-up where you drive your arms into full extension with enough force to briefly leave the ground, clapping your hands together before landing.
• Variation n^o10 : Cobra burpees. A variation inspired byyoga: in the plank step, transition into the Cobra yoga pose — legs extended, hips on the floor, arms fully extended, chest open and gaze lifted upward.

There are many more burpee variations out there, some more beginner-friendly than others — but they all share one great advantage: keeping your workout routine fresh and dynamic!

What are the limitations of burpees?

Some fitness coaches are not particularly enthusiastic about burpees. They even consider them potentially harmful to the body due to their somewhat intense nature. Indeed, burpees can place significant stress on certain parts of the body, particularly the joints (wrists, front of the shoulder,knees, ankles). They would instead recommend working each muscle group separately to reduce the risk of injury:

• Push-ups to strengthen thearms,back andshoulders.
• Squats and lunges for the glutes and thighs.
• Crunches for theabs.
• Skipping rope or step for cardio.

As a beginner, now you know what to expect! With or without burpees, one thing is certain: regular physical activity is great for your wellbeing.