How To Do Burpee Properly For Beginners At Home

Burpees require a small space at your home and no equipment. It can be broken down into simpler and familiar movements, which seem nothing tricky.

The easiest way to describe a proper burpee is to think of it as a push-up followed by a jumping squat. This exercise combines a squat, push-up, and jump in one fluid motion, keeping your core engaged throughout the movements.

Here is how to perform a burpee with correct form using the following steps:

• First, sit in a squat position with your knees bent. Keep your back straight and your feet about shoulder-width apart.
• Then, lower your hands to the floor so they are just inside your feet.
• Afterward, kick your feet back so your hands and toes are in a push-up position.
• Then, do a frog kick by jumping your feet back to their starting position.
• Now, stand and reach your arms over your head.
• Jump quickly into the air so you land back where you started.
• As soon as you land with your knees bent, get into a squat position and go for another repetition for consistent results.
• Try completing several reps quickly to get your heart and lungs working healthy.

How To Make It Easier?

If a standard burpee feels too challenging at first, you can make necessary adjustments to your exercise to reduce the intensity. If you are new to burpees, here is how you can do it with ease:

Skip The Push-Up And Jump

You start in a squat position like a burpee, but instead of doing a push-up and jumping, you kick your legs back into a push-up position and then return to the squat.

Skip The Jump

Instead of jumping into the air after the push-up, return to the squat position.

Skip The Push-Up

If you feel discomfort in your chest muscles or shoulders during push-ups, hold a plank position for a couple of seconds instead of doing a push-up.

You can also do partial push-ups until you gain immense strength.

This advanced exercise involves a full body movement engaging your upper, core, and lower body muscles. It does more than isolation exercises that target one muscle group at a time. 

It is usually shown in workout classes, personal training sessions, and at-home fitness programs. Keeping that in mind, here are the top benefits of doing burpees:

1. Convenient And Versatile

Burpees require zero heavy equipment and little space. If you have room to lay down on a yoga mat or a towel, you have room to do a burpee. Even though you don't have gym access or you travel much, it is a great home exercise option.

You can either eliminate the jump or return to a standing position for an easier version. Also, add weights and perform more push-ups if you want extra hard work for better results.

2. Helps Burn Calories

Burpees burn calories effectively, as they are a high-intensity, full-body exercise that engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously. It causes a rapid increase in heart rate and helps burn calories in a short period.

By burning calories, we could see a loss of weight. Pair this exercise with running and jogging to boost the burn rate.

3. Provides Full Body Exercise

Burpees are regarded as calisthenics since they use your body weight for resistance. Doing this focuses on a full-body workout, building muscle strength and endurance in both upper and lower body.

Doing a standard burpee strengthens the muscles in your legs, hips, buttocks, abdomen, arms, chest, and shoulders. Other muscle groups include quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.

4. Boost Cardio Fitness

You can perform this exercise as part of your high-intensity interval training workout regimen, which requires short bursts of intense exercise, followed by a shorter rest period.

You'll feel your heart rate spike while doing a burpee. If you're not a fan of cardio but enjoy fast-paced bodyweight moves over strength training, it's worth a shot. You can throw them into HIIT or other routines to build strength and boost cardio fitness at the same time.

5. Support Strong Bones and Build Muscle Strength

This exercise is also a plyometric move, unlike other resistance exercises that involve quick, powerful jumps. High-impact activities put more stress on your bones, which can help maintain bone density and strength.

Moreover, since it is the breakdown of various workouts like squats, push-ups, and jumps, it provides their benefits too. The squats build core and lower-body muscles, whereas push-ups focus more on the chest, arms, and core.

1. Burpee Box Jump

For this variation, you will need a plyo box, a bench, or any other solid object that balances your weight.

How To Do:

• Begin by standing in your usual squat position in front of the box. But, instead of going down to the floor for a push-up, place your hands on the box or bench, and do a modified push-up.
• Then, instead of jumping into the air, jump on the box instead.
• Afterward, land gently on the floor, with the knees bent, and move straight into the next repetition.
• Perform multiple sets of repetitions for better results.

2. Burpee With Bosu Ball

In this burpee variation, you will use a bosu ball, keeping its flat side up while doing the workout.

How To Do:

• First, start in a squat position with your knees bent, holding the outer edge of the Bosu ball.
• Then, lower your hands to the floor, holding the Bosu ball.
• Afterward, place the ball directly beneath you and keep your hands on the flat surface while you do a push-up.
• Then, grab the opposite edges of the ball and lift it above your head as you stand straight up.
• Lower it to the floor and repeat it multiple times. 

3. Burpee With Dumbbells

Doing a burpee with dumbbells is a full-body weighted exercise that involves dropping into a burpee position, and pulling the dumbbells in as you stand up.

How To Do:

• Begin in a squat position like other variations but hold a 5-pound dumbbell in each hand.
• Now, lower down to the ground with dumbbells beneath your shoulders. Then, hold onto the dumbbells while you continue the push-up.
• Instead of jumping upward, stand and raise dumbbells above your head.
• Then, lower the weights to your side and return to your starting position from where you started.
• You can add an extra weight to your hand if you are strong enough to handle your weight while doing the workout.

4. Half Burpee

Half Burpee is great for everyone who wants to reduce the impact on their joints. It is a modified version of the standard burpee through removing push-ups and jumps for slightly less intense exercise.

How To Do:

• To perform a half burpee, start in a standing position with your knees bent and hop your feet to the outside of your hands.
• Make sure the knees are aligned with the ankles.
• Then, jump into the air from the squat position, shooting your hands upward.
• Now, return your hands to the ground in a push-up position.
• Afterward, return your feet to the squat and stand up.
• Repeat it for 3-5 sets of 25 repetitions.

5. Weight Vest Burpee

This variation is the same as the standard burpee. The only difference is that you should wear the weight vest to increase your workout intensity and make it harder for the core muscles.

How To Do:

• Begin by wearing a Weight vest.
• Then, start in a standing position and drop into a squat.
• Afterward, kick back to plank and perform a push-up.
• Now, jump up come back to your starting position, and repeat it in multiple sets. 

6. Tuck Jump Burpee

This plyometric exercise works for multiple muscle groups throughout the upper and lower body, including the core, hamstrings, glutes, quadriceps, triceps, and lower back muscles.

With proper form, this burpee variation can increase your heart rate and encourage weight loss. You may also add a pair of dumbbells if you want an extra challenge.

How To Do:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Your shoulders should be over your hips with the head and neck in a natural position.
• Keep your arms long by your sides with a slight bend in the elbows.
• Place your hands on the ground by pushing your hips back. Lean the upper body forward.
• Then, jump your feet back so you are in a push-up position. Jump toward your hands while maintaining proper alignment.
• Now, jump your feet towards your hands, tucking your knees to the chest by explosively pulling your knees towards your chest mid-air.
• Land softly on the balls of your feet, distributing your weight and allowing your hips and knees to bend to absorb the force.
• Go for another repetition after getting back to your original position.

Like many other exercises, burpees are only effective if you do them safely and prevent severe injuries. You can start slowly and do a few reps at first.

Once you are used to it, you can perform easily without pain and add more reps to your routine. Try to work your way up to 8-9 reps in a row before pausing. Be careful not to go too fast since it may lead to wrist twists when you land.

• Stack your wrists, elbows, and shoulders, and don't keep your hands too far forward. Use your body's anatomy to your advantage.
• Keep your feet flat and resist the urge to come up on your toes. If your feet are in a firm position, you will have a much more stable base during the workout sessions.