New Move Monday: Burpees

The burpee, sometimes called the squat thrust, is the ultimate full body exercise for strength and aerobic training.  Each repetition works the chest, arms, front deltoids, thighs, hamstrings, and abs.  High intensity exercises like burpees also burn up to 50% more fat than conventional strength training exercises.

The benefits of burpees: they are free (no equipment required) and portable (you can do them anywhere!)

How to do a burpee:
1. Start in standing position (tight core, feet shoulder-width apart)
2. Drop into a squat position (palms face down on the floor, knees over toes, tight core)
3. Kick your legs back into a pushup position (think plank – straight line from shoulders to heels, tight core, eyes forward)
4.  Return to the squat position (hands on the ground, knees over toes, tight core)
5. Stand and then jump up and reach (bringing arms over head, tight core)
Repeat steps 2-5 moving in quick succession in order to get the conditioning benefits of this exercise. I recommend starting with two sets of 10 reps.

Beginners: Start slow when you first try the exercise.  As your fitness level improves, you can do more to increase the difficulty.

Advanced athletes: after you kick out your feet into the push-up position, go ahead and do a full push-up!

With this exercise, you can perform 10 to 20 reps as a warm-up, as a cardio burst during circuit training or even as a stand-alone workout when you’re crunched for time.