Nestled in between Monday mornings and the Tube, I think the beastly Burpee probably makes the top three list of 'Wicked Weekly Events' for a high proportion of my clients.
But, no matter how much they groan or swear at me, I keep making them do it. Is this a sign that I am a fitness sadist at heart? Of course not (well, not ALL the time!). It’s simply because the burpee is an incredibly efficient exercise that gives your body massive return on investment.
Still not convinced? Here are five fantastic reasons to put 'burpees' up there with 'breakfast' on your daily To Do List:
- Full body exercise: a burpee requires you to use your full body weight to perform a squat, a push up and a pylometric jump in quick succession working your legs, glutes, chest and arms in a single exercise.
- High intensity fat burn: there aren’t many exercises than burn calories as efficiently as the magnificent burpee. Whilst your weight, metabolism and the intensity at which you perform them will influence the exact number of calories burned, 5 minutes of burpees can burn between 50 and 100 calories.
- Strengthen your heart and lungs: not only do burpees score highly on the vanity scale by trimming you down and toning you up, they can contribute to much a stronger heart and pair of lungs. As a high intensity exercise, burpees target your anaerobic system, requiring your body to perform without the assistance of oxygen. Anaerobic exercising increases blood volume and your VO2 max i.e. the total amount of oxygen your body can consume during exercise.
- Living room friendly: despite its impressive list of benefits, the burpee is a humble little thing. No equipment is required and you don’t need much floor space to rattle through them either.
- Great progression potential: There are SO many variations of the burpee that I cannot possibly write them all down here. But, once you’ve mastered the basics, just tap ‘burpee progressions’ into your search engine and you will be inundated with exciting new methods to try!
Burpee basics:
- Start in standing position
- Lower into a squat
- Put your hands to the floor, kick your feet backwards into the push-up position
- Lower your chest and thighs to almost touch the floor
- Push back up to complete the push up
- Jump up into the squat position
- Jump to standing position
So, what are you waiting for?? Get down and give me 50 - you'll see the benefits in no time at all!
