Fit Tip…Beef With Burpees
Are you a fan of Burpees? Probably not.
We aren’t either, but probably not for the same reasons as you.
To be totally honest they really aren’t a great exercise for most people and there are better ways of conditioning the body than face-planting on to the floor and jumping up back up over and over.
But, does this mean we never do them. Well, no, everything has a place.
So, here is our beef with burpees. Most people do them wrong, with bad form and too fast. The typical burpee is done by falling onto the stomach jamming the wrists into the floor, the legs are kicked back with no core stability, the back arches coming up, excessive force gets placed on the knees due to a lack of hip mobility, and the body then jumps up from the toes rather than a flat footed deep squat stance.
Do this enough and you will have a wrist, low back, or knee issue. Or all three.
In order to do a burpee correctly it needs to be controlled and there needs to be good hip and ankle mobility. Therefore, this makes it an advanced exercise if it’s to be done safely.
Now, if we make just a couple of tweaks we can improve the burpee and make it safe for any client.
#1. Slow it down. By taking speed away and the need to bang out 20 reps in 30 seconds we will greatly improve form.
#2. Hold each position. Want to make it more challenging and safe. Hold each position for 5 seconds. Tall Plank, Low Push Up, Tall Plank, Squat Hold, Jump, and Repeat. That comes to around 25 seconds per rep. Give me 10.
#3. Single Leg TRX Burpees. By placing one foot in a TRX you don’t make it that much harder, but you force the core to stay tight so the low back can’t arch, immediately making it that much safer.
So while the Burpee isn’t a top choice for conditioning we do like it because it teaches the body to get up and down from the floor and the ability to do that is highly correlated to overall health.
If it’s conditioning you’re looking for, just get on the Airdyne and crank out 10 rounds at 15:45. It’s just more effective.
