# Burpees question



## infonote (Apr 12, 2010)

Hi,

I am not a martial artist. However I recently came over an exercise which I do at a minimum every hour when I am at home near my computer.

It is Burpees (http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/burpeeclip.htm)
I currently do the following except for the jump (due to noise) when jumping.



Begin in a squat  position with hands on the floor in front of you  
Kick your feet back to a pushup position
Immediately return your feet to the squat position
Leap up as high as possible from the squat position  (I do not do this).
Repeat, moving as fast as possible.

The question is: what muscles does the above exercise cover? And which major muscles it does not cover?

Thanks in advance.


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## Malleus (Apr 12, 2010)

Burpees are great. Must get back into them myself.

They're great because they work a whole load of muscles, not least the heart.

The pressup component of the burpee hits the pectoralis major (chest muscle or 'moob' ). It also hits the deltoids (shoulders). If you're doing a full pressup you'll also get the triceps working nicely too.

The jump part does a whole load more. Calves, quads, glutes, rectus abdominus, obliques, and the lower back muscles are all used to greater or lesser extents.

I'm slightly confused as to the amount of times you do this. Every hour?


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## Archangel M (Apr 12, 2010)

It's less about "muscles" and their development than it is about developing your "metabolic pathways"...how long you can keep on trucking.


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## Blade96 (Apr 12, 2010)

i heard of ma instructors using burpees as punishment. I'd never heard of a burpee until I read that.


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## Bill Mattocks (Apr 12, 2010)

In Marine Corps Boot Camp, we called them _"Bends and Thrusts."_  I never heard them called anything else.  When a Drill Instructor was mad at us, he'd shout _"Just begin, dammit!  Just freaking BEGIN!"_  We knew what he meant.  I've done bends and thrusts until there was a lake of sweat under me on the deck.  Maybe 20 minutes.


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## Hawke (Apr 12, 2010)

Source:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_burpees_for_cardiovascular_exercise



> They're great for getting in shape _fast_. They work out the  trapezius, lower back, triceps, pectorals, deltoids, hamstrings (when  done with heels on the ground), glutes, quadriceps, calves, and  abdominals. They are a compound exercise utilizing most muscles of the  body, so they stress the body into higher testosterone production, which  means building more lean muscle. This is good news for teaching PE,  dropping excess body fat, breaking a fitness plateau, or building a  disciplined army out of civilians.





> However, burpees are not a panacea:
> They do not adequately train pulling motions without the pullup. In  general, the regular pushup burpee does a poor job of recruiting the  lats, biceps, and posterior deltoids, all of which are trained by the  pullup and crucial for overall strength.
> They can lead to muscle imbalances and possible injury if not  included with a full routine including back work.
> 
> ...


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## Archangel M (Apr 12, 2010)

Do burpees under a chin-up bar. On the jump grab the bar and chin. It will fry you fast.


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## J Ellis (Apr 13, 2010)

A few more ideas...

http://fitness-solution.blogspot.com/2008/05/just-one-exercise-burpee.html


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## Whitebelt (Apr 13, 2010)

Sometimes when its someone's birthday in my club we do what are sometimes called "super special birthday burpees" including a squat thrust, sprint starts, two clapping pushups and a jump with a tuck, consiquently it's rarely anyone's birthday


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## wushuguy (Apr 13, 2010)

when i was in NJROTC we called those squat thrusts.


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## infonote (Apr 13, 2010)

Not really I am currently trying doing burpees whenever there are adverts on the TV or radio.

The adverts on radio are usually every 15 minutes (they do not last long), so I do as much as the adverts take.

However, I do not do them very fast, so It can be considered cheating I guess.
However, After doing this routine for about an hour (every 15 minutes) I feel that my leg muscles are improving.

I am not training for a competition but I definitely feel better.

I wish I had something to add a pullup. This along with regular running/jogging is a good exercise for general fitness. 





Malleus said:


> Burpees are great. Must get back into them myself.
> 
> They're great because they work a whole load of muscles, not least the heart.
> 
> ...


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## infonote (Apr 13, 2010)

I probably did not explain clearly.

Basically every 15 minutes I do Burpees for about 2 minutes, using the radio as a sort of counter.

With TV the adverts are longer so it is harder after about 3 times.


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## tempus (Apr 16, 2010)

I do them as well and sometimes add a sandbag press on the squat back up.

-Gary


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