Burpees?

We called these 8 count body builders back when I was in the Navy. We had to do these constantly. Yes, they are a great core exercise. I didn't know they were called burpees nthese days, until I was doing them the other day, and someone saw me and ask" how many burpees do you do a day"? Hell, I didn't even know what he meant ....LOL...... I was like' WHAT?????, i WAS DOING 8 COUNT bb's a minute ago...." Then he told me they call them burpees now .....

I remember when they were called squat thrusts. I did not like them back then, and I don't like them now. I still do them, but I do so reluctantly.

That's exactly what I was going to say, every bit of it.

they are a great cardio exercise. You will get out of them what you put in. I've seen some TERRIBLE burpee form in my time and especially when so many of these "do as many as you can" programs are about.

Neutral lumbar spine when you squat jump please

A friend suggested adding a chin up into the mix.....no, don't do that, unless you are a masochist :happy:

I have bad shoulders. Instead of hopping my feet out behind me, I make it low-impact and walk each foot out individually and then walk them back in individually. Squat, left foot out, right foot out, left foot in, right foot in, stand, reach, repeat leading with right foot. They still suck.

And yeah, somehow that makes it better on my shoulders, lol. I know it doesn't sound right.

No it really does. The part where you jump back into plank position is really tough on your shoulders. I have very weak shoulders and the two times I have tried burpees, I hurt my right shoulder when I jumped back.

I just figured I would get my shoulders stronger in other ways and then maybe try again. I stopped going to some of the classes in my gym because the warm ups are burpees and the only modification you can do is skipping the push up. After hurting my shoulder the first time, when I went to the class again I did the modification of stepping back and the instructor was like come on jump back you can do it...so I jumped back and hurt my shoulder again...so I felt pretty inadequate and stopped going to those classes.

I have bad shoulders. Instead of hopping my feet out behind me, I make it low-impact and walk each foot out individually and then walk them back in individually. Squat, left foot out, right foot out, left foot in, right foot in, stand, reach, repeat leading with right foot. They still suck.

And yeah, somehow that makes it better on my shoulders, lol. I know it doesn't sound right.

No it really does. The part where you jump back into plank position is really tough on your shoulders. I have very weak shoulders and the two times I have tried burpees, I hurt my right shoulder when I jumped back.

I just figured I would get my shoulders stronger in other ways and then maybe try again. I stopped going to some of the classes in my gym because the warm ups are burpees and the only modification you can do is skipping the push up. After hurting my shoulder the first time, when I went to the class again I did the modification of stepping back and the instructor was like come on jump back you can do it...so I jumped back and hurt my shoulder again...so I felt pretty inadequate and stopped going to those classes.

LOL I'm glad someone understands! It really does put a lot of pressure on the shoulders. I think it's actually important for people to feel free to make modifications to exercises. Sad that you felt pushed to do more than what was safe for your own body. We know our bodies. We know our limits. Yes, we have to push past some of those perceived limits. But a limitation like that can cause injury, modifying the move is a wonderful way to have the best of both worlds. So you're doing it with a bit less intensity. It's still a tough exercise. I say, do it your way.

I might could handle these beginner ones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIQx1FiQt50&list=PL790FA88C4406237C

Maybe I should start here, and work up to a real one!!

Thank you for posting this video with modification, I think will try these!

Burpees appear lots in my circuit classes. I prefer weighted burpees, usually with 15kg dumbells to make them a little more interesting

have you ever tried burpee box jumps to make them even more interesting? ))


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVcO91jkE9Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiiHRzFc_o4

We have lots of different types of horribleness!!!!!

Burpee, box jump, pull ups are nasty as a combo although not as nasty as ladder pressups!!!!!

Lie a ladder down (material ladder not metal or wooden), hands between the rungs and pressup all the way along if that makes sense

I have a hard time doing them...but I have prior low back problems (minus 2 discs in lower back)..the act of getting back out of the plank to squat position for the jump just causes too much "bending" in my lower back.

I've been meaning to ask this question... my basement (workout space) has low ceilings, I can't do the overhead clap... will a burpee suffer if I were to, say, just bring my arms out to my side instead of overhead?

I don't think you'll have a problem. For all my time in the military, we've never clapped and we've always been worn out by the time the instructors were tired.

Usually, we did a variant called the 8-count bodybuilder:

1. Squat.
2. Feet out together into Plank Position.
3. Feet out to shoulder-width (just "hop" your feet high enough to move them)
4. Feet back in.
5. Lower chest to floor.
6. Push chest back up into plank.
7. Bring feet back up into squat.
8. "Explode" back up into the standing position, getting off the ground if possible. Some people reach their hands above their heads, others don't.

They can be a real butt-kicker on their own, they're harder with a vest, and they're even harder in boots and battle-rattle.

LOL.... me and my husband went driving through base one day for what ever reason, and they had a bunch of poor folks out there doing these things in the dirt. It was a huge dust cloud, and anyone who was not in front surely was hating life anyway, let alone with all the dirt swirling around.