Okay which is better in cardio, burpees or squats?

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Lianapugzoe
Lianapugzoe Posts: 100 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Love to hear your thoughts.

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  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
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    Burpees? I mean, I can't see how there'd be any doubt.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    neither are really cardio exercises unless you plan on doing them for 20 minute straight. Burpees are generally a circuit thing. And squats , well, at least for me there is zero cardio involved
  • Janice6543
    Janice6543 Posts: 92 Member
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    Burpees for sure. Do a couple minutes of those and your heart rate will be high. Squats not so much.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
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    burpees kill me. Squats don't.

    I wouldn't choose to do burpees for cardio though. Although, that's partly that I wouldn't CHOOSE to do burpees, given an option,
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    edited February 2018
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    That matters on your intensity and frequency for each.

    One can get sufficient cardio from squats if programmed to do so. Such as 10 sets of heavy doubles with dynamic effort every minute on the minute.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited February 2018
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    Azdak wrote: »
    The oxygen uptake of burpees is significantly higher than squats.

    There is no thinking to it—it’s like asking “which is heavier—a 10lb weight or a 5lb weight?

    Not to mention burpees are usable in place of running tests, like the Cooper, for estimating VO2 max. Burpees are really taxing on the body.

    I do burpees for cardio, I do squats for strength, I don't think it's really a question here.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    Azdak wrote: »
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    Azdak wrote: »
    The oxygen uptake of burpees is significantly higher than squats.

    There is no thinking to it—it’s like asking “which is heavier—a 10lb weight or a 5lb weight?

    Not to mention burpees are usable in place of running tests, like the Cooper, for estimating VO2 max. Burpees are really taxing on the body.

    I do burpees for cardio, I do squats for strength, I don't think it's really a question here.

    There have been studies done on both, so there is no need to speculate. Burpees are in the 7-8 MET range, squats in the 3-3.5 range. (For comparison purposes, we are comparing body weight squats).

    That's useful information as always, thanks!
  • jadior
    jadior Posts: 191 Member
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    Funny, I never knew what a burpee was until I started taking kickboxing class. We do 15min of intense HIIT before we hit the bags. I have a love/hate relationship with them. :)
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    squats are a strength movement...
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
    edited February 2018
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    Also, if you do/try to do squats fast enough to be cardio, you're going to compromise form in at least 3 ways. Where Burpees are designed as a ballistic/semi-ballistic exercise and as a bonus are whole body.

    Neither one is really "cardio"
  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
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    You can do squats for cardio I suppose. Things like jump squats/power squats with no weights will give you some cardio if you do enough of them. Not really ideal though.
  • DevilsFan1
    DevilsFan1 Posts: 342 Member
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    Heavy squats are an anaerobic exercise. I can get my heart rate up to 170+ doing a set of heavy reps. But burpees are better for sustained, elevated heart rate. You can do burpees slowly for an extended period of time. Not so with squats.
  • DevilsFan1
    DevilsFan1 Posts: 342 Member
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    girlinahat wrote: »
    burpees kill me. Squats don't.

    You need to go heavier. :D
  • Juan2manyTacos
    Juan2manyTacos Posts: 19 Member
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    Depends on if your training for strength or cardio endurance. Burpees=cardio squats=strength.
    IMHO
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Juan2manyTacos wrote: »
    Depends on if your training for strength or cardio endurance. Burpees=cardio squats=strength.
    IMHO

    Good thing the OP wrote “best in (sic) cardio” in the title of the thread, so we’d know which aspect to focus on.

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