There’s no denying it’s pretty dang empowering to stop, drop, and push your way through a few rounds of burpees. But this move isn’t exactly easy, so it must be doing SOMETHING amazing for your body. As it turns out, all that jumping, pressing, and sweating makes burpees a fantastic full-body, functional exercise. “It stimulates a fight or flight response within our bodies that can help us improve reaction time, mobility, and actual quality of life,” says Danielle Gray, certified personal trainer and creator of Train Like a Gymnast.
Beyond prepping you for everyday life, this badass move “targets almost every muscle group in your body in microseconds,” says Gray. And if you do enough burpees in the long term, that can translate to major muscle-sculpting, like stronger arms with triceps definition and incredibly toned legs, just to name a few perks.
The cardio benefits are also incredible, adds Gray. “Burpees help you build strength and cardio endurance at the same time, which is why so many people turn to this exercise as a go-to for efficiency and productivity.”
And, while the standard version of this move (learn how to master a burpee) is already a standout, teamed up with Gray to create a 30-day burpee challenge designed to help you level-up your burpee game and improve your strength and cardio endurance as a result.
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Your burpee challenge gameplan
Ready to get started? Gray has put together five of her favourite burpee variations for you do tackle throughout the challenge. Each one is slightly more advanced than your average burpee and designed for optimal strength and cardio benefits.
To participate in the challenge, follow along with the calendar below, and complete the specified burpee. For the first week, plan to do 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps of the daily burpee variation. Then, add a set each week to increase the challenge.
“Be sure to log your progress,” says Gray. “Keep a journal, and rate the difficulty level from 1–10 each day; see how it changes overall by the end.” This will help you track the changes in challenge, along with your increase in endurance each week. (You’ll notice a difference — trust!)
Never heard of a donkey kick burpee or tumbling burpee? Don’t worry, Gray demos each move below, and offers all the form tips you need.
Single-Arm Burpee
How to: Start in a standing position with arms at sides. Jump up and lift right arm into the air. After landing, bend over and press hand into ground. Hop feet back into a single-arm plank position, with hips at the same height as shoulders. Engage core and hop legs back to meet hand. Stand back up straight to starting position. That’s one rep.
Single-Arm Side Burpee
How to: Start in a standing position, with hands at sides. Jump up and lift both hands into air. Squat down, lean to the right and press right hand into ground, then jump feet to the side so body is in a side plank position (stagger your feet if needed). Engage your obliques to reverse the movement and return to start. That’s one rep.
Sit-Up Candlestick Burpee
How to: Start in standing position, with arms at sides. Press hands together and hold in front of chest. Jump up, then squat down until butt touches ground. Roll back so lower back touches ground, and extend arms and legs into hollow hold position. Hold for a second, then curl upper body to meet legs. In one swift motion, press hands into ground in front of feet, and jump legs back into plank position. Lower down into a pushup, and at the top, jump back to start. That’s one rep.
Tumbling Burpee
How to: Start by standing at the edge of mat, with hands at sides. Fold body in half, until hands touch ground, bending knees if needed. Tuck chin into chest, squat, place head on the ground, and roll forward. When feet touch ground at the end, use momentum to press hands into mat, and jump feet backward into a high plank position. Complete a pushup, then hop back to start. That’s one rep.
Donkey Kick Burpee
How to: Start standing, with hands at sides. Hop up into the air. As you land, squat down, press hands into ground, and jump into the air, higher than shoulder height. Let feet land directly under body, then hop up. That’s one rep.
