What is Burpee?

What is Burpee?

A burpee is a full-body conditioning movement that chains a squat, a plank, a push-up, and a vertical jump into one continuous repetition. From a standing start you drop your hands to the floor, kick or step your feet back into a plank, lower your chest to the ground, press or snap back up, jump your feet forward under your hips, and finish with an explosive jump, arms reaching overhead.

The whole rep moves you from your feet to the floor and back to full extension, which is why coaches call it a floor-to-standing transition under load. It is the definitive no-equipment exercise: all you need is your bodyweight and a patch of floor, and it trains strength-endurance, coordination, and cardio-respiratory fitness at the same time.

The movement was invented in 1939 by the American physiologist Royal H. Burpee as part of his doctoral work at Columbia University, where he built it as a quick four-count test of fitness. The U.S. Army adopted it in 1942 to screen recruit conditioning during World War II, counting how many a soldier could complete in a fixed window.

Today the burpee is a staple of CrossFit, HIIT classes, military and tactical training, and home workouts, because few movements raise the heart rate as fast or tax as many muscle groups per rep. That efficiency is also why people dread it: a set of burpees delivers a large training stimulus in very little time, with nowhere to hide.

How it works

A burpee works by forcing a rapid, repeated transition between the horizontal and vertical, which drives heart rate and oxygen demand up faster than most single-plane exercises. Mechanically it is a series of stacked movement patterns. The initial descent is a hip hinge and squat: the hips and knees flex while the quadriceps and glutes control the drop to the floor.

Kicking the feet back loads the core, which contracts isometrically to keep the spine neutral in the plank so the hips do not sag. Lowering the chest and pressing up is a push-up, driven by the pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, and triceps. Snapping the feet forward is hip and knee flexion again, and the finishing jump is triple extension: the ankles, knees, and hips extend explosively while the gastrocnemius, quadriceps, and gluteus maximus produce power against gravity.

Because so much muscle mass is recruited and the body is repeatedly raised and lowered against its own weight, the metabolic cost is high; research and field data put a hard-paced burpee at roughly 10 to 15 calories per minute. The intensity also creates excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC, meaning your body keeps burning calories at an elevated rate after the set ends while it restores oxygen, clears metabolites, and returns to baseline.

Studies comparing burpee intervals to sprint running find similar heart-rate responses, around 170 beats per minute, but a higher rating of perceived exertion and greater upper-body fatigue from burpees, because the push-up and the constant reloading of the arms tax the chest, shoulders, and triceps far more than running does. That combination of a large muscular demand, a big cardiovascular cost, and zero equipment is what makes the burpee such an efficient conditioning tool.

How to apply it

• Meet the CrossFit standard: In CrossFit the rep counts when the chest, hips, and thighs touch the floor at the bottom and you reach full hip and knee extension at the top, usually with the arms overhead or a jump-and-clap. Anything short of full ground contact or a soft, bent-hip finish is a no-rep.
• Keep a neutral spine in the plank: Brace the core so the hips do not sag or pike as your feet land in the plank. Losing the neutral spine under fatigue is where low-back strain creeps in, so treat the plank as an active position, not a rest stop between the drop and the push-up.
• Pace, do not sprint, long sets: For any set over about ten reps, settle into a steady, repeatable rhythm rather than going all-out from rep one. A slightly slower, unbroken pace almost always beats a fast start followed by long rests, because the burpee's high heart-rate cost punishes redlining early.
• Step back to scale down: Replace the jump-back and jump-up with stepping one foot at a time. The step-back burpee keeps the full floor-to-standing pattern while cutting impact and heart-rate spike, making it the first scaling option for beginners, larger athletes, or anyone protecting the knees and wrists.
• Elevate the hands to reduce range: Place the hands on a box, bench, or wall so the chest travels a shorter distance to the surface. Elevating the hands cuts the range of motion and the load on the push-up, which lets people who cannot yet reach the floor with control still train the pattern.
• Add a target or load to scale up: Jump to touch a target 6 to 12 inches above your reach, jump laterally over a barbell, or hold light dumbbells for a burpee to a devil press. These variations extend the range and power demand once the standard burpee is easy, keeping the stimulus progressive.

Types

Worked example

A four-week on-ramp that takes a beginner from a scaled step-back pattern to unbroken standard burpees. Each step is held until the reps feel repeatable with a neutral spine before adding range or removing scaling, and rest is generous early so form does not collapse under fatigue.

The goal is a repeatable rhythm, not a personal record every session. Most beginners can hold roughly 5 to 8 burpees per minute at a sustainable pace; chasing a fast opening pace and then stalling is the most common way a burpee workout falls apart.

Burpee vs squat thrust

The squat thrust is essentially a burpee with the push-up and the jump removed. It is the natural regression when the full burpee is too taxing, and a useful warm-up drill in its own right.

By goal

• Fat loss and conditioning: Use burpees in short, dense intervals, such as 40 seconds on and 20 off for several rounds, or as a finisher of 3 sets of 15. The high calorie cost and EPOC make them efficient for a time-crunched session, but pair them with strength work so you keep muscle while losing fat.
• CrossFit and work capacity: Train the strict chest-to-floor standard so your reps count in benchmark and hero workouts. Practice unbroken sets and a consistent no-rep-free rhythm, since burpees appear constantly in metcons and the athlete who paces them well recovers faster for the next movement.
• Beginners and general fitness: Start with elevated-hand or step-back burpees and keep sets short, around 5 to 8 reps, with full recovery. Prioritize a neutral spine in the plank and a controlled landing over speed. Add the push-up and jump only once the pattern is smooth and pain-free.

Common misconceptions

• "Burpees are only cardio and do not build muscle." Burpees are conditioning first, but the push-up, squat, and jump do train the chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, and glutes under bodyweight load. They build muscular endurance and some strength in beginners, though they are a poor substitute for progressive resistance training if hypertrophy is the goal.
• "More burpees, done faster, is always better." Speed at the cost of form is where burpees go wrong. Under fatigue the hips sag in the plank and the landing gets sloppy, which strains the low back, wrists, and knees. A slightly slower, repeatable pace with a neutral spine produces a better and safer training effect.
• "A rep counts as long as you go down and get up." By the CrossFit standard, the chest, hips, and thighs must touch the floor and you must reach full hip and knee extension at the top. A half-range chest, a piked hip at the bottom, or a soft, bent-hip finish are all no-reps in a workout that judges the movement.
• "Burpees will wreck your knees and back." The impact and the plank position stress the joints only when form breaks down or volume jumps too fast. Scaling to step-back or elevated-hand versions, bracing the core, and landing softly let most people train burpees safely. Existing injuries should be cleared with a clinician first.
• "Burpees burn belly fat specifically." No exercise spot-reduces fat from one area. Burpees burn a lot of calories per minute and, combined with a calorie deficit, help lower total body fat over time. Where you lose it first is set by genetics, not by which exercise you choose.

Related terms

Burpee FAQ

What is a burpee in simple terms?

A burpee is a full-body exercise where you drop from standing to a push-up on the floor, then jump back up and reach overhead, all in one flow. It needs no equipment and trains strength and cardio at once, which is why it is a fitness-class and CrossFit staple.

What muscles do burpees work?

Burpees work nearly the whole body. The squat and jump train the quads, glutes, and calves, the push-up trains the chest, shoulders, and triceps, and the core braces throughout to hold a neutral spine. That full-body recruitment is why the movement spikes your heart rate so fast.

How do you do a burpee correctly?

Start standing, squat and place your hands on the floor, kick your feet back to a plank, and lower your chest to the ground. Press up, jump your feet back under your hips, then jump straight up and reach overhead. Keep a braced, neutral spine in the plank throughout.

How many calories does a burpee burn?

A hard-paced burpee burns roughly 10 to 15 calories per minute, or about 0.5 calories per rep on average, depending on your bodyweight and speed. Heavier people and faster paces burn more. Burpees also trigger EPOC, so you keep burning calories at an elevated rate after you stop.

What is the CrossFit standard for a burpee?

In CrossFit the chest, hips, and thighs must touch the floor at the bottom, and you must reach full hip and knee extension at the top, usually with a jump and the arms overhead. A piked hip, a partial chest, or a bent-hip finish are all no-reps in a judged workout.

Are burpees good for weight loss?

Burpees are efficient for weight loss because they burn a lot of calories in little time and elevate your metabolism afterward through EPOC. They work best inside a calorie deficit and alongside strength training. No exercise spot-reduces belly fat, so pair them with overall diet control.

How many burpees should a beginner do?

Beginners should start with short sets of about 5 to 8 reps, using step-back or elevated-hand scaling, with full recovery between sets. Build to unbroken sets and add the push-up and jump as the pattern becomes smooth. Quality and a neutral spine matter far more than volume early on.

Who invented the burpee?

The physiologist Royal H. Burpee created the exercise in 1939 as part of his doctoral work at Columbia University, designing it as a quick four-count fitness test. The U.S. Army adopted it in 1942 to screen recruit conditioning during World War II, and the name simply stuck.

What is the difference between a burpee and a squat thrust?

A squat thrust is a burpee without the push-up and the jump: you squat, kick back to a plank, return, and stand. The burpee adds a chest-to-floor push-up and an explosive jump, which raises the cardio and upper-body demand. The squat thrust is the easier regression.

Are burpees bad for your knees or back?

Burpees stress the knees, wrists, and low back only when form breaks or you add volume too fast. Bracing the core in the plank, landing softly, and scaling to step-back versions keep them safe for most people. Anyone with an existing injury should clear loaded burpees with a clinician.

References

1. The Burpee: Instruction, Benefits & Technique. CrossFit.com Essentials
2. How to Do a Burpee: Step-by-Step Guide, Benefits, Variations. Healthline, 2023
3. The Relationship Between the Burpee Movement Program and Strength and Endurance Performance Measures in Active Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis. Sports (Basel), 2024. PMC11503278
4. Burpee Interval Training Is Associated With a More Favorable Affective Valence and Psychological Response Than Traditional High Intensity Exercise. Percept Mot Skills, 2022. PubMed 35400227
5. Extremely Low-Volume Burpee Interval Training Equivalent to 8 Minutes Per Session Improves Vertical Jump Compared with Sprint Interval Training. J Strength Cond Res, 2023. PubMed 37639674
6. Burpee (exercise): history and origin of the Burpee test. Wikipedia
7. Calories burned in 30 minutes for people of three different weights. Harvard Health Publishing