If you’ve ever done a burpee, you know exactly what it is, or maybe you’ve tried to forget. It’s one of those exercises that makes you wince just hearing the name, so it must have something going for it. If you’ve never heard of or attempted a burpee before, you’re in for quite the experience.
What is a Burpee?
The Burpee is a popular exercise that consists of a squat, a squat thrust, a plank, and a squat jump. To perform, you would stand with feet hip-width apart, squat down to the floor, placing your hands on the floor and kick both legs back so you end up in a plank position with straight arms, jump both feet back and push through the floor into a jump so that your feet leave the floor. There are many variations of the Burpee, with the most popular variant being what the Marines affectionately refer to as ‘bastards’ The exercise is performed as described above, with the addition of a push-up once in the plank position.
Why are they called Burpees?
Nope! Not because they make you burp, though they probably could. The burpee exercise was originally designed as a fitness test in the 1930s by Royal H. Burpee, who earned a PhD in applied physiology from Columbia University in 1940. He developed the move as part of his thesis, aiming to provide a quick way to gauge a person’s fitness. It wasn’t long before the U.S. military adopted it as part of their fitness testing protocol.
The Burpee (an extract from Popular Science February 1944) Today, the variants are vast. Popular with CrossFit, Personal Trainers and Functional Training Gyms and Studios, this exercise is known worldwide.
Burpee Challenge! Are you up for it?
I’ve captured the love for Burpees with my monthly#Feburpee challenge, which runs throughout the month of February every year. Alternatively, get started now with my 28 Day Burpee Challenge.