1 Simple Tip To Improve Your Burpees By 111%*

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*Actual percentage may vary

During my blogging hiatus, this was one tip that was a game-changer for my burpees.

For the longest time, I HATED burpees. I always felt like throwing up after like 5 of them. And every time we had them in a WOD, it’s like my brains were blowing out. Dropping weight did help me A LOT when I did my last Paleo challenge, but there was still something wrong with my burpees.

Part of the reason for this…

…was my lack of breathing.

It’s something that I didn’t learn until recently. To solve this problem, I would simply breath hard through my mouth right off the bat, which has helped me a lot with longer, 20+ minute burners. One of our coaches taught us to breathe 4 times during each burpee – twice on the way down and twice on the way up.

And no…that’s not the simple tip lol. That’d be weak shit.

Here It Is:

Do you ever feel that burn in your legs after a few burpees?

If that’s the case, then maybe it’s the transition from push up to your feet. Do you notice yourself landing in a frog-like, squat position?

Let me demonstrate through some drawings (not my best…but I’ll try):

Kipping It Real Burpees

Yep, that’s our mascot “Kip” showing us how not to do them and how to do them.

Okay, obviously in the first picture, Kip is about to come out of the push up position. Then in the bottom-left pic, he landed in a squat position. That extra strain on your legs is gonna burn you the fuck out.

So the trick is to transition from the push up to your feet with your legs as straight as possible. This maybe seem harder, especially if your hamstrings are tight or you still need to work on your flexibility. Regardless, improving your transition to your feet will change your burpees drastically.

At least it did for me and for others in that Saturday noon class I went to. I can’t thank my coach enough for that 1 tip.

If you’re someone who struggles with burpees, give this a shot. Who knows? You might actually grow to like this movement…

P.S. 1 last tip before I call it a night and read the new Harry Potter…I MEAN…JK Rowling book…

…when you drop to the ground to begin the burpee, once again, don’t land into a squat position and break your fall. Just DROP to your motherfuckin hips!

Practice it a bit, and you’ll learn how to drop safely and properly. Yeah, this may be tough for some of you with really minimal CrossFit shoes that have thin toe areas. Just make any necessary adjustments. Combine these 2 leg-saving tips, and you’ll feel a drastic difference in efficiency.

And as I’ve said before…I’m no expert. This is just shit that’s worked for me. Enjoy!

KippingItReal

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Brad

great tips! I love the visual!
but yeah, I never really got why people squatted down before their burpees? i’m pretty small so i naturally just slam my hips straight into the floor haha, no hesitation!

    KippingItReal

    Thanks! My b…haven’t gotten around to comments on this post haha.

    I did the squatting thing cause I was afraid of fucking myself up after every rep, and on the way up, it seemed like a rest…it’s that kind of thing you don’t seem to notice when you’re in the moment.

    Also, if you Google image search “burpees”, you’ll get a shitload of “instructional” images with people squatting on the way up.

elisa romaniello

i will have to try this because i do land in a squat position coming up and of course i want to be fast and effcient as possible. i have learned how to throw myself down without smashing the boobs and have plenty of bruises on my hips to show for it, lololol

Abby

Brad that’s not fair; you’re a wrestler who’s probably spent endless hours doing hip drops when practicing blocking double leg take downs. But I do appreciate these tips and definitely am going to have to work on this…would’ve helped in the burpee pull-ups from yesterdays WOD.

    KippingItReal

    Glad you got something out of this post, Abby! And all I have to say about burpee pull-ups is…

    …woof. I don’t mind kipping, but if they were strict pull ups, I’d crap out fairly quickly.

Alain

Honestly, your right on the way down but not on the way up. The point is to challenge yourself not to spare yourself while using efficiency as an excuse. It’s a full body workout. So the burn in your legs is a good thing. So the way I preach my burpees is like this. From standing: 1. Sprawl in one motion into pushup position. 2. After doing the push up, come up in one motion to a squat like position. 3.Thrust up and jump. Make sure you jump at least 15-20 cm. Clap your hands when reaching your highest point. Did 100 in 5’53” seconds a while ago. My cardio improved since then so I should do better soon.Remember it’s good to have flow and be efficient. But don’t cheat yourself.

n

Great tips. Still need to work on that flexibility to land on straight or semi straight legs tho.

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