Exercises That Are a Waste of Time and Why Burpees Are Great for HIIT Workouts

Why are Burpees Such a Good Exercise? What's Your Favorite Variation?

The burpee is the definition of a total body workout. It forces engagement through the upper body, core, and lower body through multiple components of each muscle group. To put another way, it maximizes bang for your buck in terms of calories burned and muscles utilized per rep of exercise. In terms of pure work, no exercise matches the effort of prone on the ground to jumping off the ground in a single move. This makes the burpee exercise a staple in high intensity workouts, especially HIIT cardio sessions.

Personal favorite would have to be the weighted burpee. For this variation, you will perform burpees holding a pair of weights you feel comfortable jumping with. (Typically no more than 20% of body weight.). The initial steps are the same as a traditional burpee, making it a perfect addition to full body workouts.

1. Start standing in a comfortable athletic stance.
2. Squat down, placing hands on the floor between your feet. In this case, the dumbbells while holding onto them.
3. Jump legs back into a high plank position.
4. Perform one push-up keeping hands on dumbbells.
5. Hold the high plank and perform one row per arm. Aim to pull the dumbbell to the rib cage while supporting and stabilizing the body on the opposite arm and both feet.
6. After performing rows, jump your feet forward to either side of the dumbbells.
7. Accelerate up and jump off the ground, completing the first rep when you land.

Regressions include performing the push-ups and rows on your knees. Additionally, eliminate the jump and just stand up out of the squat. For sets and reps, this exercise is easy to work into an existing circuit or as a total body finisher, making it one of the versatile cardio exercises. Doing 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions should do the trick for anyone. The additional weight makes the overall exercise harder. The added row maneuver engages even more muscle groups by directly targeting the back and biceps, showcasing the benefits of burpees in enhancing strength and endurance.