How many calories do burpees burn? Will burpees help you lose weight? Is it worth incorporating them into your workout routine? Are burpees as bad as people say they are?
If you know what burpees are, or have heard about them, then you know that the majority of people in the fitness world have a lot of strong opinions about them. Most people would do anything to avoid them (and even look for options to replace them) while some, albeit a very small number, love them.
What Are Burpees?
A burpee is a calisthenic exercise that combines several simple movements, including a squat, push-up, and jump, that uses your body weight for resistance (9). To anyone unsure about what calisthenics are, usually, they are low-resistance exercises that use your body weight rather than other equipment.
Typical examples of calisthenics include jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups, planks, and lunges (3). Burpees can also be referred to as a compound workout as they work out different groups of muscles at the same time.
What Are Some Benefits Of Burpees?
They Are A Full-Body Workout
If you are on a time crunch and would love to workout both your upper and lower body, burpees are the way to go. When doing burpees, you can exercise the muscles in your legs, glutes, core, deltoids, and arms. After a quick warm-up, start doing burpees and you will easily get in a full-body workout in just 30 minutes.
Maximum Calorie Burning
As stated above, burpees are a full-body workout that targets several muscles in your body. Such exercises are also known as compound exercises. The human body expends five calories of energy to consume one liter of oxygen. Since this kind of workout targets multiple muscles, it means that you will require more oxygen to perform it, which in turn leads to more energy expenditure and calorie burning (1).
Improves Cardiovascular Fitness
Burpees are also a high-intensity plyometric workout that will get your heart pumping fast, providing an excellent cardiovascular workout. A healthy heart lowers your risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and stroke.
A healthy heart also lowers blood pressure by improving and managing levels of cholesterol and other fats in the blood, improves your body’s ability to manage blood sugar and insulin levels. This lowers your risk for type 2 diabetes; helps you maintain a healthy weight; and reduces levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in your body, which may also lower your risk of heart disease (7).
Convenient And Versatile
While you can use weights while doing burpees, they are mostly done without them. As long as you have enough space around you, this workout can be done anywhere. If you need added weights to add intensity to the workout, you can just buy some dumbbells and ankle weights to use at home.
Moving from a push-up or plank position, and then jumping can be quite challenging to your balance and coordination. Do not be surprised if you stumble the first few times that you attempt this workout. However, with time and patience, your balance and coordination will be much improved.
Improve Muscular Endurance
Burpees are high-repetition and high-load exercises (they require you to use your whole body weight) that are effective in increasing muscular endurance (4).
Weight Loss
Since burpees are high intensity, plyometric cardio workouts, you expend a lot of energy doing them, which means that you are burning a lot of calories. If you are eating at a caloric deficit and including burpees in your workout sessions, chances are that you will start losing weight.
How many calories do you burn doing burpees for 2 minutes? How many calories do 10 burpees burn? How many calories do 100 burpees burn? These are all questions that anyone wishing to lose weight or fat tends to ask him/herself once they decide to incorporate burpees into their day to day exercises.
How Many Calories Do Burpees Burn?
According to Harvard, doing moderate calisthenics such as burpees can burn anywhere from 135 to 200 calories in 30 minutes. If you are doing vigorous calisthenics you can burn 240 to 355 calories in the same amount of time. This too depends on how heavy you are. The lighter you are, the fewer calories you will burn as compared to a heavier person who is doing the same workout as you are (6).
While the exact number of calories burned per minute has not been defined, it is advisable to do as many burpees as possible within your allocated period to burn more fat. If you still want to track the number of calories lost per burpee done, try getting a fitness tracker, and it can calculate this for you.
Take note that the more calories you eat, the more burpees you will need to do to burn them off. To get rid of a scoop of ice cream you will need to do about 80 burpees, a slice of cake demands 493 burpees, while a 30g cookie requires 141 burpees for calories to burn off (10).
Remember that the number of burpees done does not matter. Rather it is the intensity in which you can do them. We all work out at different speeds so instead of aiming for a specific number, time yourself, and try to up the number of burpees you can do per minute while keeping a proper form. Not only does this help with your endurance, but it also does wonders for the calories lost in a single session.
How many calories do burpees burn? In a span of 30 minutes, burpees can burn anywhere from 135 to 355 calories depending on the intensity of the workout and weight of a person. In general, this type of workout is fantastic for both beginners and exercise veterans who wish to lose weight and fat quickly. The harder the variation, the stronger you become, and the more muscle endurance you get.
As always, remember that exercising always works best when you eat healthier and calorie deficit meals and stay hydrated. Also, always remember to pace yourself and not over-exercise when attempting to lose weight or gain muscle. Before you attempt burpees, please consult your doctor to ensure that your body can handle this and any other forms of exercise that you may wish to attempt.
FAQs
1. How To Do Burpees For Weight Loss?
As we have already established, burpees are a great workout option for anyone who is working out to lose weight. Here is how to do burpees safely:
While standing up, start by reaching both hands in the air over your head, and then come down into a squatting position; squat as low as you can.
Reach your hands to the floor and kick your legs behind you, coming to the top of a push-up position. Your arms should be shoulder-width apart.
Do a push-up while at this position.
Jump your feet back to the squat position and push off your feet into an explosive leap with both hands directly above your head.
Do this for three sets, each step containing ten burpees. Be sure to rest for one minute between each set.
This is the most common variation of burpees, and it is known as a ‘push-up burpee’ (8). However, this can be quite hard for someone who is just getting into this workout. If you are wondering ‘how to do burpees for beginners’, the process is the same. The only difference is that you will omit the push-up if you have not learned the proper way to do it.
As you get stronger, you can incorporate the push-up. Other advanced burpee variations include:
The Burpee Pull-Up
While standing up, start by reaching both hands in the air over your head and then come down into a squatting position; squat as low as you can.
Reach your hands to the floor and kick your legs behind you, coming to the top of a push-up position. Your arms should be shoulder-width apart.
Do a push-up while at this position
Jump your feet back to the squat position and push off your feet into an explosive leap with both hands directly above your head.
Hold on to the pull-up bar above your head and pull yourself up. This is a great addition as it helps you build your upper body muscles even more (2).
The Reverse Burpee
If you think that normal burpees are a walk in the park, try this variation instead.
Start in an athletic position with your knees bent, chest up, and eyes looking forward.
Lower your butt to the ground and allow yourself to fall backward on the ground/turf.
Drive your knees towards your chest while driving the back of your shoulders into the ground.
Rapidly shoot both knees forward, drive both feet into the ground, and stand up.
As soon as you stand up, jump in the air, then land softly.
Do this ten times for three sets.
The Ball Slam Burpee
This is the perfect variation for anyone with any pent up aggression.
Stand tall with the slam ball in both hands.
Rise on your toes and bring the ball overhead, then slam it into the ground as you drop into a burpee.
As you pop back up, pick up the ball, lift it overhead, and repeat the movement.
Not only will you probably be less angry once you are done with this move, but it also puts your abs, front and lateral deltoids (muscles at the front and back of the shoulders) through a serious workout.
Pistol Burpees
Start on one leg in an athletic position with your knees bent, chest up, and eyes looking forward.
Lower your entire body to the ground and place both hands on the ground in front of you.
Perform a push-up and rapidly bring that same leg that you have been standing on forward.
Staying on that same leg, lower your butt to the ground and allow yourself to fall backward on the ground/turf.
Drive your knee towards your chest while driving the back of your shoulders into the ground.
Rapidly shoot that same leg into the ground, while keeping your opposite leg straight (5).
Do this ten times for each leg.
Kettlebell Deadlift Burpee
Stand in between two kettlebells.
As you drop down into a burpee, use the handles of the kettlebells almost as parallel bars, gripping them as you jump your feet back.
Keep a tight grip on the kettlebells as you brace your core, and deadlift the kettlebells in front of your body.
Repeat this ten times for three sets.
Please note that the pistol and reverse variations are quite advanced. Work your way through the ball slam, burpee pull-up, and kettlebell deadlift versions before attempting the other two types.
2. How To Do Burpees With Proper Form?
Proper form is vital in every workout. With the correct form, you can get maximum benefits from each workout, and you lower the risk of hurting yourself.
When you squat, ensure that your hands are between your knees on the ground.
When you push back into a push-up position, your feet should be wide apart.
Engage your core, do not drop too far to the ground, and neither should you bend your back.
If you choose to do a push-up, your chest needs to hit the floor, and your core should still be engaged.
Once you leap back forward, your legs should be apart, keeping your hands in between your knees (5).
Yes, they are. This exercise is widely known for its ability to help you burn fat in a short time. However, this is only possible if you eat healthy foods and are on a caloric deficit diet. If you are working out while still overeating or excessively indulging in junk food, you will not see any results.
4. How Many Burpees A Day For Weight Loss?
This depends on how many you feel that you are capable of doing without overworking yourself. Some people would prefer to do 10, others 20 while some may choose to push the number up to 50 burpees a day for weight loss.
The best option is to always start small and increase the number as your strength and endurance grow. For a real-life example of burpees’ benefits for weight loss, some people have lost more than 10 pounds a month after doing 25 burpees for 30 days.
A 188-pound man eating 2200 calories a day can lose up to 13 pounds of fat by doing 25 burpees every day for a month (11). But remember, we are not all built the same, and neither are our metabolisms and fitness levels the same. Always start small, mind your form, and manage your expectations.
DISCLAIMER:
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any medical conditions. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!
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An intelligent program
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Eozk
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