The Awesome Benefits Of Burpees

Some individuals love them and some hate them, but burpees are no doubt one of the most effective exercises you can do. Burpees test your cardiovascular endurance and your strength at the same time, making them highly efficient. And they're not a new fad—burpees have been around since the 1930s. They were invented by a physiologist named Royal Burpee (yes, that was his real name). The United States military quickly started using the burpee to test the fitness level of its soldiers, and it has been a popular exercise ever since. Doing burpees is beneficial for just about everyone, from elite athletes to the average Joe or Jane who just wants to get in shape.

Builds Full-Body Strength

Doing burpees builds full-body strength. The burpee is a compound movement, meaning it uses multiple muscle groups. It works your core muscles, back, glutes, quads, and hamstrings. You may choose to add a push-up at the bottom of the burpee to make the move more challenging and work your pecs and triceps. Exercise programs should ideally include many different types of exercises to strengthen the whole body. However, the burpee is so efficient it targets nearly every major muscle. This is because, depending on whether you include a push-up, the burpee involves four to six steps. Each step corresponds to a different body movement involving a group of multiple muscles. Including burpees in your exercise regimen is a sure way to get a nice, toned body from head to toe.

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Improves Cardiovascular Health

In addition to building overall body strength, doing burpees improves cardiovascular health. When you do burpees, your heart has to beat faster and harder to supply blood to your muscles. If you do burpees regularly, the exercise will strengthen your heart over time. The heart muscle will not have to work as hard when you are at rest because it will have become more efficient. In addition, doing burpees improves the cholesterol concentration in your blood vessels. The amount of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is commonly referred to as 'bad cholesterol,' decreases. This translates to less plaque in the arteries. As a result, you will have a much lower risk of heart disease and heart attacks. Individuals who take care of their cardiovascular health live longer than those who don't. They also tend to have a better quality of life, experiencing fewer health problems. Burpees may seem difficult and uncomfortable now, but the long-term benefits are well worth it.

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Burns Calories

Doing burpees burns calories—a lot of them. An individual who weighs about 150 pounds would burn roughly ten calories per minute while doing burpees. If you did them for an hour straight, you would burn over five hundred calories. Burning calories through exercise can help with weight management. If you want to lose weight, burpees can put you into a caloric deficit. Burning an extra five hundred calories per day will allow you to lose one pound per week if all other factors are consistent. Now, an hour of burpees might sound a little excessive, but no one is saying you have to do an hour of burpees without stopping! You could break them up into smaller time segments. For example, try doing ten minutes of burpees and then take a break. You don't even have to do a full hour every day; even one ten-minute burpee workout will torch around one hundred calories. That's a great accomplishment.

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Cross-Trains For Other Activities

Another great benefit of doing burpees is it cross-trains for other activities. They are useful for athletes who play any sport. Burpees improve strength, stamina, and agility, which translate well into sports as well as everyday activities. The burpee is composed of several different movements. It involves squatting, planking, and jumping. Squatting requires good mobility in the hips, knees, and ankles; this is especially important for athletes whose sports involve a lot of running. Lack of mobility can be a source of injury. The plank portion of the burpee increases strength in the core muscles. Working the core is not just about getting a six-pack aesthetic; the core muscles are vitally important in protecting the back from injury. Finally, the burpee requires one to move rapidly and jump. This is especially useful training for basketball players, track-and-field athletes, gymnasts, and other sports that involve jumping.

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Improves Endurance

Among the many other benefits, a burpee workout improves endurance. Burpees are challenging for everyone at first. When you start doing them, you will probably get tired within a few minutes. Keep doing burpees consistently, and you will find they get easier and easier. Eventually, you will be able to do more burpees in a row and will take much longer to get fatigued. This translates well into daily life. For example, if you can do burpees for half an hour, then walking around a city or jogging up several flights of stairs should feel like nothing. In general, you will feel more energized throughout the day.