8 Challenging Burpee Variations to Amp Up Your Workout Intensity
Want a challenge at the end of your workout? These eight Burpee variations will add a metabolic boost to your system for more fat-burning results, plus they will test your physical and mental toughness.
They’re not for beginners, though. You need to get the basics down first. Make sure, first and foremost, to maintain your form as fatigue starts to set in. Stop whenever your technique begins to break down.
RELATED: 4 Better Alternatives to Burpees
Perform these steps for the standard Burpee technique:
- Begin in a standing position with your feet hip- to shoulder-width apart.
- Squat down and place your hands on the floor between or in front of your feet.
- Jump both feet back into the top position of a Push-Up.
- Bend your elbows and lower your body to the ground, lightly touching it with your chest.
- Straighten your arms to complete the Push-Up.
- Jump both feet forward and land outside your hands.
- Stand up straight and jump into the air, reaching both hands over your head.
1. Pull-Up Burpee
At the top of your jump, grab the bar and perform a Pull-Up. This variation provides a strength component for your back. It is a full-body Burpee.
RELATED: Who Invented the Burpee?
2. One-Arm Push-Up Burpee
The depth of your Push-Up is determined by your upper-body strength. This variation challenges your core in rotation, since you leave only one hand on the floor. It requires more core stability to keep your hips from tilting.
3. Traveling Burpee
Perform a regular Burpee, but instead of jumping straight up, jump forward to do a Broad Jump. If you have limited space, make a 180-degree turn after you land. Otherwise, continue in one direction for a set distance or number of reps.
4. One-Leg and One-Arm Tuck Jump Burpee
This is one of my favorites for challenging your core. There are two points of contact on the floor. Placing only your left hand and right foot on the floor, you must balance your entire body and keep it from rotating. The key is to make sure your body is completely straight. Don’t land in a pike position. As you jump forward, stay on one foot, then do a tuck jump to add more of a challenge.
RELATED: The Bedroom Bodyweight Workout
5. Tiger Burpees (elbows touch ground)
This is a fun variation to the Push-Up component of the Burpee. You need to keep your body low to touch your elbows to the ground. After about 20 of these, your triceps will be burning.
6. Sit-Out Burpee
If you like jiu-jitsu, this move may be familiar to you. After the Push-Up, slide one leg under your body to the left and then to the right, while stabilizing on one hand.
7. Man-Maker Burpee
For a complete, gut-busting workout, do this Burpee all on its own. All you need is a pair of dumbbells. From the push-up position, do a Renegade Row, then a Push-Up, then jump your feet forward and stand up. From there, do a Bicep Curl into a Shoulder Press. This one will get your blood pumping and improve your endurance fast.
8. One-Arm Snatch Burpee
While holding a dumbbell in one hand, squat down, jump back and do an explosive Push-Up. Jump forward to land with your feet outside your hands and perform a one-arm Snatch. As you do the Snatch, keep the dumbbell as close to your body as possible. Make sure to work both arms.
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8 Challenging Burpee Variations to Amp Up Your Workout Intensity
Want a challenge at the end of your workout? These eight Burpee variations will add a metabolic boost to your system for more fat-burning results, plus they will test your physical and mental toughness.
They’re not for beginners, though. You need to get the basics down first. Make sure, first and foremost, to maintain your form as fatigue starts to set in. Stop whenever your technique begins to break down.
RELATED: 4 Better Alternatives to Burpees
Perform these steps for the standard Burpee technique:
- Begin in a standing position with your feet hip- to shoulder-width apart.
- Squat down and place your hands on the floor between or in front of your feet.
- Jump both feet back into the top position of a Push-Up.
- Bend your elbows and lower your body to the ground, lightly touching it with your chest.
- Straighten your arms to complete the Push-Up.
- Jump both feet forward and land outside your hands.
- Stand up straight and jump into the air, reaching both hands over your head.
1. Pull-Up Burpee
At the top of your jump, grab the bar and perform a Pull-Up. This variation provides a strength component for your back. It is a full-body Burpee.
RELATED: Who Invented the Burpee?
2. One-Arm Push-Up Burpee
The depth of your Push-Up is determined by your upper-body strength. This variation challenges your core in rotation, since you leave only one hand on the floor. It requires more core stability to keep your hips from tilting.
3. Traveling Burpee
Perform a regular Burpee, but instead of jumping straight up, jump forward to do a Broad Jump. If you have limited space, make a 180-degree turn after you land. Otherwise, continue in one direction for a set distance or number of reps.
4. One-Leg and One-Arm Tuck Jump Burpee
This is one of my favorites for challenging your core. There are two points of contact on the floor. Placing only your left hand and right foot on the floor, you must balance your entire body and keep it from rotating. The key is to make sure your body is completely straight. Don’t land in a pike position. As you jump forward, stay on one foot, then do a tuck jump to add more of a challenge.
RELATED: The Bedroom Bodyweight Workout
5. Tiger Burpees (elbows touch ground)
This is a fun variation to the Push-Up component of the Burpee. You need to keep your body low to touch your elbows to the ground. After about 20 of these, your triceps will be burning.
6. Sit-Out Burpee
If you like jiu-jitsu, this move may be familiar to you. After the Push-Up, slide one leg under your body to the left and then to the right, while stabilizing on one hand.
7. Man-Maker Burpee
For a complete, gut-busting workout, do this Burpee all on its own. All you need is a pair of dumbbells. From the push-up position, do a Renegade Row, then a Push-Up, then jump your feet forward and stand up. From there, do a Bicep Curl into a Shoulder Press. This one will get your blood pumping and improve your endurance fast.
8. One-Arm Snatch Burpee
While holding a dumbbell in one hand, squat down, jump back and do an explosive Push-Up. Jump forward to land with your feet outside your hands and perform a one-arm Snatch. As you do the Snatch, keep the dumbbell as close to your body as possible. Make sure to work both arms.