No Gym, No Trainer, No Equipment
by
Joseph Mercola
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Here it is…
a simple exercise that helps accelerate your move towards fitness.
If you want to do one of the single best exercises to get your whole
body in shape, you’ve come to the right place.
Ladies and
gentlemen, I present to you… The Burpee!
Developed in
the ’30s by Dr. Royal H. Burpee – a Renaissance man who was
an author, a physical fitness fanatic and a psychologist, the Burpee
was created by Dr. Burpee as part of his PhD at Columbia University.
The Burpee has historically been used by the military to test recruits
for strength and agility. In recent decades, the larger population
caught onto the move’s full-body calorie-blasting fitness benefits.
The best part: Anyone can do it anywhere, at anytime.
Highly Effective
Simple Exercise that Requires No Equipment, Gym, or Trainer
The reason
why the Burpee is “the one” end-all, be-all exercise: It is a full
body exercise used in strength
training and as aerobic
and anaerobic exercise.
- It pounds
your entire body, working out your legs, arms, chest, back, abs,
and glutes. - It is a
phenomenal strength trainer because you are pushing and lifting
your own weight, and building serious muscle. - The Burpee
burns 50% more fat than conventional strength training. In other
words, you can work out half the time and burn just as much fat.
Burpees, like other strength training moves, also give your metabolism
a boost. This is largely because it is a powerful anaerobic stimulus
and falls into the Peak Fitness type of high intensity exercise
training. - The Burpee
can be performed anywhere, and anytime for free. - It is also
a cardio-respiratory workout. If you do Burpees you can effectively
raise your heart rate to target levels by doing a brief set of
burpees.
How to Properly
Perform a Burpee
It is performed
in four steps, and was originally known as a “four-count Burpee”:
- Start in
a standing position and drop into a squat
position (as if you’re sitting back into a chair) with your hands
on the ground. - Bring your
palms to the floor and extend your feet back in one quick motion
to assume the front
plank position. - Return to
the squat position in one quick motion. - Return to
an upright standing position.
Try it, and
you’ll see that it really packs a punch, targeting the legs, glutes,
arms, and core, all at the same time. Do several in a row (if you
can), and you’ll ramp up your calorie burn, too.
How to Modify
the Burpee if You Are Not Fit
If it’s too
challenging at first, here’s a simple modification: Instead of going
into plank position, do a Burpee by a wall. Squat down, stand up,
and do a push-up against a wall. (This is especially important for
anyone with knee or shoulder issues.)
How to Modify
the Burpee if You Are Already Very Fit
Once you get
the hang of a traditional Burpee, there are a few variations you
can use to spice it up:
- When you’re
in plank position, add a push-up to tone your arms, chest and
shoulders. Don’t forget to keep your core engaged throughout the
move! - At the end
of the exercise (when you move from squatting to standing), lift
up on your toes for some added calf work. Or, if you’re feeling
really energetic, give it some propulsion and jump up for even
more leg and glute action. - Following
the push-up, try a side plank. In plank position, keeping your
right hand on the floor, slowly lift the left hand up and out
to your left side, rolling your torso out to the side so that
your weight is on the right hand and your left hand is extended
to the ceiling. This is a great challenge for your obliques, arms
and shoulders.
Take The 10-Day
Burpee Challenge!
Whether you
can do 10 Burpees in a row or just one, start at a level that’s
comfortable for you, and begin to add an additional Burpees to your
routine each day for 10 consecutive days. You’ll be amazed at the
full-body-sculpting, belly fat-melting results, and it takes less
than five minutes a day!
You can also
try using it in the Peak Fitness model by simply warming up with
walking for three minutes. Then doing 30 seconds of Burpees, and
walk for 90 seconds and repeat that 7 times. Then cool down for
3 to 6 minutes.
The Secret
Burpee Subculture
You’ll love
the burpee, and hate it at the same time. You’ll enjoy its benefits,
and groan at the pain. All the while, you’ll exult in the knowledge
of participating in one of the most effective physical fitness moves
known.
- To date,
there are 19 variations of the Burpee on Wikipedia.com. Dozens
of other variations live on YouTube and health blogs. - The Burpee
is finding its way back into popular fitness routines. Yoga has
its own variation of the Burpee, as do several popular fitness
coaches. - The 100
Burpee challenge is a 100-day routine in which you do one Burpee
on day one, two on day two, and so on, all the way up to 100 Burpees
in 100 days. Can you say “ouch?” - A guy named
Paddy Doyle performed 1,840 Burpees in one hour. If you do more,
you’re eligible for a spot in The Guinness Book of World Records.
To sum up,
the Burpee is your ultimate, all-inclusive, calorie-blasting, weight-smashing,
muscle-building, body-sculpting wonder workout. It’s clearly the
single best exercise you can ever do.
Kathy Smith,
president of Kathy Smith Lifestyles, has stood at the forefront
of the fitness and health industries for more than 30 years with
a collection of books, videos, audios and DVD’s on walking, cardiovascular
health, nutrition, strength training, yoga, Pilates, menopause,
dance, and all-things-exercise. Her goal and personal mission is
to inspire the best in others.
Kathy can be
reached on Facebook
and Twitter and online
at www.kathysmith.com.
May
19, 2012
Copyright ©
2012 Dr. Joseph Mercola