If you ever tried CrossFit or circuit workouts, you’ve probably done your fair share of burpees. They’re so effective they were used as a fitness test for men enlisting in the military during the 1940s.
If you could perform 41 burpees in a minute, you were considered to be in excellent shape, although the burpee at that time was less taxing than the burpee you may know today.
In fact, in 1939 the inventor of the burpee, physiologist Royal H. Burpee, created what was then a four-count movement designed to evaluate fitness. Also known as the squat thrust, four-count burpee and military burpee, the movement was performed as follows:
- 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 your legs, glutes, arms, and core, all at the same time. The fitness test that Burpee administered involved taking heart-rate measurements at five points before and after just four burpees were performed.
Ironically, as reported in the Huffington Post, Burpee believed the military’s modification of the burpee fitness test was too strenuous, and he suggested high reps of the movement could be damaging to your knees and back, particularly in people without core strength.
Modern-day burpees, however, are even more challenging, incorporating two additional movements, and they’re often performed during high-intensity interval training (HIIT) circuits, which ramps up the intensity even more.
As long as your form is correct and you give your body enough time for recovery, burpees are not only safe to perform intensely… they’re one of the best exercises there is.
