20 Brutal Burpee Workouts every Athlete should Try

These burpee workouts will help build conditioning and mental strength. The burpee is an excellent tool to develop a powerful engine for CrossFit.

HISTORY OF THE BURPEE

The exercise was named in the 1930s for American physiologist Royal H. Burpee, who developed the burpee test.

He earned a Ph.D. in applied physiology from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1940 and created the “burpee” exercise as part of his Ph.D. thesis as a quick and simple way to assess fitness.

The exercise was popularized when the United States Armed Services adopted it as a way to assess the fitness level of recruits when the US entered World War II. Consisting of a series of exercises performed in rapid succession, the test was meant to be a quick measure of agility, coordination, and strength.

BURPEE TECHNIQUE

BURPEE WORKOUTS – THE STOJI

For time:

• 100 burpees

With a running clock, as fast as possible perform 100 Burpees. Chest must touch the ground on the way down. Athlete must jump with air between feet and floor and clap above head to complete one repetition.

Score is the time on the clock when the 100th Burpee is completed.

Tips and StrategyGo 80-95% hard or go at a pace to keep moving and escape the harsh realities for a bit. Break it into manageable sets, 10s or 20s or 60/40 or unbroken. No matter your fitness level, have a go. Everyone with a floor can do this WOD.

BURPEE WORKOUTS – PUKIE BREWSTER

• For Time
• 150 Burpees

TTTAHTD5

Training Think Tank home throwdown workout

• 6 Rounds for Total Reps in 14 minutes 15 seconds
• 45 second Max Burpees to Plate (2 in)
• 15 second Rest
• 45 second Max Jumping Squats to Target (6 in)
• 45 second Rest

On a 14:15 clock, perform as many repetitions as possible of the prescribed movement for 45 seconds each of the Burpees to Plate and Jumping Squats to Target for 6 rounds. Rest 15 seconds after the Burpees and 45 seconds after Jumping Squats before proceeding to the next round.

Score is the total number of repetitions completed before the clock stops.

Movement Standards

Jumping Squat: Hip crease must pass below the knee at the bottom and you must touch an object 6 in above your max reach with BOTH hands for each rep to count.

Burpee: Chest and thighs must touch the ground and you must come to full extension on top of a 2-inch plate for the rep to count. You may jump or step up.

THE BURPEE HOUR

• AMRAP in 60 minutes
• Burpees

On a 60-minute clock, perform as many repetitions as possible of the prescribed work. Rest as needed.

Score is the total number of Burpees completed before the 60-minute clock stops.

Scaling

AMRAP (with a Partner) in 60 minutes
Burpees
(one partner works at a time)

BURPEE WORKOUTS – KALSU

• For Time
• 100 Thrusters (135/95 lb)

5 Burpees to start and at the top of every minute

Start with 5 burpees. Then complete as many thrusters as possible until the minute is up. At the top of the minute (1:00) complete another 5 burpees. Repeat each minute until 100 total thrusters are completed.

Score is the total time it takes to complete all 100 thrusters.

Good Score for “Kalsu”
– Beginner: 22-30 minutes
– Intermediate: 19-22 minutes
– Advanced: 15-19 minutes
– Elite: <14 minutes

Tips and Strategy

Prior to the start of the workout, decide how many thrusters you can realistically complete every minute (remember you always start with 5 burpees). Stick with that number, no matter how much it hurts. For example, if you get 5 thrusters every minute, you’ll be done in 20 minutes.

Intended Stimulus

This WOD should feel REALLY hard. This is a mental test as much as it is a physical one–the ticking clock (the one that tells you it’s time to do burpees AGAIN) feels like an enemy within minutes of starting the workout. Embrace the burning lungs and legs. Scale the load/volume so you can finish in 30 minutes or less, but don’t scale “the suck” out of “Kalsu.”

Scaling Options

Just like the other CrossFit hero workouts, “Kalsu” is gruelling and unforgiving. Scale the load and/or reps so you finish in 30 minutes or less.

Intermediate
100 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
5 Burpees to start and at the top of every minute

Beginner A
100 Thrusters (75/55 lb)
3 Burpees to start and at the top of every minute

Beginner B
50 Thrusters (45/35 lb)
3 Burpees to start and at the top of every minute

BURPEE WORKOUTS – 1000 BURPEES

• 1000 burpees for time

BURPEE WORKOUTS – SURFER ON ACID

Your score is how many burpees you completed.

• 3 Rounds for Time
• 400 meter Run
• 21 Burpees

Strategy: Max sustainable pace is the fastest pace athletes feel they could hold for all three rounds without slowing down while taking into account the added burpees. This movement can also be approached in a similar fashion to the runs.

What is the fastest pace I can hold here without slowing down? Athletes can look at the time on the clock when they exit the gym after the first round to give them a target split to try and replicate for the following two. The second round will likely be the most difficult, so buckling down there both physically and mentally will be important.

BURPEE WORKOUTS – AMBAP

• AMRAP (with a Partner) in 5 minutes
• As Many Burpees As Possible (alternating)

Partners cannot go at the same time. Partner A must wait for Partner B to finish their burpee before starting their own. A completed burpee ends with a clap overhead. Partner B cannot begin dropping for their burpee until Partner A fully extends and claps at the top.

BURPEE WORKOUTS – SHANE

• AMRAP (in a team of 4) in 20 minutes
• 8 Inverted Burpees
• 21 Air Squats
• 12 Burpees

Complete as many rounds of the exercises in 20 minutes as possible in a safe manner. This is a four-person-team team “time-specific” workout. The purpose of this workout is to develop cohesion and combat fitness under fatigue conditions through shared hardship, challenges, and competition.

Each team will require a wall or other stable object to conduct the inverted burpees against. All teams will start at the same time. Each exercise must be completed before moving to the next one (all 8 inverted burpees must be finished before starting the squats and all squats finished before starting the inverted burpees). The athletes can take a rest at any time during the workout. Each team has to complete as many rounds as possible in the 20 minutes. The total number of complete rounds for each team member will be added together to obtain the total score for the team. Spotting is not permitted at any time.

BURPEE WORKOUTS – SCARFACE

Burpee Workouts

For Time

2 Rounds of:

• 8 Power Snatches (175/125 lb)
• 8 Bar-Facing Burpees

Then, 2 Rounds of:

• 8 Power Snatches (155/105 lb)
• 8 Bar-Facing Burpees

Finally, 2 Rounds of:

• 8 Power Snatches (135/95 lb)
• 8 Bar-Facing Burpees

Athletes change their own weights.

HEARTBREAKER, DREAM MAKER

• AMRAP Ascending Ladder (with a Partner) in 10 minutes
• 2 Wall Ball Shots (20/14 lb) – Partner 1
• 2 Synchronized Burpees
• 2 Wall Ball Shots (20/14 lb) – Partner 2
• 2 Synchronized Burpees
• 4 Wall Ball Shots (20/14 lb) – Partner 1
• 4 Synchronized Burpees
• 4 Wall Ball Shots (20/14 lb) – Partner 2
• 4 Synchronized Burpees
• 6 Wall Ball Shots (20/14 lb) – Partner 1
• 6 Synchronized Burpees
• 6 Wall Ball Shots (20/14 lb) – Partner 2
• 6 Synchronized Burpees
• etc…

Partner 1 does 2 wall balls, then both partners do 2 synchronized burpees (together). Partner 2 does 2 wall balls, then both partners do 2 synchro burpees. Partner 1 does 4 wall balls, then both partners do 4 synchro burpees, then Partner 2 does 4 wall balls, then both partners do 4 synchro burpees, etc. Continue adding 2 reps per round until time is up.

Synchronized burpees require both partners to do the burpees in tandem, with each partner on the ground at the same time before hopping up and finishing with an overhead clap.

BURPEE WORKOUTS – G.I JANE

• For Time
• 100 Burpee Pull-Ups

OMAR

• For Time
• 10 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
• 15 Bar-Facing Burpees
• 20 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
• 25 Bar-Facing Burpees
• 30 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
• 35 Bar-Facing Burpees

BURPEE WORKOUTS – RYAN

• 5 Rounds For Time
• 7 Muscle-Ups
• 21 Target Burpees (12/8 in)

Each Burpee terminates with a jump to touch a target 1 foot above max standing reach for men, 8 in for women.

RILEY

• For Time
• 1.5 mile Run
• 150 Burpees
• 1.5 mile Run

Wear a Weight Vest (20/14 lb)

FREDDY KRUEGER

Burpee Workouts

• 21-15-9 Reps for Time
• Kettlebell Swings (70/53 lb)
• Burpees

BURPEE WORKOUTS – BURGESS

• For Time
• 30 Pull-Ups
• 30 Burpees
• 20 Pull-Ups
• 20 Burpees
• 10 Pull-Ups
• 10 Burpees

GEORGE CAIN

• 7 Rounds for Time
• 5 Back Squats (275/185 lb)
• 5 Burpees

BURPEE WORKOUTS – CHARLES GARBARINI

Burpee Workouts

• EMOM in 9 minutes
• Odd minutes:
• 9 Deadlifts (275/185 lb)
• Even minutes:
• 9 Bar Over Burpees

BURPEE WORKOUTS – GREGG ATLAS

• For Time
• 10,000 lb Cumulative Back Squats
• 20 Burpees each time you rack the bar

Choose any weight to squat. Figure out how many reps it takes to reach 10,000 lbs and that’s your target. Re-rack the weight to rest or to change the weight. But for every re-rack, you owe a 20-burpee penalty.