3 Different Types of Burpee that Every Athlete Needs to Know

Burpees, the great enemy of anyone who does CrossFit. You can love them or hate them but we assure you that you will do thousands of them during your CrossFit athletic life.

In this article we will introduce you 3 Different Types of Burpee that Every CrossFit Athlete Needs to Know, so you can find your favorite or at least be prepared for the worst.

Table of Contents

1. Classic Burpees
2. Burpee Box Jump
3. Burpee pull-up/muscle up
4. Overhead Burpee
Learn More

Burpees are a highly popular exercise used in CrossFit workouts. They involve dropping to the ground and performing a full-body push-up, then explosively jumping up into the air before repeating the process again.

Burpees are highly effective at increasing cardiovascular endurance, building strength in the upper body, lower body, and core, and improving overall fitness. They are often included in high-intensity interval workouts or as a component of circuit training to increase the intensity of the workout and challenge the athlete both physically and mentally.

There are many different types of burpees used in CrossFit workouts to add variety and challenge athletes to push themselves.

1. Classic Burpees

Let’s start with the standard Burpee – the classic one.

A standard burpee is a whole-body exercise that starts in a standing position with your feet shoulder-width apart. From this position, you quickly drop down into a squat position and place your hands on the ground in front of you. Then, you kick your feet back into a push-up position before completing a push-up.

Next, you jump your feet forward so they land just outside of your hands, and explosively jump up into the air, reaching both hands overhead. Finally, you land softly back on the ground and repeat the exercise.

This exercise targets your legs, hips, glutes, abs, arms, chest, and shoulders, making it a highly effective whole-body workout.

It is a popular exercise used in CrossFit workouts as it can be done anywhere, does not require any equipment, and can be easily scaled to suit any fitness level.

2. Burpee Box Jump

A burpee box jump is a more advanced variation of a regular burpee where after completing the pushup, instead of jumping straight up, you jump onto a box or platform and land softly before stepping or jumping off the box.

You repeat the exercise for the desired number of reps. Burpee box jumps are a great way to build strength, stamina, and endurance, while also targeting multiple muscle groups, including the legs, glutes, core, and shoulders.

Burpee box jumps can be used in CrossFit workouts to increase intensity and challenge the athletes.

As with any exercise, proper form is important to prevent injury. Make sure to land softly and avoid locking your knees when jumping onto the box. It’s also important to choose a box height that is appropriate for your fitness level and to gradually increase the intensity and difficulty of the exercise over time.

3. Burpee pull-up/muscle up

A burpee pull-up is a combination exercise that consists of a burpee followed by a pull-up. It starts with a traditional burpee, where you drop down into a squat position, kick your legs back into a push-up position, perform a push-up, and then jump your legs forward to your hands. From here, you jump up and grab onto a pull-up bar and complete a pull-up.

On the other hand, a muscle-up is a more advanced exercise that involves pulling yourself up from a hanging position below the bar to a position above the bar, transitioning from a pull-up to a dip in one fluid motion. It requires significant upper body strength and is commonly used as a CrossFit exercise.

Crossfit Beginners: How to get your First Bar Muscle Up!

Both types of burpees are challenging and require proper form to prevent injury. It’s important to gradually build up your strength and endurance before attempting these exercises, and to work with a trainer or spotter if you are new to these movements.

4. Overhead Burpee

An overhead burpee is a variation of the standard burpee that involves lifting a weight over your head during the last part of the exercise. This exercise targets your entire body, including your legs, core, and shoulders.

It can be modified for different fitness levels by adjusting the weight of the overhead object, the number of repetitions, or performing a modified version of the push-up.

An example of this pro type of burpee could be the devil press.

10 Hellish Devil Press WODs for Conditioning, Fat Loss and Power

The devil press is a full-body exercise that involves using two dumbbells of the same weight. It is essentially a combination of a dumbbell burpee and a double dumbbell snatch. From the finishing position of the burpee, the kind of squat one, powerfully explode up into a standing position, pulling the dumbbells up towards your shoulders.

Next, synchronize your momentum and explosively press the dumbbells overhead, extending your elbows fully. Lower the dumbbells back down to your shoulders and repeat the sequence for your desired number of repetitions.

The devil press is a great exercise for improving strength, explosiveness, and endurance. It engages many major muscle groups, including your glutes, chest, shoulders, back, arms, and core

CrossFit is known for incorporating burpee variations into its workouts, as burpees are a great way to build overall fitness and endurance.

These variations add complexity and intensity to the traditional burpee exercise, challenging different muscle groups and improving overall fitness level. It’s important to practice proper form and gradually increase the intensity and difficulty of the exercises to prevent injury and ensure continued progress.

These are just a few examples of the many different types of burpees that can be used in CrossFit workouts to increase intensity and challenge athletes. ¿Which is your favorite?

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