Thought that burpees couldn’t get any worse? Think again. Like with any exercise, burpees can be progressed and regressed depending on your experience level and training goals. The burpee has got to be the most hated exercise in the fitness industry, but it’s also the most fun. You can adapt and change components to focus on specific body parts and elements of fitness.

Here at Mirafit, we’ve compiled a list of 15 brutal burpee variations that can make the standard burpee look like a piece of cake.

1 - Standard Burpee

A standard burpee (also called a full burpee) involves starting in a standing position, dropping into a squat, kicking your feet back into a plank, performing a push-up, returning to the plank, jumping your feet back to the squat, and finally jumping up with arms overhead. It's a dynamic full-body exercise combining strength and cardio.

2 - Half Burpee

To perform a half burpee, start in a standing position, drop into a squat, kick your feet back to a plank, then return your feet to the squat and stand up. It's a modified version of the standard burpee, removing the push-up and jump for a slightly less intense exercise. This is great for anyone that wants to reduce the impact on their joints.

3 - Feet Elevated Burpee

To do a feet elevated burpee, place an Exercise Step behind you, drop into a squat, kick back to plank and jump your feet onto the step. Perform a push-up, return to plank, then jump and return to your standing position. This variation requires more explosive energy in the lower body as you have to lift your legs higher during the jump. It also makes the push up more challenging by adding a decline element.

4 - Dead Stop Burpee

For a deadstop burpee, start standing, drop into a squat, place your hands on the ground, kick your feet back to a plank, return them quickly, then stand up. Unlike the fluid motion of a standard burpee, each movement begins from a complete pause, adding challenge and intensity. To make the exercise more difficult, prolong the pauses between the movements, increasing the time your muscles are under tension.

5 - Dead Man Burpee

To do a deadman burpee, start standing and perform a standard burpee until the push up. From here, allow your chest to hit the floor and then extend your arms out to the sides, bring your arms back to your chest and then push up and explosively rise into a jump, bringing arms overhead. This chest to floor variation places more emphasis on the chest, triceps and shoulder muscles.

6 - Weight Vest Burpee

Begin by wearing a Weight Vest. Start in a standing position and drop into a squat, kick back to plank and perform a push-up. Then return to the plank and jump up. The added weight increases intensity and makes it a harder, full-body strength exercise.

7 - Plyo Box Jump Burpee

To execute a plyo box burpee, begin in a standing position, drop into a squat, kick back into a plank, perform a push-up, return to plank, jump both feet onto a Plyo Box, then step or jump back to the starting position. This advanced variation combines burpees with box jumps, boosting lower body power and agility.

8 - Med Ball Slam Burpee

To do a medicine ball slam burpee, start standing, hold a Slam Ball, slam it to the ground, follow with a squat thrust (kick-back, push-up, kick-in), stand, lift the ball, then repeat the slam. Including the medicine ball adds extra load, placing more resistance against the chest and shoulder muscles. This exercise also requires core strength and stability with the overhead load.

9 - Star Jump Burpee

Perform a star jump burpee by starting in a standing position, dropping into a squat, kicking back to plank, doing a push-up, returning to plank, then exploding into a star jump with arms and legs extended. This advanced variation adds plyometric and full-body engagement to the traditional burpee.

10 - Tuck Jump Burpee

To execute a tuck jump burpee, begin standing, drop into a squat, kick back to plank, perform a push-up, return to plank, then jump your feet towards your hands, tucking knees to chest. Explosively jump up, pulling knees towards chest mid-air. This high-intensity variation again adds a plyometric to improve your lower body explosive power.

11 - Jump Over Bar Burpee

For a jump over bar burpee, start standing, drop into a squat, kick back to plank, do a push-up, return to plank, then jump both feet laterally over a Barbell. Repeat the movement on the other side. This adds a dynamic element to the burpee, enhancing agility and coordination.

12 - Spiderman Burpee

To do a Spiderman burpee, start in a standing position, drop into a squat, kick back to plank, do a push-up, return to plank, and bring your left knee towards your left elbow repeating on the other side before standing. Adding the Spiderman plank works on your oblique core muscles.

13 - Single Arm Burpee

Perform a single-arm burpee by starting in a standing position, dropping into a squat, kicking back to plank using one arm, doing a push-up, returning to plank, and then standing up. This is an advanced exercise as it challenges stability and strength by using only one arm for the push-up and plank phases. You will require a lot of upper body strength for this exercise.

14 - Single Leg Burpee

Execute a single-leg burpee by starting in a standing position, lifting one leg forward, dropping into a squat, kicking back to plank, performing a push-up, returning to plank, then standing up on the same leg. This variation enhances balance, leg strength, and core stability.

15 - Candlestick Burpee

To perform a candlestick burpee, start standing, drop into a squat, then roll onto your back while tucking knees to chest. Use momentum to roll forwards and return to a standing position. Add a jump for a full burpee. This variation focuses on core strength, but the added roll to standing element also requires a good level of full body mobility. 

If you want to increase the intensity of your training and add a strength/endurance element, you can’t go wrong with a burpee. Pick a few of your favourites (or maybe ones you haven’t tried) from the above list and incorporate them into your training. We can guarantee that it’ll bring a whole new level to your workouts.

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Tags: Exercise Type > Conditioning