Modifying the Burpee

This post goes out to all the aerobically challenged people in the audience. We've already discussed changing up the Burpee in terms of adding different exercises to the workout, but now I'm going to discuss just a few different ways to modify the Burpee. This will help those of you that aren't in amazing shape, to ease into the workouts instead of throwing yourselves straight into the fire.

Pictured: Approval

Being able to modify a workout has been a necessity for trainers and gym enthusiasts alike in the fitness industry for as long as it's been in existence. Not only will a simple modification help to ease up a workout, it can also help prevent injury.

I'll start by explaining a simple way to modify the "thrust" part of the Burpee and then move onto the push-up. Normally, when you squat down, you place your hands on the ground and kick your legs out behind you into a push-up or plank position. When you do this, it can sometimes cause strain on your lower back and is also considered "high impact" on your knees, feet, and toes. To prevent this potentially high impact and lower back strain, you can simply step back instead of jumping back.

Now, if you want to make the push-up easier too, you can modify it by placing both your knees on the ground when you come down into plank position. From there, you would perform your push-up just like a normal one, but using your knees as a "crutch" of sorts.

I'm sure there are at least a few of you reading this and trying to picture what I've just described, so I've posted a quick video below to show what a fully modified Burpee should look like, to help with any questions:

I've also updated my workout results from Week 8 along with my monthly picture and listed them below:

Date	Workout	Sets	Total Time	Beak Time Per Set	Total Burpees
2/20/2012	Climber	4	6 min  34 sec	60 sec	40
2/21/2012	Ladder	15	22 min 30 sec	70 sec	120
2/22/2012	Pull-up	5	8 min 41 sec	60 sec	50
2/23/2012	REST
2/24/2012	Lunges	7	12 min 43 sec	60 sec	70
2/25/2012	Mix	6	10 min 39 sec	60 sec	60
2/26/2012	REST

With my second month's worth of Burpees officially finished, I will be continuing to increase my reps over the next 4 weeks. And with motivation somewhat lacking over the past few weeks, I felt this quote from the 1966 Sportsman of the Year, Jim Ryun, was appropriate:

"Motivation is what gets you started, but habit is what keeps you going."

L&R,

Drew