Burpees are an exercise people love to hate, and tackling the high-intensity movement can leave you drenched in sweat with your heart racing and muscles burning.
But burpees don't have to be miserable, even if you're a total fitness beginner, according to Cat Kom, CEO, founder, and head trainer of Studio SWEAT onDemand. The exercise is a great opportunity to challenge yourself at any level of fitness and improve multiple skills at once.
"I love them because they're challenging, they're full body, and there's so many ways to modify them," she told Insider. "They're hard from a strength standpoint, from a cardio standpoint, from a mobility standpoint, but that means you're getting better at those things every time you do burpees."
By modifying and slowing down the exercise, you can do burpees at any skill level, Kom said, while still getting all the benefits such as strengthening your legs, core and shoulders, and elevating your heart rate for cardio.
Don't be afraid to modify tough exercises like burpees
Instagram and HIIT have popularized a flashy, high-intensity version of burpees, but that's not the only option, according to Kom.
Modifying an exercise to make it easier, known as regression, can help you avoid injury, perfect your form, and get the most out of each workout whether you're a total newbie or an experienced athlete, she said.
"Don't think of regression as a derogatory term. It just means you're doing what your body needs that day," she said.
Break down burpees into a squat and plank
Burpees can be challenging because they combine multiple movements, so beginners may want to start by working on each part of the exercise, according to Kom.
"There's so many things going on," she said. "The beautiful thing about the burpee is it can be workshopped and broken down into several different exercises in one. If you think of it that way, It's less overwhelming."
Her go-to modification for newbies is to start with a squat: at the bottom, put your hands on the floor and step back one foot at a time into a plank position, hold for a second, and then step back up, stand, and repeat.
For a more dynamic variation, raise your arms over your head at the top of the squat, she said.
Gradually build intensity with more explosive movement
The next level up in burpee intensity is the squat thrust, a burpee minus the push-up, Kom said.
Instead of stepping into a plank and back up, brace your hands into the floor, bend your knees slightly, and jump out and back.
The variation is higher-impact and incorporates more fast-twitch muscles and a higher heart rate to work on explosive strength, but is more accessible than the full burpee, she said.
Add a push-up, but slow it down to protect your joints
The full burpee variation includes a push-up at the bottom of the movement. In HIIT or CrossFit style workouts, athletes often do a fast-paced variation of burpees that involve rapidly dropping into the bottom of the push-up as you jump back, then pushing explosively back up.
However, moving too fast can lead to arching your back, belly flopping, or stressing your shoulders, Kom said, and maintaining a pristine push-up is best for anyone with injuries or sore joints.
Jump back into a sturdy plank position, then slowly lower into a perfect push-up with control, she said. Complete the movement and finish in a strong plank before hopping back up to stand and repeat for best results.
