3 Tips to Master Burpees
Burpees in CrossFit
The Burpee - CrossFit just wouldn’t be CrossFit without it. On paper it is the simplest thing we do in the gym - just lay on the ground and get back up. However, in order to optimize performance in the CrossFit Open we have to take a deeper dive into what it means to do a burpee efficiently. In this article we will focus on 3 main characteristics of the burpee and how to improve your movement quality and become more efficient in workouts. But first…
Why Improve Efficiency?
You may be wondering, why would I need to think about my technique on something as simple as a burpee when I can just work on my engine or my muscle endurance by just doing more workouts and going harder? Well, in CrossFit, we are always looking for athletes with the highest work capacity.
There are two ways we can think about increasing work capacity:
1.) Increase the amount of work you can do in a set amount of time
2.) Perform the same amount of work in a shorter period of time.
One thing that is not dictated is how we make those improvements. Yes, increasing your aerobic capacity or strength can improve work capacity, but these improvements generally take long-term, dedicated progressions. Another way we can do work faster is by performing the movements more efficiently - thereby taking less time or energy to perform the same amount of work. These improvements can often be done in a shorter period of time and can carry over to other movements, increasing work capacity across many workouts. Now, let’s get into burpees.
Tip #1 - Lead with your Chest
The most common fault we see in the burpee is performing “the worm” when the workout gets tough. When an athlete does this they will often have their legs and hips hit the ground first followed by a controlled lower with their arms to the ground. Instead, what we want to do is descend with the chest first, keeping the arms loose. This will prevent a lot of fatigue build-up in the chest and arms by eliminating the slow lower that athletes tend to do. It will also allow athletes to get off the ground faster and increase their rep speed.
Tip #2 - Use the Knee Push-Up
When getting up off the ground we want to make the movement as easy as possible to allow for maximum endurance. By keeping the knees on the ground during the pressing portion of the stand up we are ensuring that the chest and shoulders are doing less work than if we did a full push-up. In order to maximize this effect, we also need to ensure that athletes are keeping a stable core through the hips; any sagging will require extra effort when moving into the jump or step-up portion of the burpee.
Tip # 3 - Stay Low to the Ground
Most of the time when doing burpees in the sport of CrossFit we are moving over something - bar facing burpee, burpee box jump overs, lateral burpees over the rower… etc. Whenever that is the case we want to stay as low to the ground as possible to eliminate any extra range of motion created by standing tall. Staying low will also help keep your momentum moving in the direction you need to go (over the implement) rather than upwards by standing.
Conclusion
With these 3 tips I am confident that you can crush burpees in whatever way they show up in this year’s CrossFit Open - and trust me, they will show up. To get yourself ready for what is to come, make sure burpees are a regular staple of your training program. If you are looking for a program that takes care of all your Open prep needs, check out TTT Compete - there is no shortage of burpees!