If you are new to the gym then you may feel unsure about what you should be focused on. You hear from some people that cardio is the way to go, but then others will tell you that strength training is key. Both are right and so you need to be focused on movements that get the whole body involved—and that’s when you get the most value. If you have never heard of a burpee, then you will soon learn that this is the one exercise everyone should do even if they did nothing else.
It may sound impossible that just one exercise can help you to get everything you need in one shot. Sure admittedly you do want to focus on a good all over body workout, but if you could only do one exercise for the rest of your life then the burpee would be it. Though there are many wonderful exercises out there and a whole slew of workouts to choose from, the burpee always stands head and shoulders above the rest—and there’s a reason that this should become your “go to exercise”.
Make no mistake the burpee can be a tough exercise to take on at first, but you will quickly adapt to it and love what it does for you. So if you are searching high and low for that one exercise everyone should do then look no further than the burpee. This is where you get the most value, and here is why it is inevitably the best possible movement in your workout routine.
Here’s what the burpee does that makes it your very best option.
- It incorporates the upper body in a profound way: You are basically supporting the body with your arms and chest when you are lowered down into a plank position. Not only that but you are also performing a push up which gets every possible muscle group in the upper body in on the movement. So you are firing up the muscles of the shoulders, biceps, triceps, and you get a good upper body cross function movement which can’t be beat.
- It gets the lower body involved in an explosive way: Even if you are just stepping the feet back, this forces the lower body to get involved. As you work your way up you will be jumping through the movement and then jumping through the top of the movement. So that makes for a really explosive and effective movement. You will work out the quads, glutes, calves, and every part of the lower body and that’s a great value!
- You can take it up another level once it becomes too easy for you: This is a great exercise to work your way up to, and that’s whypeople like it. As you are just starting out with burpees you can keep it low impact and avoid the jumping. As you work your way up though, you can add jumps, more profound push ups, and move through the exercise with speed and agility. You can even add weights and extra movements like a row as you get accustomed to this exercise too.
- You get the core in on the act as you hold the position: It’s rare that you find a movement that allows you to get the core involved along with the upper and lower body—and thus this alone makes it an exercise everyone should do. You will feel it in the back, the abs, and if you hold the plank position at the bottom, you can get even deeper into this muscle tissue.
- You incorporate both strength training and cardio in this one effective movement: Recognizing that you need both cardio and strength training in your workout, it’s rare to find a movement that allows you to perform both. When health experts call this the exercise everyone should do it’s because you are shedding fat, building muscle, getting in some good cardiovascular exercise, but also building strength and stamina. That makes it a really valuable exercise and therefore should be a main focus in your workout routines to get the whole body in on the act!