Our love-hate relationship with ... the Burpee!
Love them or hate them (mostly the latter!), the burpee is a staple exercise of many fitness programmes, and for good reason! If you haven't come across them before, you probably haven't been to one of my fitness sessions! They demand a commitment from almost every muscle group. Each burpee requires a full range of movement and lots of oxygen, making it great for cardiovascular fitness. I love them because they deliver results, require no equipment and can be performed just about anywhere. They get you fitter, help you burn fat, increase your metabolism and get you conditioned like almost no other exercise can. So, what is a burpee? Also called a squat thrust, the burpee is named after an American psychologist (Mr Burpee!) from the 1930s who devised a test to measure agility and coordination: 1. Squat down and place your hands on the floor next to your feet 2. Jump both feet back into a plank position 3. Jump the feet back into the hands 4. Explosively jump into the air, reaching your arms straight overhead How to survive a burpee workout Pace yourself - if you stop, it takes longer to get going again. So don’t start too fast, take it slow and steady and maintain a consistent pace. Find your inner robot – thinking of the challenge ahead can be scary. Break down the burpee and focus on its smaller parts: ‘drop to the floor’, ‘feet back’, ‘jump up’ and repeat. Slip into auto-pilot and keep going. Breathe! Get into a rhythm with your breathing and keep it as steady as you can. As you get more tired, your rhythm will change but your body needs that oxygen and lots of it! So whether you love them or hate them, expect to see some burpees in a Gemma Pearce Fitness workout near you soon! Check out www.gemmapearcefitness.co.uk for workout details.