Burpees for Weight Loss: The Best HIIT Workout?

Burpees for weight loss is one of the most effective variations in the HIIT Workout Routine. It is among the bodyweight exercises that burn fat while building muscle. Having said that, there is no easy way of performing this exercise. It is a lot of hard work and sweat.

A beginner may feel that Burpees for fat loss is overrated and is no big deal. But you will reap the benefits of the burpee routine for fat loss in the long run.

So, to answer our question “do burpees burn fat?”, we must tell you that the fat burn is faster as it is a high-intensity full-body workout. You will wonder how one exercise can work on so many muscles. It works on your arms, chest, glutes, legs, etc. Name any muscle and burpees will work on that as well. It also enhances the heart rate. Burpees can be practised anywhere and at any time as you do not depend on any equipment. You can reap the collective benefits even without going to a gym.

Benefits of Burpees

Continuing with burpees needs a lot of determination. The intensity of the first ever set of Burpees for weight loss that you do can be a bit intimidating. Burpees benefits for weight loss are so promising that you will draw the courage to continue with the Burpees routine for fat loss. 

1. It is a full-body exercise that works on a group of muscles and also improves heart health. 
2. If you do not prefer heavy workout, then you can still achieve your goal with just the burpees for weight loss.
3. Burpees for fat loss makes you more agile and also pumps in the energy that is required for the entire day’s activity.
4. It improves coordination and balance.
5. The Burpees routine for fat loss can be made interesting with different variations.
6. Optimum results can be achieved by including burpees compulsorily in your daily workout routine.

Basic Burpee Exercises for Weight Loss 

Burpees is a combination of squat and push-up and needs a lot of motivation and determination to continue with the reps. To make it doable at the beginning, you can choose the less strenuous version of the variations of burpees. Basic burpees are the ones that should be introduced to beginners. Burpees done in the right way can give optimum results. This is how you do basic burpee exercises:

1. Start with the standing position.
2. Go to the squat position with your hands touching the ground.
3. Kick your feet behind with arms extended for a raised plank position.
4. You can either add a push-up at this stage to make it more intense or just jump back towards your hand.
5. With your arms straight above, jump into the air. This finishes one burpee and you can continue doing it from the standing position.

Doing Burpees for Weight Loss the Right Way

For reaping the effectiveness of burpees, you will have to pay attention to the form. You should also follow the tips given below to avoid any injuries while performing this highly intense workout:

1. Start with a warm-up by doing lunges, squats, or jumping jacks to bring flexibility to joints. This is required as the knees, wrists, and ankles bear the stress while doing burpees.
2. To make it less strenuous in the beginning, you should split the four moves routine into two i.e., squat thrust and deep jump squat.
3. Your shoulders should be right above your hand for the squat thrust. Ensure that your shoulders are above your hand and steady while jumping back and forth.
4. For deep jump squats, keep your chest as upright as possible while your hips are sitting back. Jump up and make sure to keep the knees bent as you land on the floor to reduce the strain on your knees.
5. Once you have mastered the form individually for the squat thrust and the deep jump squat, you can combine both for a better effect.

Different Burpee Workout Routines

Burpee is a flexible routine that can be incorporated in various ways. It can be a warm-up exercise before starting a heavy routine or can be a part of an HIIT circuit training. It is also an entire workout routine in itself if done repeatedly. Here are some of the different burpee workouts that you can employ in your fitness routine:

1. Perform burpees in a phased manner. Begin the routine with 10 burpees. Rest for a while. Then do 9 reps. Continue with 8, 7, 6, and so on. If you have the courage, you can combine every burpee with a sit-up and push-up.
2. Try doing 100 burpees in the shortest time. It might seem simple in the beginning but as the reps increase, you will actually feel the strain. 100 burpees within 10 minutes is the best pace. But till you reach this pace, you can rest in between to gain momentum.
3. Explore the maximum reps that you can push yourself to. Reduce the number and perform three sets by giving a few seconds of rest in between. 
4. You can also continuously try the burpees routine for fat loss for 30 days to see the difference in stamina from the 1st day to the 30th day.

Burpee Variations

Try out these burpee variations to make the burpee routine for fat loss more interesting.

1. Burpee Tuck Jump

1. Do the basic burpee.
2. While jumping into the air, try raising your knees up to your chest.
3. This addition will increase the cardio effect of the exercise.

2. Burpee with Push-up

1. It is the basic burpee with a small variation.
2. Instead of jumping forward towards your hands from the plank position, do a push-up and then jump forward.

3. Burpee with Dumbbell

1. Perform the basic burpee holding a dumbbell in each hand all the time.
2. You can include a renegade row if you want to make it more intense.

4. Burpee with Pull-Up

1. Add a pull-up to the basic burpee. 
2. While you are leaping into the air, hold on to a pull-up bar with a strong grip and pull yourself up till the chin is in level with the bar. Come down smoothly without a jerk till your arms are fully extended.
3. Let go and continue again.

What Should be Avoided While Doing a Burpee?

1. Keep the same level of intensity throughout to reap the benefit. Do not skip steps to make burpee easier.
2. Keep your core engaged as well as back straight and aligned with your glutes when in plank position. Do not arch your back as you will pose yourself to the risk of injury while losing out on the burpee effect on the abs.
3. Doing the routine just for the sake of it is not worth it. Focus on the technique to derive optimum benefit.

Conclusion

Burpees for weight loss is the best full-body high-intensity workout. It is a complete workout in itself for fat burning and toning of muscles. But before you begin this HIIT routine, ensure you have the energy required to keep you going till the end by having a proper pre-workout meal.