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Are you doing burpees wrong?

Header BurpeeMIstakes

It’s the classic Freeletics killer exercise. Whilst just 5 repetitions are enough to bring a normal person to their knees, 100 repetitions are the average Free Athlete’s warm up. Does this mean we’re immune to making mistakes? Quite the opposite actually. The more familiar we become with an exercise, the more likely we are to develop bad habits. So take a look at the examples below – remind you of someone?

The worm

The worm is when you fail to engage your core enough during burpees and develop a worm-like form. We’re all guilty of it: the sagging back on the way down and lifting our chest before the rest of our body on the way up. This is the sign of an unengaged core. And it’s wrong.

The camel

The camel happens most often during workouts with many burpee repetitions, like Aphrodite or Helios. This is because we get tired and our focus shifts to just trying to finish alive, causing our technique to slip. Why “The Camel”? This mistake gets its name from the hunch we develop when we don’t fully straighten up and instead lean forwards during the jump. This error can lead to some serious back pain overtime. So instead, pay attention to the perfect burpee movement in the video below and get your technique tight.

Sometimes in order to move forwards, you must first take a step back. Slow yourself down and dedicate some time to focusing on technique. Remember, practice makes perfect. So don’t allow your movement to become sloppy. Don’t be a worm or a camel. The leader board and training ground is reserved for Free Athlete’s only.