Burpees - How high do you jump?

[Justin McGinley]

I was reading the "Work Capacity 101" article on rosstraining.com (wfs) (a great website put together by Ross Enamait, an ex-boxer that has put out some great books on home-gym fitness. The guy walks the walk) and part of the article had a sample video of a workout. In the video he does some explosive jumping during his burpees which led me to question my own burpees. From here on out, my burpees times are going to get longer, but I am going to jump higher. I think I have been hopping in an effort to get my times lower, when I should probably be jumping higher to increase the effectiveness of each burpee, making my workouts harder. (makes me wonder what other movements I am short-changing myself on to get better times)

So, how high do you all jump in your burpees?

The video if you want to see it : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjaTd_ZemkQ (wfs)

[Christopher G. Woods]

It depends on the workout. If I'm dong Filthy Fifty or any hopper/chipper type WOD, I'll usually do Games spec burpees (no specific jump height, just a clap overhead while in the air). If I'm doing a burpee only WOD (such as 150 for time or "GI Jane"), I'll jump to a target or bar that's 6" above my reach. I also remember a main page WOD from the spring that was 50 burpees for time to a 12" target. Come to think of it, I've also done burpee box jumps to a 20" box.

[Brian Degenaro]

I always jump as high as I can and clap overhead. For my purposes I want as much power from a near deadstop.

[Jared Ashley]

I usually will jump a good height... never measured but probably 8-10 inches. When I get really tired sometimes I get lazy and will only jump a few inches.

If you're reducing the jump height only to save time, you're cheating yourself (unless you're in a specific competition like CF games).

[Stephen Flamm]

I think the important thing is to know what you're doing before you go into the WOD and to have a way to guarantee that you maintain that standard. The overhead, off-the-ground clap is fairly easy to maintain integrity, and so is touching a target x-inches above you.

I've always had a problem with the implementation of jumping to or over a box, because the jumps tend to turn into tuck jumps, in which you really only have to jump a few inches off the ground and then pull your feet up. There is no way to assure that you are jumping a given height off the ground. Maybe just as taxing, but a different move all together.

Oh, and to answer your original question, recently I've been working more towards speed on the burpees, so I've been going CF games standard. I do like jumping to a target, though, so I might start mixing those in again.

[Arturo Garcia]

I don't jump "as high as I can", but I jump high enough. I've seen videos of many people barely clearing the ground, I don't like those pansy jumps

I almost always do burpees at home when a WOD calls for them, I set myself to touch the ceiling on every rep. I guess it's a bit over a foot, not sure really...

I do remember reading a WOD in which the directions SPECIFICALLY said to jump at least one foot off the ground. Anyone remembers this? I was just lurking into this site back then, and not doing the WODs.

[James Withington]

I jump as high as it takes to grab the bar overhead to do a pull-up!

If you want to develop your explosiveness with your burpees, or you're worried you're not jumping enough, try "flying burpees". Instead of jumping straight up in the air and doing a certain amount of reps, set yourself a distance as a target and make each jump like a standing broad jump as far forward as you can go. So instead of doing 10 burpees or whatever, do 50yrds of flying burpees; the less distance you get with each forward jump, the more burpees you have to do and vice versa.



(Obviously much better done outside than inside a gym!)

[Shane Skowron]

Originally Posted by James Withington

I jump as high as it takes to grab the bar overhead to do a pull-up!

If you want to develop your explosiveness with your burpees, or you're worried you're not jumping enough, try "flying burpees". Instead of jumping straight up in the air and doing a certain amount of reps, set yourself a distance as a target and make each jump like a standing broad jump as far forward as you can go. So instead of doing 10 burpees or whatever, do 50yrds of flying burpees; the less distance you get with each forward jump, the more burpees you have to do and vice versa.



(Obviously much better done outside than inside a gym!)

I was thinking of a workout similar to this ... 400m of flying burpees for time. It'll be somewhat of an endurance challenge as it will probably take 200-250 burpees to accomplish, depending on your jump and your height.

[David Sumner]

flying burpees suck. Especially on wet grass and shoes with no grip I have converted all my burpees to clapping overhead while in the air. If I hit the ground before I clap or I miss the clap at the top I dont count the burpee. It keeps me honest. Makes a difference when you jump with all that you got like the guy in the video. I like to think I begin this way but by reps 40 or 50 I know I am cutting it pretty close.

How many people here incorporate a defined pushup in their burpee? They slow you down but take more out of me when I do them. Sprawling burpees cycle faster, but takes half the work out of a burpee cause you just collapse to the ground and get back up.

[Laura Kurth]

I certainly don't jump very high, unless a height is specified like in that one WOD.

I just jump off the ground and clap, but it gets pretty pathetic by the end of the filthy fifties.

I usually take care to do more of a pushup than a sprawl and I try to be careful with my shoulders, stricter is better.

anyway you slice it, burpees are just plain evil.

i would do the flying burpee workout but I think 100m is plenty