Bloom to Fit Workout of the Week Episode 2: Burpee Madness

We’re on episode 2 already?

Time flies.

Last week I released Episode 1 of the brand newWorkout of the Week series. I really hope you guys enjoyed it. The feedback was good and, although it was a tough workout, I think you guys crushed it. 

This week I have a brand new workout to share with you. It’s short, intense, and will leave your lungs begging for air. It’s a destroyer, but you’ll love it. Promise.

Again, I encourage you to use a modified version (either a regression or progression) if you need to. Challenge your limits but always make sure you’re listening to your body and acting accordingly.

Let’s do this.

B2F Workout of the Week Episode 2: Burpee Madness

Total time estimate to complete the workout: 25 minutes

What You’ll Need:

This is a bodyweight workout. All you will need is a bit of space, a timer, and your beautiful body.

Before your workout:

It is essential that you do a proper warm-up before you start the workout. This will prep your body for the intense nature of the metabolic workout. Your warm-up should consist of the following

• A few minutes of light aerobic activity,
• Corrective stretches (optional),
• A series of mobility movements.

For details on how to structure a good warm-up, see the Perfect Warm-up Series.

The Workout

This week’s workout is the Burpee Madness Workout.

It is built around three bodyweight (BW) exercises: push-ups, BW squats, and burpees. The structure looks something like this:

• 5 X push-ups
• 5 X BW squats
• 2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2 X burpees

Essentially, you are to do 5 push-ups and 5 BW squats in between each rung of the burpee ladder.

Here’s what the whole workout looks like:

• 5 push-ups, 5 BW squats
• 2 burpees
• 5 push-ups, 5 BW squats
• 4 burpees
• 5 push-ups, 5 BW squats
• 6 burpees
• 5 push-ups, 5 BW squats
• 8 burpees
• 5 push-ups, 5 BW squats
• 10 burpees
• 5 push-ups, 5 BW squats
• 8 burpees
• 5 push-ups, 5 BW squats
• 6 burpees
• 5 push-ups, 5 BW squats
• 4 burpees
• 5 push-ups, 5 BW squats
• 2 burpees

This adds up to 45 push-ups, 45 BW squats, and 50 burpees.

Your goal is to complete this entire circuit in as little time as you can. You can rest whenever you want, but that timer keeps going until all reps are done. Obviously, the less you rest, the better your time will be.

When done, record your time.

Here’s what it looks like:

Click play button to watch workout video.

After your workout

When your timer is done, start your cool-down session.

DO NOT sit or lay down. You need to gradually reduce your heart rate. Walk around taking deep breaths, do jumping jacks, or jump rope for a few minutes until your heart rates comes down.

Once your heart rate is normalized, finish your workout by going through a series of static stretches. You can click here for a full list of static stretches you can use.

Important muscles to be stretched for this specific workout: hamstrings, quads, calves, glutes, hip flexors, lower back, shoulders, pecs, wrists. 

Progressions and Regressions

There are a number of ways you can make this workout harder or easier, depending on your current fitness level and limitations. 

Regressions

Here are ways you can make the workout easier:

• Rest 20-30 seconds in between each pushup-squat-burpee round,
• Go up to 6 burpees instead of 10 (so 5-5-2-5-5-4-5-5-6-5-5-4-5-5-2),
• If you’re struggling with full burpees, substitute them with half burpees ormountain climbers.

Progressions

Here are ways you can make the workout more challenging:

• Do the workout without any rest in between rungs,
• Do 10 push-ups and 10 squats between each rung of the burpee ladder (10-10-2-10-10-4-10…),
• Raise the burpee rung to 20 (this is super intense!).

Extra Notes

I’ll be honest. The first time I did this workout I got destroyed. When done with no rest, the burpees take a lot of out you. The reason I structured the workout this way is as follows: the burpee is really a combination of a ballistic push-up and an explosive squat jump, which is why I surrounded it with a regular push-up and a regular bodyweight squat. The  combination works your legs, your core, and your entire upper body while also developing your cardiovascular fitness.