Burpees, you either love them, or really hate them. The classic full-body exercise gets your heart rate up fast and pushes your limits, which is why it’s often used as a finisher or even a “punishment” exercise. Burpees combine a squat, plank, pushup, and jump into one continuous movement. Sounds brutal, right? But according to one physical therapist, tougher doesn’t always mean better.
“It’s not that the burpee is inherently bad, but for many people, the amount of strain on the back and shoulders can create problems,” says Zach Smith, PT, DPT, founder, and owner of HIDEF Physical Therapy. “The issue is that burpees are usually for time or volume, and people are just trying to get them done as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
When you’re just trying to survive the set instead of focusing on form, things can go wrong fast. Poor mechanics can lead to low back strain, shoulder irritation, and wrist pain, especially when fatigue sets in.
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If you’ve ever been in a high-intensity workout setting, like an F45 class or CrossFit WOD, you’ve likely seen it firsthand. Smith recalls going to a CrossFit gym and watching athletes dive onto their stomachs with no control, setting them up for injury.
“They would do a movement similar to the worm to get momentum to get get back up,” he says. “This constant flopping and poor mechanics can lead to pain in the lumbar discs and also causes rotator cuff injuries.”
Proper form is important for any exercise, but with burpees, it’s essential. If you struggle to maintain control or feel pain during the exercise, Smith suggests swapping it for a more effective combination: an air squat into an inchworm walkout, followed by a pushup and return to standing. This would hit three great movements rather than one poor one, he says.
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