The Hindu Burpee And Its Benefits

 The Burpee has been a big trend lately in the fitness world with many variations from Beginner to more Advanced. The "original" concept of the Burpee was a fitness test used to see how fit someone was way back in the late 30's around the start of World War 2 by Royal H. Burpee. The movement didn't include the push-up and jump that we see today in Crossfit Gyms around the country but it did give an idea of a person's cardiovascular fitness.

The basic Burpee today is to squat down, kick the legs back into a push-up position, do a push-up, jump back into a squat, stand up and jump. This movement was designed to kill fat and put on muscle while developing a more anaerobic feel to it in a way you feel from doing sprints; it's fast, tough and doesn't take long before you're huffing and puffing which in turn helps generate natural growth hormone and burn calories even after a workout. Some people prefer to just stand up and not do the jump at the end which for all intents and purposes in some cases is because jumping can cause damage to the joints.

There are so many variations of the Burpee that it is ridiculous and has turned more into how hard can you make it and how many reps you can do even as you get sloppy and exhausted. I've done workouts that when I was done, napping was inevitable. With the injuries I sustained in my early 20's, the jumping portion of a Burpee would do more harm than good in my ankles and left shin. 

I believe the real original Burpee came from India where wrestlers would do literally hundreds or sometimes 1000 or more to build practically superhuman stamina and long term strength. This is called the Sapate which is a combination of the Hindu Squat & Hindu Push-up at a rapid pace that is explosive and with a powerful thrust.  I've tried this exercise a few times and my brain just didn't know how to keep up with the explosive thrusts with the movement and ended up hurting myself more than anything. That exercise is not meant for everyone but if someone's body can do it and do it well, they're on their way to building phenomenal conditioning.

A variation that I use of the Sapate is a combo of the Squat & Push-up based on the teachings of Karl Gotch & Matt Furey. I find this way more compatible with my body and the pace is a lot better and I concentrate better with the movement as a whole. This modified version that doesn't have a jump at the end is still a killer workout and doing it just for a minute or 2 would get you breathing hard, hell for most people, 30 seconds is more than enough. This is the exercise I do at night before going to bed to get any excess energy out, I would do a set, take a breather and do another set; repeat that until I feel like I'm done. Started out with 5x5 and added a set each night until I was doing 10x5, progress with sets of 6 reps, than 7 until I can do sets of 10 reps. I like this system because like sprints, I'll take my time until my body is ready for another set and go as best and fast as I can without doing sloppy form. It's a great combo of conditioning training, stretching, coordination, strength training, agility, durability and stamina. It's also a great Calorie Burner.

The best benefits I have found with this Burpee Variation was being able to sleep better, feeling more energized in the morning, my breathing is stronger during other workouts and my stamina is getting stronger as well. What this also does is burn calories throughout the night and because of the fat burning element, it increases your metabolism throughout the night as well so you may end up losing weight faster as you sleep. I can't say this for sure for everyone because not many studies that are this specific have been done, just going by my experiences. If you wanted to do this exercise more in the day time than at night, go for it, you're burning fat and calories throughout the day. 

How many times a week do you do this? Start with 2-3 times a week and as you get stronger and fitter, bump it up to 4-5 times a week. I do it every single night but if there's a day where I would like to back off, I'll do so. In the beginning, do as many as you can. This isn't an exercise to really prove how fit you are compared to anyone else, this is also done to have good form, if you become too exhausted and your form is sloppy, stop. When it comes to reps, like I said, as many as possible but not to the point of fatigue or feeling tired, just enough to where you can feel it but have enough in the tank for another set. This is to help build stamina and conditioned strength over time. As you get stronger, reduce rest times. If you do any reps to the point of fatigue, you're going to need to recover for a minimum of a couple days. 

Give it a shot and see how it goes for you, if you've had previous injuries or don't have the strength to do the movement, do what you can, go slow if you have to and if anything causes pain, don't do it.