Table of Contents
The half burpee is a modified variation of the traditional burpee. It is designed to blend strength-building and cardio in a manner that meets the preferences of a section of participants who want to avoid push-ups. In half burpee, the vertical jump is also optional thereby ensuring it can be executed in a manner that aligns with any fitness level.
It also meets the need to create an effective workout that can be performed in a shorter time frame, making it an optimal choice for individuals pursuing strength building, weight loss, or improved body composition. This exercise has gained popularity among various fitness enthusiasts, including those practicing calisthenics, and participants of CrossFit.
How to do a half burpee.
In this section, we are supposed to outline the step-by-step process for performing a half burpee correctly. However, we already explained the only difference between the half-burpee and full burpee is the absence of a push-up phase in the half-burpee.
What this means is skipping the 5th step in the step-by-step guide on how to perform a full burpee we gave in a previous article you may want to read. For beginners on half burpee, a modification is to perform the drill without the jump, stepping back into the plank position instead as shown in the burpee video above.
As you practice, be mindful of common errors. Avoid letting your back sag while in the plank position which can lead to injuries, and ensure your landing during the jump is soft to protect your joints.
By focusing on these steps and maintaining proper form, you can effectively incorporate half burpees into your workout routine to enhance your overall fitness level and athletic performance.
Regular exercises such as this have been recommended for even healthcare providers as well as cardiovascular trainees for the maintenance of optimal personal and clinical performance as published in the European Heart Journal.1
Kindly keep in touch by signing up for our newsletter:
Half burpees vs burpees.
Half burpees and full burpees are both popular exercises that can elevate your fitness level and contribute to strength building, cardiovascular health, endurance, and weight loss. While they share a great deal of similarities, there is a key difference between the two that can impact your workout strategy.
While the full burpee consists of a sequence of movements like a squat, a jump to a plank position, a push-up, a jump to back the squat position, and finally a vertical jump into the air; the half burpee simplifies the movement by eliminating the push-up component.
This modification makes half burpees more accessible, especially for beginners or those rehabilitating from injuries. While still providing a robust cardio workout, they reduce the strain on the shoulders and core, allowing individuals to focus on their overall fitness without overexerting themselves.
Choosing between half burpees and full burpees depends on your personal fitness goals and level. For those looking for intense workouts, incorporating full burpees can be beneficial. However, individuals focusing on gradual progression or those managing injuries might find half burpees more suitable.
The muscles worked in a half burpee.
The half burpee, as we have already mentioned, is a dynamic exercise that engages multiple muscle groups thereby contributing to a well-rounded fitness regimen. As a compound movement, it effectively targets the chest, arms, legs, and core muscles. This integration of various muscle groups is fundamental to building strength and enhancing overall body composition.
Each phase of the half burpee activates key muscles, providing significant benefits for both athletic performance and day-to-day activities. As we already know, half burpees are very much similar to the full burpees except for one thing which is that they lack the push-up phase.
For this reason, you’ll expect all the muscle groups worked in each phase of any burpee like the navy seal or conventional burpees will be exactly the same as those worked in half burpees.
The main difference is that the half burpee doesn’t engage the triceps, pectoralis, deltoids, and rotator cuff muscle groups as much as those that involve push-ups. In other words, they don’t engage the upper body muscles exactly as much as those that involve a push-up phase.
However, the lower body is not left behind when it comes to the half burpee. The quadriceps and hamstrings are engaged as you squat down to initiate the movement, promoting leg strength. The glutes are active during the explosive upward motion which further enhances lower body power. This recruitment of leg and core muscles also boosts the performance of functional movements such as running and jumping, which are integral to sports and other workouts.
Engagement of the core muscles is crucial throughout this exercise. They stabilize the body while transitioning between positions, ensuring proper form and reducing the risk of injury. By strengthening these core muscles, individuals can improve balance and stability.
Half burpee variations.
The half burpee is a versatile exercise that can be modified to suit various fitness levels and goals. Half burpees are often referred to as conventional burpees with a missing push-up phase. However, the variations of half burpees have other phases of the traditional burpees missing other than the push-up.
Tailoring these variations or modifications allows individuals to customize their exercise routines, targeting specific muscle groups while keeping their workouts engaging and enjoyable. Below are three common variations.
The top half burpee.
This variation focuses on explosive upward thrust as done in the traditional burpee. Starting from a squatting position, you get up and instantly perform a jump as you do in the traditional burpees.
As you descend after the jump, ensure you land softly back on the ground. You may also pull your knees toward your chest during the jump to make it more challenging.
Bottom half burpee.
Here, instead of performing the jump, this variation emphasizes the push-up portion of the traditional burpee. From a squat position, jump both feet backward to get into the plank position, perform a push-up, and then jump back to return to squatting. That makes a rep.
Lay down half a burpee.
In this half-burpee modification, you’ll need to drop to the ground during your push-up phase. You may either start with standing and end with standing at the end of one rep or start from squatting and end with squatting.
In starting with the standing position: Squat down, place your palms on the ground, and push your legs backward to get into the plank, bend your elbows to lower your chest completely to the ground as part of your push-up, and push yourself back into plank, from there jump both feet forward to return to squatting and get up to stand on your feet but without jumping. This makes one rep.
Calories burned in half burpees.
The number of calories burned while performing half burpees can vary based on 3 main factors. These are body weight, intensity, and duration. Understanding these variables allows fitness enthusiasts to more accurately gauge their caloric burn and adjust their exercise routines accordingly.
- Current body weight: On average, a person weighing 70kg may burn around 7-9 calories per minute while executing half burpees at moderate intensity. For those who weigh more, the caloric expenditure tends to increase, as larger bodies require more energy to perform the same activities. Conversely, individuals weighing less typically experience a reduction in caloric burn.
- Intensity of workout: The higher the intensity of any exercise, the more calories that are burned. Higher intensity workouts like burpees boost caloric burn rate with estimates reaching 12-14 calories per minute.
- Duration of exercise: Generally, the duration of the workout determines the total calories burned. The longer, the more calories that are burned. For instance, a level of intensity that burns 12 calories per minute will burn 60 calories in 5 minutes.
The Benefits of Half Burpees.
As a versatile exercise, half burpees offer several benefits that make them a valuable addition to any fitness regimen. From a strength perspective, they engage various muscle groups to build the overall functional strength of the muscles in your body as you go from one movement to another during the execution. The swift and seamless transition from one movement to another in burpees is an art known as Flowing.
The Flow you get from participating in burpees is believed can make you more athletic with just a few reps weekly according to research.2
Burpees have been found to have a direct effect on maximal oxygen intake such that an increase in the number of cycles results in an increase in maximal oxygen intake which is highly beneficial to health. This discovery is formally employed in tests called the 3-minute burpee tests (3MBT) as documented in the National Library of Medicine (NLM).3
As a calisthenic requiring only your body weight, they can be performed just about anywhere, making them a convenient exercise for individuals looking to incorporate strength training into their routine without requiring extensive equipment or gym access.
Burpees, including half burpees, generally can enhance flexibility. The dynamic movement involved in the exercise promotes a greater range of motion, which can aid in injury prevention and improve overall athletic performance. This is particularly relevant to those engaged in sports and other physical activities.
Additionally, half burpees and indeed burpees in general require little space. This makes them suitable for execution at homes, outdoors, and even in limited office spaces.
There are up to 10 top burpee health benefits of burpees you get by incorporating them into your workout routine we listed in an earlier article you may want to read.
If you are a single lady or married and wondering what you stand to gain from burpees, then check out the top 5 benefits of burpees that are exclusively for women. Men who engage in burpee workouts also benefit immensely from this all-inclusive and dynamic exercise as discussed in a subsection of a previous article on the benefits of burpees for men you may want to read.
References.
- Colon, S., Ahmed, A., & Hameed, I. (2024). The heart is a muscle: On-call fitness guide for the busy cardiovascular surgeon and interventionalist. European Heart Journal, 45(46), 4878-4880. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae676 ↩︎
- Hyson, Sean. “The Perpetual Motion Workout: The way to develop strength, flexibility, and abs all at once: Learn the art of the ‘flow.’.” Men’s Health, vol. 33, no. 10, Dec. 2018, pp. 19+. Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A568180216/HRCA?u=anon~3c5a0822&sid=googleScholar&xid=44ef1b7a. Accessed 19 Dec. 2024. ↩︎
- Yamashita Y. The 3-Minute Burpee Test: A Minimalistic Alternative to the Conventional Estimated Oxygen Uptake Test. Cureus. 2023 Mar 6;15(3):e35841. doi: 10.7759/cureus.35841. PMID: 37033564; PMCID: PMC10080365. ↩︎
