Burpee
quadriceps
What moves the load, and what it costs
8.0MET
Quadriceps is the prime mover, with the chest, abs, front deltoid, glutes assisting. The most complete no-equipment conditioning exercise there is, and the most commonly done with a collapsing lower back once fatigue sets in.
Cue: Land softly out of the jump with the knees bent, and keep the hips level when the feet go back.
మూలం·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·FILED UNDER CALISTHENICS, VIGOROUS·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
SHARED AXIS · SEVEN VALUES FROM ONE TABLE · HIGHLIGHTED ROW IS THIS MOVEMENT
The compendium files burpee under a category, not a lift. Read the ladder as position, not precision: this is heavier work than sitting quietly by a factor of 8.0, and at the top end of what a gym floor produces.
Turning that MET value into a real energy cost
- Map the movement to a published category. The compendium measures categories of conditioning work, never individual lifts, so burpee is filed under Calisthenics (e.g. push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups), vigorous effort.
- Take the category's MET value — 8.0. One MET is the cost of sitting quietly, so this is 8.0 times resting metabolism.
- Multiply by 3.5 to get millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute, the unit the MET is actually defined in.
- Multiply by your bodyweight in kilograms and divide by 200. The result is kilocalories per minute of work.
- Count working minutes only. Under load, not under the roof — a set of eight is about 25 seconds of the hour you were there.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × body mass (kg) ÷ 200 Burpee: 8.0 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 9.80 kcal/min
మూలం·ACSM metabolic equation + 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REFERENCE BODY MASS 70 KG·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
What is actually doing the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| QuadricepsRectus femoris and the three vasti | Prime mover | Straightens the knee. Rectus femoris also crosses the hip and flexes it, so it is loaded differently in a squat than in a leg extension. |
| ChestPectoralis major | Synergist / stabiliser | Brings the upper arm across the body and forward (shoulder horizontal adduction and flexion). The clavicular head contributes more when the arm travels up and in; the sternal head when it travels down and in. |
| AbsRectus abdominis | Synergist / stabiliser | Bends the trunk forward and, more usefully, resists it being extended backwards. Both a crunch and a plank load it — differently. |
| Front deltoidAnterior deltoid | Synergist / stabiliser | Raises the arm to the front (shoulder flexion) and assists horizontal adduction. Prime mover in overhead pressing, heavy synergist in every bench press. |
| GlutesGluteus maximus, medius and minimus | Synergist / stabiliser | Extends the hip (maximus), and abducts and stabilises it (medius and minimus). The strongest single muscle group in the body. |
The prime mover produces the movement against the resistance; synergists assist and stabilisers hold a joint still without moving it. An exercise trains the whole muscle it loads — there is no way to work only part of a muscle, and no exercise removes fat from the area around it.
Set up, then earn the rep
Bodyweight. Every rep should look like the first one. The moment it stops looking like the first one, the set is finished.
PATTERN · SQUAT
- Start standing with the feet hip width.
- Squat down and place the hands on the floor just outside the feet.
- Land softly out of the jump with the knees bent, and keep the hips level when the feet go back.
- Jump or step the feet back into a plank, keeping the hips level, and take the chest to the floor if the version calls for it.
- Drive back up, jump or step the feet forward under the hips.
- Stand and jump, then land softly with bent knees and go straight into the next rep.
Where this one breaks down
Not theory. These are the faults you correct on a gym floor, and the correction that actually works.
Sagging through the middle in the plank.
Squeeze the glutes so the lower back is not carrying the rep.
Landing stiff-legged.
Land on the whole foot with the knees and hips absorbing the impact.
Going for a huge number on day one.
Burpees are hard on the wrists, shoulders and lower back when done exhausted. Build volume over weeks and step rather than jump if the form breaks.
Regress it, or progress it
Prescription: load, reps, rest
Read off the goal, then hold the technique constant as the load climbs. Derived from the movement's mechanics, not invented for this page: a explosive movement is destroyed by fatigue, so reps stay low and rest stays long.
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 4–6 | 2–5 | 2–3 నిమి | Every rep is fast or the set is over. Fatigue kills the quality this trains. |
| Athleticism | 3–5 | 3–6 | 90–120 sec | Quality of landing matters as much as height or distance. |
| Conditioning | 4–8 | 8–12 | 45–60 sec | Used this way it is cardio, not power work — pick one intent per session. |
| Beginner | 2–3 | 3–5 | 2 min | Learn to land softly before you try to go higher or heavier. |
Time under load, in kilocalories
Read these as minutes of work, not minutes in the building. A set of eight takes about twenty-five seconds; the rest of the hour is rest, chalk and queueing.
Mapped category: Calisthenics (e.g. push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups), vigorous effort — 8.0 MET. That is the published category this movement is filed under, not a measurement of this specific lift.
Worked at 8.0 MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 9.80 kcal per working minute for a 70 kg adult. Scale it by your own bodyweight; the equation is linear. The full activity dataset lives at BurnLab.
మూలం·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·CATEGORY VALUE, NOT A PER-EXERCISE MEASUREMENT·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
If the rack is taken
Substitutes train the same prime mover through the same pattern with different kit. Computed from the muscle and pattern data on this card, not hand-picked to fill a grid.
This one needs no equipment at all, which is why it belongs in every travel and home programme. Every no-equipment movement is listed together.
Where it sits in a week
One movement is not a programme. The twelve templates put these in order, including 6 that need no gym at all.
The questions that come up on the floor
What muscles does the burpee work?
Burpee is an explosive movement in which the quadriceps is the prime mover, assisted by the chest, abs, front deltoid, glutes. Straightens the knee. Rectus femoris also crosses the hip and flexes it, so it is loaded differently in a squat than in a leg extension.
Is the burpee good for beginners?
Not on day one, but it is reachable within a few weeks. It rates 3 out of 5 for technical demand. Work up through the easier versions listed on this page first, starting with the squat thrust.
What can I do instead of the burpee at home?
Nothing is needed — the burpee already requires no equipment at all, which is why it belongs in any home programme.
How many sets and reps of the burpee should I do?
కండరాల పరిమాణం కోసం, 3–6 రెప్లతో 3–5 సెట్లు, 90–120 సెకన్ల విశ్రాంతి. బలం కోసం, 2–5 రెప్లతో 4–6 సెట్లు, 2–3 నిమిషాల విశ్రాంతి. మీ మొదటి నెలలో, 3–5 రెప్లతో 2–3 సెట్లు, ఫెయిల్యూర్కు చాలా ముందే ఆపేయాలి. ఈ పరిధుల్లో ఏదైనా సరే, కచ్చితమైన రెప్ సంఖ్య కంటే ఒక్కో కండర సమూహానికి వారానికి మొత్తం హార్డ్ సెట్ల సంఖ్యే ఎక్కువ ముఖ్యం.
Does the burpee burn fat from the quadriceps?
లేదు. ఏ వ్యాయామమూ అది పనిచేయించే ప్రాంతం నుండి కొవ్వును తొలగించదు — స్పాట్ రిడక్షన్ను పలుమార్లు పరీక్షించారు, అది జరగదు. క్వాడ్రిసెప్స్ను శిక్షణ ఇవ్వడం వల్ల కింద ఉన్న కండరం పెరుగుతుంది; శరీర కొవ్వు ఎక్కడి నుండి తగ్గుతుందో మీరు ఎంచుకున్న వ్యాయామం కాదు, మొత్తం క్యాలరీ లోటు మరియు మీ జన్యువులు నిర్ణయిస్తాయి.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
మూలం·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·జూలై 2026న సమీక్షించాం
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