Find the right level of burpee for you with an expert trainer’s guide to progressive modifications

Burpees have a well-deserved rep for being tough. My heart is thumping and my muscles are aching after 10 reps.

That’s all to the good. Your body grows stronger and fitter in response to the right amount of challenge.

However, there’s such a thing as too much of a challenge, and one of the advantages of working with an in-person certified personal trainer is that they’ll adjust exercises to your ability—finding the Goldilocks zone where it’s not too easy, but not so hard you hurt yourself.

That’s why I asked NASM-certified trainer Maddy Paupert from Xceleration Fitness in Auburn Hills, Michigan, to show Fit&Well readers how they can scale a burpee.

Here she demonstrates how to do four levels of burpees, starting with the simplest, but she warns that you shouldn’t try to progress between burpee variations too quickly. “Everyone is different. Listen to your body and break down each of the moves: planking, push-ups, hopping from plank to standing and jumping. Focus on doing each of those moves really well and the rest will take care of itself.”

Watch Paupert coach the burpee modifications

1. Step-back burpee

Who it suits: “The step-back burpee is a perfect place for burpee rookies, beginners, people making an exercise comeback or people who are concerned about their joints to start,” says Paupert.

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, facing a box or weight bench.
• Hinge forward from your hips and place your hands on the box, shoulder-width apart.
• Step one foot back at a time, finishing in a high plank position with your body in a straight line from head to heels.
• Step your feet back towards your hands and stand upright.
• Focus on form over speed to build strength and confidence in this move, progress by placing your hands on the floor, rather than the box.

How to tell you’re ready to progress: “You’re ready to level up when you can move in and out of the plank without your hips or shoulders sagging and don’t need a break between reps,” says Paupert.

2. Half burpee

Who it suits: “If you feel comfortable holding a strong plank and are ready to start building more power and coordination, this move is for you.”

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hinge forward from your hips and place your hands on the floor, keeping your shoulders directly over your hands.
• Jump both feet back, landing in a high plank position with a tight core to protect your lower back.
• Jump your feet back towards your hands and stand upright.

How to tell you’re ready to progress: “Once you feel like you’re doing controlled half burpees, instead of crash landings with your feet, can maintain good form, breathe normally and land softly, you’re ready for the next phase: the chest-to-floor burpee."

3. Chest-to-floor burpee

Who it suits: “This one turns the burpee into both a strength exercise and a conditioning workout so it’s best for intermediate and advanced athletes with solid upper-body strength to support the movements.”

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hinge forward from your hips and place your hands on the floor, keeping your shoulders directly over your hands.
• Jump both feet back, landing in a high plank position with a tight core to protect your lower back.
• Bend your elbows to lower your chest to the floor.
• Extend your arms powerfully to return to the high plank position.
• Jump your feet back towards your hands and stand upright.

How to tell you’re ready to progress: “Stay here until you can get off the floor without feeling like it's a negotiation for a Taylor Swift wedding guest invitation. Then it’s time for the show: the full burpee with a jump at the top.”

4. Full burpee

Who it suits: “This is the burpee big time. It works well for experienced athletes who want to improve power, conditioning and overall athletic performance,” says Paupert.

How to do it:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hinge forward from your hips and place your hands on the floor, keeping your shoulders directly over your hands.
• Jump both feet back, landing in a high plank position with a tight core to protect your lower back.
• Bend your elbows to lower your chest to the floor.
• Extend your arms powerfully to return to the high plank position.
• Jump your feet back towards your hands.
• Explode up into a vertical jump and raise your arms overhead.
• Land softly, bending your knees and go straight into the next rep.

How to tell you’re ready to progress: “Once you’re doing this version of a burpee, advancement is about maintaining great technique as the intensity increases. However, if after a couple it starts looking more like interpretive dance, it’s time to slow back down and focus on the fundamentals,” she says.

Benefits of burpees

Paupert says burpees are an excellent exercise because they work so many different muscles: “They work 10 major muscle groups all at once, including the abs, calves, chest, glutes, hamstrings, lower back, obliques, triceps and quads while simultaneously blending in cardio.”

This high-intensity exercise is also great for building muscular endurance and cardiovascular health, which is important for sports performance, functional fitness (the kind that makes everyday movement feel easier) and energy levels.