Quick Answer
Doing 10 burpees a day can be an excellent addition to a fitness routine for most healthy adults. Burpees are a full-body exercise that builds strength and endurance. Starting with 10 burpees daily and gradually increasing over time is a safe approach for improving cardiovascular health and muscle tone. However, those with injuries, medical conditions, or who are new to exercise should consult a doctor first.
What are the benefits of doing 10 burpees a day?
Here are some of the top benefits of doing 10 burpees daily:
- Improves cardiovascular health – Burpees raise heart rate and improve cardiovascular endurance.
- Builds full-body strength – Burpees work all the major muscle groups including arms, legs, shoulders, chest, and core.
- Enhances coordination and agility – The explosive movement of burpees develops better body control and coordination.
- Burns calories – A 180 pound person will burn around 10 calories per burpee, so 100 burpees daily will torch nearly 1000 extra calories.
- Takes little time – 10 burpees can be done in just a couple of minutes, making it easy to fit into a daily routine.
- Convenient to do anywhere – No equipment required, just enough space to safely perform the exercise.
Is doing 10 burpees a day enough for fitness?
For most healthy adults, doing only 10 burpees daily is not enough exercise for good fitness. The American Heart Association recommends adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. Ten burpees take about one minute.
However, 10 burpees per day can be a great starting point for a sedentary person looking to improve their fitness. Over time, the number of daily burpees could be increased to meet full exercise recommendations. Adding other forms of activity like walking, running, strength training is also important for comprehensive fitness.
Some very fit individuals who get sufficient exercise via sports, cardio, and strength training could maintain their conditioning with as little as 10 burpees a day, but this would not be enough for the average person.
How many burpees per day is optimal?
The optimal number of burpees per day depends on your current fitness level, exercise goals, and health status:
- Beginner: 10-30 burpees daily
- Intermediate: 50-100 burpees daily
- Advanced: 100-200+ burpees daily
If just starting an exercise routine, begin with 10-15 burpees and gradually increase over several weeks. Allow your body to adapt to avoid excessive soreness or injury. Advanced athletes can often safely perform over 200 burpees in a day when appropriately conditioned.
Always listen to your body – if overly fatigued or experiencing pain, reduce your burpee volume. Combine burpees with other exercise for balanced fitness. Consider goals like weight loss, cardiovascular endurance, strength gain and flexibility when determining your optimal burpee regimen.
Can you do too many burpees in a day?
Yes, it’s definitely possible to overdo burpees and increase injury risk. Appropriate burpee volume depends on your fitness level, exercise history, and health status. Excessive burpees can cause:
- Muscle strains and joint pain
- Tendonitis
- Overtraining symptoms like fatigue, reduced performance, insomnia, and mood changes
- Rhabdomyolysis (rarely), a serious condition where muscles break down
Beginners should stay under 30-50 total burpees per day. Build up gradually over 4-6 weeks before attempting high rep burpee challenges. Allow at least 1-2 rest days per week to recover – frequent high volume burpee days will quickly lead to overuse issues. Advanced athletes can safely perform several hundred burpees in a day if conditioned for the workload.
Modify appropriately or stop exercising if you experience pain, inability to maintain form, dizziness, or other concerning symptoms while doing burpees.
Are 10 daily burpees safe?
For most healthy adults without medical conditions, 10 burpees per day is safe and can be a healthy addition to an exercise routine when performed with proper form. This burpee dosage provides benefits like cardiovascular conditioning, muscle endurance, and calorie burn without overtaxing the body.
However, the following groups should take extra precautions with daily burpees:
- Beginners new to exercise
- People with heart conditions
- Those with joint injuries or arthritis
- People who are obese
- Older adults
- Women who are pregnant
It’s wise for any new exerciser, especially those with medical problems, to consult a doctor before beginning a burpee regimen. Start with just 5-10 burpees at first and monitor for issues like dizziness, shortness of breath, and joint pain. Increase gradually while maintaining proper form.
Poor technique when doing burpees can also lead to unnecessary injury – keep your core braced, move with control, and avoid hyperextending joints. If 10 daily burpees feels too challenging, reduce the number and build up slowly.
What muscles do burpees work?
Burpees are an excellent full body exercise, working most major muscle groups including:
- Core – The plank position of the burpee heavily activates the abs, obliques, lower back, and glutes to stabilize the body.
- Chest – The pushup portion engages the pectoral muscles, triceps, and shoulders.
- Legs – Explosively jumping in and out of the squat position uses the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves.
- Shoulders and Arms – Holding the raised plank position and performing the pushup works the deltoids, biceps and triceps.
By recruiting so many muscle groups at once, burpees provide an efficient, comprehensive strength workout in a short time period. Frequent burpees improve muscular power, endurance and cardiovascular fitness.
What are the benefits of burpees for weight loss?
Burpees can be an extremely effective exercise for weight loss and body fat reduction. Here are some of the top ways burpees help with fat loss:
- High calorie burn – A 180 lb person burns around 10 calories per burpee. 100 daily burpees could burn 1000 extra calories.
- Builds lean muscle mass – The combination of cardio and full body resistance training helps increase muscle, raising metabolism.
- Improves conditioning – Better cardiovascular endurance allows longer, more intense workouts to maximize calorie expenditure.
- Hormone impact – Burpees promote anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone that are beneficial for fat loss.
- Convenience – Can be done anywhere, any time, for as long or short as desired. Easy to fit into a busy schedule.
Shoot for 50-100 burpees per day to boost calorie expenditure and body composition. Combine with dietary changes like reducing processed carbs and unhealthy fats. Stay well hydrated and ensure sufficient protein intake to support muscle growth.
What are the benefits of burpees for seniors?
When performed properly and in moderation, burpees offer several benefits for seniors:
- Maintain independence – Burpees improve mobility, coordination, balance and strength to support activities of daily living.
- Bone health – The impact from jumping provides osteogenic stimulus to reduce bone loss and risk of osteoporosis.
- Reduce injuries from falls – Stronger muscles and agility developed from burpees helps prevent falls.
- Improve heart health – Burpees are an aerobic activity that improves cardiovascular conditioning.
- Manage chronic conditions – Better fitness supports chronic disease management and improves symptoms.
However, seniors should take some precautions when starting burpees:
- Get medical clearance, especially those with heart conditions or joint problems.
- Start very gradually – 5 reps daily and increase slowly over weeks.
- Use extra cushioning under knees for push up portion.
- Omit jump at the top or perform step up instead.
- Focus on form and control – avoid explosive movement.
Regularly performing an appropriate number of burpees for your fitness level can help seniors maintain health and independence. Check with your physician before performing this advanced exercise.
Can pregnant women do burpees?
Yes, burpees can generally be performed safely during pregnancy but with some important caveats:
- Get medical clearance – ask your OB-GYN before starting prenatal burpees.
- Listen to your body – immediately stop if dizzy, in pain, etc.
- Avoid overheating – stay well hydrated and don’t overexert.
- Modify if needed – no jump, gentle stepping down instead.
- Limit duration to under 1 minute at a time.
- Focus on low to moderate intensity.
- Avoid exercise flat on back after 1st trimester.
- Stop abdominal exercises in 3rd trimester.
The impact, intensity, and balance requirements of burpees pose some risks in pregnancy. Work closely with your doctor to determine safe exercise guidelines for your unique situation. Scale back burpee intensity if feeling off balance as the belly grows. Listen to your body and immediately stop any activity that feels unsafe or painful when pregnant. In general, aim to keep burpees gentle, short, and low impact.
How many calories do burpees burn?
The approximate calories burned during burpees for a 180 pound person is:
- 10 burpees = 100 calories
- 50 burpees = 500 calories
- 100 burpees = 1000 calories
- 500 burpees = 5000 calories
This will vary based on your body weight – heavier people burn more calories and lighter people burn fewer doing the same burpees. Other factors like conditioning level, intensity, and burpee form also impact calories burned.
Because burpees raise heart rate and involve total body movement, they burn a high number of calories in a short time period. This makes them an excellent exercise for weight management.
For example, a 30 minute jog may only burn around 350 calories for a 180 pound person. But 100 intense burpees takes just 5-10 minutes and torches about 1000 calories – almost triple the amount!
What are common burpee mistakes?
It’s easy for burpee form to break down, especially when fatigued or rushing. Be mindful of these common burpee mistakes:
- No plank position between squat and pushup – Causes spinal hyperextension.
- Head/hips sagging toward floor during plank – Loses core bracing.
- Knees touch floor during pushup – Reduces chest work.
- Poor breathe control – Holding breath promotes hypertension.
- No full extension jumping up – Limits leg power development.
- Improper landing – Increases knee/ankle strain.
Really focus on good form during each rep – jump explosively, brace core during plank, and keep your body in alignment. Go for quality over quantity and reduce reps or sets if form declines. Proper technique ensures you get optimal benefits while minimizing injury risk.
Conclusion
Doing 10 burpees daily can provide excellent cardiovascular, strength, and weight loss benefits. Start conservatively and increase volume over time for optimal gains without overtraining. Use proper form and listen to your body. Combining burpees with other exercise will maximize your fitness results. For most healthy adults, 10 daily burpees is a safe and effective addition to a well-rounded fitness regimen.
