Burpee

Execution

1. Bend the knees, push the hips back and plant your hands on the floor in front of your toes.
2. Jump your feet back into a plank, squeezing the glutes so the hips cannot sag.
3. Lower your chest to the floor and press back up, or leave this part out if you are new to it.
4. Jump the feet back in near your hands, landing on the whole foot rather than just the toes.
5. Stand and jump, landing on the balls of your feet and bending the knees to absorb it.
6. Keep an even rhythm rather than sprinting and blowing up; sloppy shape is the signal to end the set.
7. Someone new to the move aims for 6-10 reps a set with 60 seconds of rest, adding more only while the last rep still looks like the first.
8. Dizziness, chest pain or unusual breathlessness means ending the session and seeing a doctor.

Quick cues

• Hands land ahead of your toes.
• Squeeze the glutes in the plank.
• Land soft, bend the knees.
• Rhythm beats raw speed.
• Sloppy shape ends the set.

Common faults

• Fault: The hips sagging in the plank position

  Fix: Squeeze the glutes before the feet go back, and step them out instead of jumping if it still sags.

• Fault: Landing on stiff legs with a loud thud

  Fix: Land on the balls of the feet, then let the knees and hips bend, and work on making the landing quieter.

• Fault: Blasting out 20 reps and then gasping

  Fix: Set a fixed pace such as 5 reps every 30 seconds and hold it for the whole piece.

• Fault: Sore wrists from planting the hands too close to the body

  Fix: Plant the hands shoulder-width and ahead of the toes, or land on your fists instead.