If you did some burpees before, you surely know how taxing they can be, right ? Doing just a couple of minutes of burpees can seem like an eternity. Now just imagine doing burpees for 12 hours straight.
Well, Bryan Abell, an army officer made burpees look like a piece of cake recently. He actually broke the world record and did almost 5000 burpees in a day, half a day to be precise. His goal was to complete 4500 burpees, but he outperformed that by performing 4,689 repetitions and made a load of money for military cahrities in the process.
You might find them a pain to get through when they’re included in a HIIT class,
He also smashed the world record and raised a whole load of money for military charities in the process.
The Stronger Warrior Foundation says its mission is “to provide help to those who have or are actively serving and their families through financial, physical and mental support.”
Bryan Abell from Michigan breaks the Guinness World Record for the most burpees in one day with 4,689 burpees in 12 hours pic.twitter.com/U88o50l0hc
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 11, 2019
Why the burpee is a great high intensity cardio exercise
The burpee or also known as a squat thrust is a full body high intensity aerobic exercise. It combines strength training and aerobic conditioning as few other bodyweight exercises ever could.
Burpees are named after their inventor, physician Royal H. Burpee. He invented them in the 1930s as a tool for testing physical fitness. During the World War II the burpee was used as a part of the physical fitness assessment for new recruits by the United States Army, and it is still used today.
The classic burpee is a four-count movement consisting of four steps:
- Start by standing upright, then drop into a deep squat
- With your hands just in front of you, kick your feet back so you end up in the plank position
- Then bring your feet back to behind your hands so you’re in the deep squat position
- Jump up, with your hands above your head
If you lack intensity you can make the burpee even more difficult by adding a push up at the bottom of the movement.
You might also be interested in The Minimalist Body Workout – Burpee Workout
