Burpees Are Overrated, and That Mentality Needs to Die
Here’s a question I want you to seriously think about the next time you’re gasping for air in the middle of yet another sweaty bootcamp class 50-burpee-a-thon session:
Why?
No, really. Why are we doing these burpees? Why is everyone flopping onto the floor and hopping back up like deranged seals over and over? Is there a higher purpose here? Because honestly, it’s starting to look like chaos for chaos's sake. And as a personal trainer, I can’t stay quiet anymore. It’s time to say it loud and clear:
BURPEES NEED TO DIE.
Yes, I said it. Burpees are the cockroach of fitness programming. They're thrown into group classes and workout videos everywhere, even when they have absolutely no business being there. And you know why? Because they make everyone look exhausted, and tired = progress, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. This idea that exercise has to push you to the brink of collapse to be beneficial is not only lazy programming but also actively counterproductive to long-term fitness goals.
What Are We Even Doing Here?
Here’s the thing about burpees. Most people I work with, whether in one-on-one sessions or group settings, come to me with a few common, overarching goals:
Lose weight
Gain strength and muscle
Feel better and reduce pain
Guess what burpees don't directly help with? Any of those. Here's why.
1. Weight Loss
Yes, burpees are crazy calorie burners in the moment because they’re explosive and high-intensity. But here’s the kicker (and where the fitness industry misleads people): Sustainable weight loss is driven by a metabolism that's firing on all cylinders, and do you know what builds a stronger metabolism? Muscle. Specifically, strength training that progressively overloads your muscles. Not fatigue-inducing jump squats into pushup hell.
Randomly throwing burpees into a workout doesn’t build muscle. Worse, by the time you get to the part of the workout where you should be focusing on squats, deadlifts, or presses (the real metabolism-boosting stuff), you’re already completely gassed. Good luck getting the most out of your strength session when your legs and core are screaming, thanks to burpee fatigue.
2. Building Strength and Muscle
Burpees make you better at… burpees. That’s it. But muscle growth? Not really. The pushup part of a burpee is a joke for most people because technique tends to fly out the window after a few reps. Instead of developing actual pressing strength (like you would with, say, proper pushup progressions or bench presses), you’re just flailing to get it over with and move on.
Strength builds when you practice intentional, focused movements. Something like progressively improving your squat or nailing the deadlift with good form brings real, tangible results—not just a fleeting sense of exhaustion.
3. Pain Reduction
Oh man, don’t even get me started on pain. The number of group fitness class participants I've seen hobble in with back pain, wrist issues, or blown-out shoulders after doing burpee-heavy classes is absolutely staggering.
Most people—instead of needing to collapse on the floor 30 times in a row—need more mobility and more stability. They’d be far better served with exercises like 90/90 hip stretches, cat-cows, bird dogs, planks, and dead bugs. But instead, they’re pounding out burpees with poor form, reinforcing bad movement patterns that can lead to serious injuries down the line. And if you’re fatigued by the time you hit your squats or deadlifts, your back is even more at risk. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.
Lazy Programming Needs to Stop
The real issue here isn’t just burpees themselves. It’s the mentality behind them. Burpees are the poster child of lazy programming. They get slapped into workouts because, hey, they look intense, they make people sweat a lot, and everyone leaves gasping, so it must have been a good workout, right?
WRONG.
Throwing in burpees without any rhyme or reason is a sign of a trainer or class teacher who didn’t think critically about programming. They didn’t ask, “What outcome are we trying to achieve here?” They didn’t consider if the exercise aligns with the participants’ goals. It’s programming designed to punish you with fatigue, rather than help you progress toward targeted adaptations. And that, in my opinion, is outright negligence.
What We Should Be Doing Instead
Okay, so I’ve ranted long enough about why burpees are trash. You’re probably wondering, “Alright, what’s the alternative?” Here’s what I would prescribe instead, based on your goals:
For Weight Loss
Squats, Deadlifts, Pushes, and Pulls: Compound movements that build muscle and rev up your metabolism.
Targeted Cardio: Rowing, cycling, or incline walking will torch calories without trashing your joints.
For Strength
Pushups (Progressed Properly): Focus on mastering pushups, from incline to standard and beyond. Skills over fatigue!
Unconventional Lifts: Try Turkish get-ups or farmers carries for strength, balance, and functional fitness.
For Pain Reduction
Active Mobility: 90/90 hip stretches, cat-cows, and lizards with thoracic rotations can do wonders for your flexibility.
Core Stability: Bird dogs, planks, and dead bugs strengthen your foundation so you move better overall.
These exercises are intentional. They’re effective. They directly contribute to your goals, whether it’s weight loss, strength, or pain relief. And, bonus, they don’t make you hate life halfway through a workout.
If You’re Still Doing Burpees, STOP
I’ll leave you with this. Fitness should not be about punishment. It’s not about who can sweat the most or flop around on the floor until they’re utterly exhausted. It’s about building your body up, not breaking it down.
If you’re still doing burpees, please, stop. Think critically about what you’re trying to achieve in your workouts. If you’re not sure, find a trainer who takes the time to program exercises that create meaningful progress—not just manufactured fatigue.
And for the love of all things strong and stable, can we finally stop glorifying burpees?
They’re overrated. They’re lazy programming. And they’ve got to go.