Burpee

Move · High-Intensity · Movement, Typed Supps

Most of the cost is not the push-up or the jump — it is dropping the whole body to the floor and lifting it back up again, over and over.

Stage by stage

Down to the floor (Centre of mass drops): The whole bodyweight is lowered through a large vertical distance, which is where most of the energy cost sits.
The transitions (Wrists and knees loaded): The jump back loads the wrists in extension at speed and the landing loads the knees; stepping removes most of that.
Rep after rep (Upright to prone and back): Repeated postural change forces the circulation to readjust constantly, driving heart rate up faster than most exercises.
Weeks later (Broad but shallow loading): Strength and conditioning improve together, though no single region receives a maximal stimulus.

Muscles trained

Primary: chest, glutes, quads
Secondary: abs, calves, hamstrings, lower back, rotator cuff, shoulders, triceps

Intensity

8 METs (Calisthenics (e.g., push ups, sit ups, pull-ups, jumping jacks), vigorous effort).

Time to effect

Weeks: Technique and pacing improve fast — most of the early struggle is about learning to move efficiently through all four phases rather than a lack of strength in any one part.
Months: Both strength and conditioning improve together, and the number you can sustain at a hard pace for a set time climbs meaningfully with consistent practice.

Related supplements

Common myth

"Burpees are useless because they don't train any muscle group properly." In reality: Burpees genuinely load the chest, legs, and cardiovascular system, just not to the degree a dedicated exercise for each would — their value is in training several systems together efficiently, not in isolating any one of them.