The advanced burpee is a full-body conditioning exercise performedwithout equipmentthat chains a squat thrust, a chest-to-floor push-up and a vertical jump to train the legs, chest and trunk. The push-up and the jump are what separate it from the basic burpee: the push-up loads the chest and shoulders each rep, and the jump adds a triple extension and a landing that the step-back version never asks for. That makes the rep slower and the fatigue far higher. Coaches program it as a conditioning finisher or inside a circuit, never as a strength lift.
What Muscles Does the Advanced Burpee Work?
- Primary: Quadriceps, gluteus maximus, pectoralis major (chest)
- Secondary: Anterior deltoids, triceps, hamstrings, calves
- Tertiary: Rectus abdominis, hip flexors, erector spinae
How Do You Set Up for the Advanced Burpee?
Clear a space one body length long and check the floor is not slick. Stand with your feet hip to shoulder width apart, toes pointing forward, arms at your sides. Soften your knees, set your weight over the middle of your feet and pull your ribs down so your trunk is braced before the first drop. Fix your eyes on a point on the floor about two feet in front of you.
How Do You Perform the Advanced Burpee?
- Drop into a squat and plant both hands flat on the floor just inside your feet.
- Jump both feet back into a high plank, landing with your hips in line with your shoulders.
- Lower your chest to the floor with elbows at roughly 45 degrees, then press back up to a locked-out plank.
- Jump both feet forward to land outside your hands in a deep squat with your chest up.
- Explode upward into a vertical jump, extending your hips, knees and ankles fully and swinging the arms overhead.
- Land softly on the balls of your feet, sinking into a quarter squat, then stand before the next rep.
What Are the Key Form Cues?
- Land the plank before you push: your body should be one straight line for a moment before the elbows bend.
- Chest touches, hips stay: on the push-up, keep the hips level with the shoulders; do not let them sag to reach the floor.
- Bring the feet all the way past the hands on the jump in so you can stand straight up.
- Drive through the heels on the jump and reach the arms up as the hips open.
- Absorb the landing with the knees over the toes, quiet, before you reset.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
- Sagging the hips on the jump back: landing in a plank with a low back arch loads the lumbar spine at the moment of impact; brace before the feet leave the floor.
- Cutting the push-up short: half-depth push-ups remove the chest work that makes the rep advanced, so touch the chest to the floor or regress to fewer reps.
- Landing the jump with straight knees: a stiff landing sends the force into the knees and shins; sink into a quarter squat every time.
- Bringing the feet in short of the hands: you stand up from a rounded, forward-leaning position and the jump is weak; land the feet outside the hands.
- Racing the count once tired: the plank goes soft and the landing gets loud; slow the rep rate rather than the range.
What Are the Best Advanced Burpee Variations?
- Hand release burpee no jump no clap: the chest rests on the floor and the rep ends standing, an easier version.
- Burpee box jump over: the jump goes onto and over a box, a harder progression.
- Burpee with tuck jump: pulling the knees to the chest on the jump raises the demand on the hip flexors.
- Single leg burpee: one foot stays off the floor for the whole rep, a unilateral balance challenge.
- Medicine ball burpee: the hands push from a ball, adding an instability challenge to the push-up.
How Do You Progress the Advanced Burpee?
- Add reps: build from 6 reps per set to 12 with a full push-up and a quiet landing before adding anything.
- Add a set: work from 3 to 5 sets before shortening rest.
- Shorten the rest: cut the recovery between sets from 90 seconds to 60 once volume is stable.
- Add a pause: hold the plank for a full second before the push-up, or the bottom squat for a second before the jump.
How Should You Program the Advanced Burpee?
Program the advanced burpee as a conditioning finisher after your strength work, or as the hardest station of a circuit, two or three times a week at most. Perform 3 to 5 sets of 6 to 12 reps with 60 to 90 seconds of rest, or 20 to 30 seconds of work in an interval format. It pairs with a kettlebell swing or a row for a circuit that alternates pushing and pulling.