The medicine ball burpee is a bodyweight conditioning movement performed with both hands on a medicine ball, chaining a squat, a plank, a push-up and a jump per rep. The ball is what separates it from a floor burpee: the hands sit on a narrow, unstable, raised surface, so the push-up runs through a longer range with the elbows tucked and the shoulders work to keep the ball from rolling. The ball also travels overhead on the jump, adding weight to the finish. Coaches use it as a conditioning station or a finisher, never as a strength lift.
What Muscles Does the Medicine Ball Burpee Work?
- Primary: Pectoralis major (chest), quadriceps, anterior deltoids
- Secondary: Triceps, gluteus maximus, calves
- Tertiary: Rectus abdominis, obliques, serratus anterior, forearm flexors
How Do You Set Up for the Medicine Ball Burpee?
Pick a firm medicine ball you can grip on both sides without your hands slipping, light enough to press overhead when your heart rate is high. Clear a square of floor your body length. Stand behind the ball with your feet hip width apart and your knees soft, holding the ball at chest height with a hand on each side. Brace the trunk and look at the floor where the ball will land.
How Do You Perform the Medicine Ball Burpee?
- Squat down and set the ball on the floor between your feet with both hands still on it.
- Jump both feet back into a plank with your hands on the ball and your body in one line.
- Lower your chest to the ball, keeping the elbows tucked close to your ribs.
- Press back up to the plank until your arms are straight and the ball is still.
- Jump the feet back in beside the ball and lift it to your chest as you rise.
- Jump and press the ball overhead, then land soft with the ball back at chest height.
What Are the Key Form Cues?
- Squeeze the ball inward: press your palms toward each other on the way down so the ball cannot roll out from under you.
- Land through the whole foot: hit the floor with soft knees and hips after the jump rather than on the heels or the toes.
- Keep the hips level with the shoulders in the plank, not piked or sagging.
- Keep the elbows brushing your ribs on every push-up rep.
- Reach the ball straight up over your ears, not out in front of your face.
What Are the Most Common Mistakes?
- Choosing a ball that is too heavy: the overhead press stalls after a few reps and the pace collapses, so pick a ball you can still put overhead on the last rep.
- Sagging the hips in the plank: the lower back extends under the push-up while the shoulders are unstable on the ball, so tuck the pelvis and stop when it drops.
- Flaring the elbows wide on the ball: the shoulder rolls forward into an impinged position at the bottom, so keep the upper arms near the ribs.
- Landing stiff-legged from the jump: the knees take the impact instead of the hips, so bend on contact.
- Skipping the push-up as you tire: the rep becomes a squat thrust and the chest work disappears; cut the reps instead.
What Are the Best Medicine Ball Burpee Variations?
- Medicine ball burpee without the push-up: the squat thrust and jump only, for a first exposure.
- Medicine ball burpee with a slam: throwing the ball down at the finish adds a power demand.
- Bodyweight burpee: the same chain with the hands flat on the floor and no load.
- Single-arm medicine ball burpee: one hand on the ball and one on the floor loads each shoulder unevenly.
- Burpee and Bear Crawl: the burpee chains into a loaded quadruped crawl instead of a jump.
How Do You Progress the Medicine Ball Burpee?
- Move up two to four pounds of ball once you finish every set at the top of the rep range.
- Build from 6 reps to 12 per set before touching the ball weight.
- Add a fourth or fifth round once three leave you breathing easily.
- Set a work clock of 30 to 45 seconds instead of a rep count, or pause one second in the plank.
How Should You Program the Medicine Ball Burpee?
Run the medicine ball burpee at the end of a session or inside a conditioning circuit, never before your heavy lifting, two or three times a week. Use 3 to 5 sets of 6 to 12 reps with 60 to 90 seconds of rest, or timed rounds of 30 to 45 seconds. Pair it with a slow strength movement such as a squat or press so the session is not all high-pace work.