The burpee is known to be one of the more challenging calisthenics exercises that works your whole body. This classic bodyweight exercise boosts your cardio fitness, burns calories, and more. On Friday, October 5th, a National Guard Major beat the world record for the highest number of burpees performed. Read on to find out the benefits of burpees and how many burpees this incredible athlete performed in just one hour to become who could be known as the King of burpees.
Beating the world record
Major Tommy Vu of the Oregon National Guard performed 1,027 chest-to-ground burpees in just one hour during his Guinness World Record bid. His family and friends were his cheerleaders as the clock ticked down and the camera rolled. Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time the 37-year-old has taken the burpees world champ title. Vu smashed his previous record from March 2023, when he completed 1,003 reps of burpees in one hour. Habtamu Franke, a personal trainer from the Netherlands, later took Vu’s title and completed 1,010 burpees in 60 minutes.
Tommy Vu claims he’s strong-willed and doesn’t know when to quit. He plans to donate $1,027 to a fundraiser for a friend with ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and he already has his sights set on his next world record challenge.
What are the benefits of burpees?
Burpees bring the benefits of four exercises in one: the plank, push-up, jump, and squat. Repeating this movement improves your blood circulation and gets your muscles moving.
Here are some of the many benefits of burpees:
- Burn calories.
- Build strength and endurance.
- Enhance your overall fitness level.
- Work muscles in your back, arms, chest, legs, and glutes.
- Improve body fat composition along with a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise schedule.
- Improve your ability to perform your everyday functional activities.
- Boost your jumping power.
- Build power in your legs.
- It’s a versatile exercise you can do pretty much anywhere.
- No need for fancy equipment or a gym membership.
Research reveals more vigorous forms of exercise, such as burpees, are associated with a longer and healthier life.
Should you add burpees to your training schedule?
Burpees are a higher-intensity move that requires stamina, so it’s usually best to include them towards the beginning or middle of your workout session. How many sets and reps you should do depends on your fitness level, goals, and other individual factors. In general, you could try three to four sets of 10 to 15 reps, resting for 30-60 seconds in between sets. If you’re a beginner, try two or three sets of eight reps until you get more familiar with the exercise.
You should always check with your physical therapist, personal trainer, or healthcare provider if you’re unsure if a particular exercise like burpees is suitable for you. Burpees are an excellent exercise for burning calories while working your whole body and boosting your physical prowess. They’re often included as part of a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program, which has been proven effective for burning body fat, especially in the stomach area. It’s up to you if you’d like to include burpees in your training schedule, but there are certainly plenty of benefits.
