The first time I ever heard of a burpee was whilst I was reading the book, Solitary Fitness by Charles Bronson.
No, Charles Bronson in this case is no relation to the late actor - this guy is actually Britain’s longest held prisoner (unfairly in my opinion) and many might also call him Britain’s most violent prisoner.
Yet beneath the veneer of a quick temper lies a man who has developed both mind and body whilst living in a solitary prison cell. His book is very interesting and full of simple bodybuilding exercises that you can do without any formal equipment.
Back to burpees - I remember him talking a great deal about them as a great form of exercise.
Burpees look like a push up followed by a jump in the air and then returning to a push up and repeating the entire process. It takes a little coordination to perfect but what will follow is a very fast and explosive type of exercise that is guaranteed to burn a ton of calories.
You can see why Charles is a big fan of it because it can be used in combined spaces without any equipment, however it is also used by many sportsmen too (particular those in mixed martial arts). By the way, Charles does 2,500 push ups every day and also holds several world records!!
There are many variations of this exercise such as the classic squat thrust, the explosive burpee, the man-maker and more. I found a great article here on the many variations possible:
Many people also try out different challenges such as the 100 Burpee Challenge which is a challenge to see how quickly you can do 100 repetitions. This can vary depending on how much you weight and how tall you are but the best athletes can get a time of just over 5 minutes which is very difficult indeed.
September 12, 2008 at 11:22 am
· Filed under Exercise
Double chin exercises are a great way to get rid of the unsightly flab on the bottom of your face that everyone can see. Before we start, I should add that losing a little weight will help greatly too. This is because double chin exercises do not really burn any fat but they do help to tone and tighten the skin which, if it is sagging slightly, can often contribute to a double chin.
The Muscle
The muscle that we are going to be working out is the platysma. This is the muscle we use to drop down our jaws. It is also the muscle we use when we want to show an expression of “melancholy”.
Exercise 1
Whilst standing, put your head back slowly until it can go no further. Keep your mouth closed and slowly return your head so it rests above your chest. Repeat this motion several times.
Exercise 2
Slap the underside of your chin with the back of your hand. Start slowly so you can get a good feel that rapidly increase the speed.
Exercise 3
Open your mouth by lowering the lower half of your jaw. Then pretend as if your lower jaw is like a construction digger and mimic a shoveling action, just like the digger catching some dirt and then lifting it up.
So many people that I know, beginners especially, use the wrong rowing technique. They basically put their back into it and they can easily get lower back pain or injuries this way.
The ideal rowing machine technique is almost a 2 phase movement.
The Legs
As you start to move backwards, your arms should be straight. They should not bend at all. We want to do the entire first movement with our legs.
Lean back as far as your arms will let you, so that your arms are locked out.
Now push out with the legs until your legs are completely straight.
Your legs are doing all the work here. Your arms are simply “hanging on”.
The Arms
Now time for the second phase. Your arms and legs should be straight at this moment.
Now pull your arms towards you until your hands meet your chest.
Congratulations, you have done half of the correct technique successfully.
Now Reverse
Now simply do the reverse to return to your original position.
So the first step is to move your arms away from your chest until they are locked out in front of you.
Now move your legs back so that they are bent. Don’t move your legs too early!
Transition
Although the motion is a 2-step motion, you want to have a nice transition between the two in the middle of the motion. You’ll develop this with practice.