Friday, March 23, 2012

Who the F$c% invented the BURPEE?

I HATE DOING BURPEES!!!!!!! X 7 sets!!!!!!!

Ok so I googled who invented the GD mother futher Burpee.  Some brain geek from the 1930's by the name of Royal H Burpee, what a name right?  He was an American physiologist who developed the burpee test.  He earned a PhD in applied Physiology from Columbia University in 1940 and and created the "Burpee" as part of his PhD thesis as a quick and simple (my fanny) way to assess fitness.  The exercise was unfortunately popularized when the United States Armed Services adopted it as a way to access the fitness level of recruits when the US entered WWII.  It figures the government had a hand in promoting this sadistic maneuver!  Consisting of a series of the exercises performed in rapid succession, the test was meant to be a quick measure of agility (mine sucks @ss), coordination (never had any, I'm a klutz) and strength (now that I have!).

More challenging variants
Burpee push up
The athlete performs a push-up after assuming the plank position.
Knee push-up burpee
The athlete bends their knees and rests them on the ground before performing the push up.
Jump up Burpee
The athlete jumps up as high as they can in at the end of the movement and before beginning the next Burpee.
Long-jump burpee
The athlete jumps forward, not upward.
Tuck-jump burpee
The athlete pulls their knees to their chest (tucks) at the peak of the jump.
Jump-over burpee
The athlete jumps over an obstacle between burpees.
Box-jump burpee
The athlete jumps onto a box, rather than straight up and down.
One-armed burpee
The athlete uses only one arm for the whole exercise including the pushup.
Dumbbell burpee
The athlete holds a pair of dumbbells while performing the exercise.
Parkour burpee
Following one burpee on the ground, the athlete jumps upon a table and performs the second burpee on the table, then jumps back to the initial position.
Hindu push up burpee
Instead of a regular push up, do a hindu push up.
Pull-up burpee
Combine a pull-up with the jump or do a pull-up instead of the jump.
Muscle-up burpee
Combine a muscle-up (a variation of a pull-up) with the jump or do a muscle-up instead of the jump.
Double burpee
Instead of one pushup, do two in a row. This cancels the drive from landing after the jump and makes the next jump harder. Each part of the burpee might be repeated to make it even harder.
One Leg burpee
The athlete stands on one leg, bends at the waist and puts hands on ground so they are aligned with shoulders. Next jump back with the standing leg to plank position. Jump forward with the one leg that was extended, and do a one-leg jump. Repeat on opposite side.
Side burpee
The athlete bends at waist and places hand shoulder-width apart to the side of right or left foot. Jump both legs out to side and land on the outer and inner sides of your feet. Jump back in, jump up, and repeat on opposite side.
I probably shouldn't have given Nutter any more BURPEE ideas... 

Today Nutter put me on the treadmill to warm up.  If I was a little more energized I would have answered him when he asked how fast I can go on the treadmill without flying off, the answer is 7.5mph.

He had a little yellow post it note stuck on his cell phone.  It was difficult scrutinizing his scribblings sprinting on the treadmill, but I managed to zero in on BURPEES, started to whine, and then focused on Mountain Climbers, dag-On are you trying to kill me?

He really wants to beat "our" calorie burn record!

5-rounds

  • 7 push-ups off the Smith Machine Bar
  • 7 two legged Mountain Climbers off of the Smith Machine Bar (not as bad as one leg)
  • 7 50lb Dead Lifts off the Smith Machine Bar (difficult with sweaty hands!)
  • 7 damn BURPEES
  • 7 15lb Kettlebell Swings
  • 7 pull-ups off the Smith Machine Bar
When it came time for the BURPEES...

I hate these!!! :::whiney voice:::

Profuse amount of sweat wiped from face onto my black workout skort.

I KNOW YOU DO... :::there-there it's gonna be okay voice:::

I did 3 rounds without a break, then 2 more before I got another break. Boy was I one sweaty mama!

I followed him into the Uh-Oh room and preformed 10 jump-ups, 10 squats across the room, then 10 squats back, ending with a minute on the spinning bike with Nutter increasing resistance.  I did 4 rounds.

There were no record breaking calories.

I was sent home after that.  I didn't get to do any extra weight or cardio.  Part of proper training is having at least one rest day which I haven't been religious about.  Since I can't count today as a total rest day Nutter wants me to rest on Saturday as well.

My friend Paula on loseit.com is guilty of not resting too which could be why she isn't losing.  I am losing, but not as much as Nutter thinks I should.  It could be because I'm not resting as I should, although I feel my diet is the main culprit.  I continue to make significant progress every time my body fat is accessed; until that lessens I'm going to continue as I am.  I enjoy my drinking and eating on my off days, it isn't excessive, but it is hampering me from moving forward at a much faster rate.  I know I'm still losing inches if not so much the weight because I'm fitting into clothing I haven't been able to wear in a long while and I'm more than okay with that.  The scale isn't the end all!



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