Why a trainer thinks burpees are bad for you
Frequently used in HIIT sessions, the 'squat thrust and jump' is certainly high intensity - especially when doing 20 of them.
But here's some news we've all been waiting for: those burpees might not be so good for you after all. Certified trainer Michael Boyle wrote about his distaste of the humble burpee in Women's Health US, explaining why he thinks they're "idiotic".
"In a burpee, you’re jamming your wrist into extension, then you’re putting a huge amount of stress on the anterior shoulder, which is the weakest part of the shoulder," writes Boyle. "Neither of those things is good in a singular sense, and they’re clearly not good in high repetitions.
"If someone said I’m going to do that 100 times and call it exercise, I’d be concerned," the expert adds.
The trainer continues, explaining that he's never subscribed to the line of thinking that 'if an exercise is so hard it's painful and makes you unable to breathe, it's good for you'. In fact, advises Boyle, there are far more effective total body workouts that don't leave you quite so susceptible to injury.
"If you’re doing [burpees] because you want the lower-body plyometric challenge from jumping back up at the end, then just do plyometric exercises like squat jumps," he advises. "If you’re doing it for the upper-body challenge of the pushup, just do pushups! If you’re doing it for the cardiovascular challenge, there are a million interval-training protocols a trainer can give you that can make you just as tired."
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