How To Do Gorilla Burpees — Fitness Doctrine

Core Exercise Demo - How To Do Gorilla Burpees

Basic Of The Gorilla Burpee

Feet are wider. So your hips can drop low.
Hands are placed on floor between legs.
When you jump back in feet go outside hands and the hips stay low.

Safe And Effective Burpee Variation For Beginners

Use a box to elevate hand placement.
Move one leg at at a time.
Work on keeping hips down and back flat.

The Problem With Burpees

Burpees are a common exercise. Crossfit may have made them even more popular. But like every exercise they do there are problems. As the speed and intensity pick up and the fatigue increases the burpee becomes more and more hazardous. Thats where the Gorilla Burpee comes in.

As you can see in the picture on the left typical burpee has a lot of back rounding.

As you fatigue or race against the clock the hips can start to sag while you're in the push up position.

If you're like most, you spend the majority of your day seated. And hunched over a desk or computer. The last thing your back needs is more bending of the spine.

The man behind this exercise is Royal H. Burpee.

When first invented in the 1930's Mr. Burpee used the exercise to test the strength and agility of soldiers. It tested a soldier's ability to quickly get down when shots were fired. Then be able to quickly get back up and return fire.

When first introduced it was never intended to be a high volume exercise. He writes,

The burpee exercise is strenuous and most appropriate for those already in good cardiovascular shape.

His test only lasted 20 seconds, and was only done once. The benchmark was 13 reps. Any less and you were considered in poor shape. Any more was ideal.

Burpee recognized that high reps, could cause problems with the knees and back, particularly for those with poor core strength.

Gorilla Burpee Workout Challenge

If you're in love with burpees or are looking for a good challenge give these a try.

30-Day Burpee Challenge

For 30 days, challenge yourself to do 100 gorilla burpees a day.

30 Beginner Burpee Challenge

Do a minimum of 1 burpee a day for 30 consecutive days.
- It's ok to do more. But more doesn't count towards missed days.
Burpee Challenge Variation 2
- Complete 1000 gorilla burpees in 30 days.
  - Start small building volume week to week.
    - week 1 (150): 15 - 30 a day.
    - week 2 (225): 25 - 40 a day.
    - week 3 (275): 35 - 50 a day.
    - week 3 (350): 45 - 60 a day.

Burpee Workout

2 minute Drill Burpee Workout

Set your time for 2 minutes and see how many you get.
Get a log and repeat the challenge every couple of months.

Burpee Intervals

Do as many burpees as you can in 1 minute.
Rest 1 minute.
The try to match that number.
Repeat this process 3 - 5 times.

Burpee On the Minute

Do as many burpees as you can in 1 minute. Record and take 80% of it. That is the number for your first set. (Say I 30 burpees in the first minute. 80% is 24. So 24 is my starting number.)
Rest 1 minute.
Then every minute on the minute you're going to do one less burpee than you did the minute before.
Rest for the remainder of the minute.
Continue Until you can't keep up with the clock. Or you've finished 10 rounds.

Burpee Variations

Burpee Broad Jump
- Instead of jumping up like you do with a traditional burpee, jump forward.
- Do a 180 then hit the floor and repeat.
Lateral Jump Burpee
- Instead of jumping up like you do with a traditional burpee, jump to the side.
- Alternate sides each rep.
Burpee Sit Out
- Instead of doing a push up, do a sit through. One with each leg.
Spider Burpee
- Instead of the regular push up, do a Spiderman push.
  - Alternate leg each burpee, or do two push ups per burpee.

Burpee Times

Target times for 100 burpees.

How do you rate?

< 4 Minutes - That's incredible. You're a machine.
4-6 minutes - Elite
6-8 minutes - Advanced
8-10 minutes - Intermediate
10 - 12 minutes - Amateur
12+ minutes - Beginner

Other Core Exercises Worth Trying

Work the core and cardio with Ball Slams
Work the core with Landmine Rainbows
Work the core with The Turkish Get Up
Work the core and cardio with Bear Crawls

For Even More Inforation

Find It On Fitness Doctrine

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