If you’ve ever winded yourself struggling to get your burpees in - we may have some good news.
According to personal trainer, Patrick Murphy, the trainer behind Zac Efron’s enviable body, burpees are one of the exercises “everyone’s doing in the gym” that are actually awful for you.
The move, which incorporates jumping, tightening, speed, and fat burning, is often touted as the one move that incorporates all your muscles - and can be done by almost anyone.
But according to Murphy, they make more sense in the military - where the exercise originated, and where the risk of a bullet coming towards you is more likely.
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Murphy told Men's Health: “Burpees aren’t good for the human body. You know what burpees are good for? They originated in the military as a way of dodging bullets. They’re good for relocation.”
And although the move does burn fat, Murphy isn’t a fan - especially if your career is more office focused and less about dodging enemy fire.
He said: “Imagine you’re doing burpees and then going to your sit-down job in an office all day. It’s not good for the wrist, and the spine is not in the proper position.”
However, The Independent spoke to Jared, a personal trainer at Crunch in New York City, who wasn’t convinced by Murphy’s reasoning.
According to Jared, burpees are actually a “great, full body exercise.”
And, while he wouldn’t recommend them for the elderly or the injured, burpees are great because “even for those very beginners who can only do five to ten before getting tired, it gets almost every muscle involved,” he told us.
So you may want to reconsider before you cut burpees out of your workout regime altogether.
This article was originally published in 2018
