How many “burpees” does it take to burn your favorite foods, drinks and deserts? If you are like me then you probably don’t want to know. Like most, I absolutely hate the burpee exercise but I do them almost twice a week in bootcamp classes. If you like them, I applaud you. A recent article on the Spartan Blog by Dr. Jeff Godin, Ph.D., CSCS broke down how many calories are burned per burpee exercise.
Energy Expenditure During the Burpee Exercise (kcals/Burpee) |
||||||||||
Body Weight (lbs.) |
120 |
130 |
140 |
150 |
160 |
170 |
180 |
190 |
200 |
210 |
kcals per Burpee |
0.95 |
1.03 |
1.11 |
1.19 |
1.27 |
1.35 |
1.43 |
1.51 |
1.59 |
1.67 |
The above chart represents your approximate weight and the amount of calories which are burned in a repetition. For example, someone weighing 120 lbs will burn approximately 0.95 calories per repetition. For someone weighing 190 lbs, that person will burn approximately 1.51 calories per repetition. Now that we’ve got the match down let’s look at some popular favorite foods, drinks and deserts. I will be using 170 lbs as the example weight. The formula is Calories/kcals per Burpee.
Body Weight (lbs.) | kcals per Burpee | Food, Drink or Desert | Calories | How Many Burpees? |
170 | 1.35 | Apple, Medium Size | 72 | 53 Burpees |
170 | 1.35 | Bagel | 289 | 214 Burpees |
170 | 1.35 | Banana, Medium Size | 105 | 77 Burpees |
170 | 1.35 | Beer, Regular 12 Ounces | 153 | 113 Burpees |
170 | 1.35 | Large French Fries | 500 | 370 Burpees |
170 | 1.35 | Soft Drink, 12 Ounces | 136 | 101 Burpees |
170 | 1.35 | Chicken Breast, 3 Ounces | 142 | 105 Burpees |
170 | 1.35 | 12” Medium Pizza, Pepperoni | 742 | 549 Burpees |
170 | 1.35 | Vanilla Ice Cream, 4 Ounces | 145 | 107 Burpees |
170 | 1.35 | Cheesecake, Slice | 1048 | 776 Burpees |
How many burpees does it take to burn a pound of fat?
Body Weight (lbs.) | kcals per Burpee | Target Fat Loss | Calories | How Many Burpees? |
170 | 1.35 | 1 Pound of Fat | 3,500 | 2,592 Burpees |
What is a burpee? How do you do it?
The burpee, aka squat thrust, is an exercise used in strength training and aerobic exercise. There are four steps involved in the burpee and it was originally called the “four count burpee.” Here is how the exercise is performed. What are you waiting for? Get to it.
- Drop into the squat position with your hands on the ground (count 1)
- Kick your feet back, while keeping your arms extended like the pushup position (count 2)
- Return to your feet in the squat position (count 3)
- Spring up from the squat position and thrust your arms straight into the air while jumping (count 4)