If you follow my writing, you’ll know that I’ve done several challenges using many exciting movements. During each one, I’ve always enjoyed pushing myself and seeing what unique experiences I could have. Most have been strength-based movements with less cardiovascular conditioning.

I’ve always wanted to do a hybrid strength and conditioning movement. One of my main goals for this year is to become more functional. I also want to improve my hiking in some of the cool places I’ll hopefully travel to. 

With this, I’ve decided to focus on push-up burpees for this challenge. The push-up burpee combines a push-up and burpee into one fluid movement. This gives you a hybrid strength and conditioning exercise that requires muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness.

The aim of my challenge is simple: perform them every day while slowly increasing the volume to see what happens. Let’s take a look at my push-up burpees benefits after a month!

Doing Push-Ups Burpees Every Day For A Month — My Experience

I’ve broken my experience down into four sections to give a detailed account of each week. I describe my thoughts, feelings, goals, and any challenges I faced. 

Week 1

At the start of week one, I’m ready to get the challenge started. I’m really excited about the functional cardiovascular element that push-up burpees bring. 

I’ve been wanting to do something challenging that gets my heart rate up. What better way to do it than over the Christmas period when I’m eating lots more food!

In one of my previous articles, I looked at the benefits of doing push-ups every day for a week. In this, I did 100 push-ups every day which provided a great challenge. 

For this challenge, I’m going to aim to do the same number by the end of week four. I’ll split the repetitions into manageable sets. This will help to slowly increase my training volume.

In week one, let’s start with three sets of 20 reps and build from there. I’m going to spend the first few days sorting my form.

At the end of week one, things are looking good so far. I’ve managed to get the general technique down, finding spots with mirrors to perform my sets. Even with three sets of 20, I’m finding the sets pretty hard.

I knew I would enjoy this movement. It gives you the best of several worlds as it works on multiple physical components at the same time. 

Week 2 

I must admit, week one was quite challenging even with the lower repetitions. I think it’s mainly because I’m not used to doing many dynamic movements. I move around a lot traveling but don’t do too much circuit-type work, even with its well-known benefits.

The aim for this week is to increase my training volume to four sets of 20. Nothing crazy, just adding an extra set at the end. I’ll perform them throughout the day whenever I’m free or add them to my normal routine.

One thing I love is how easy they are to perform. With no equipment and little set-up time, I can literally jump down and get into my repetitions. This is so easy when traveling around or on the go.

At the end of the week, I love the amount of movement I’m getting. I really feel like I’m burning a lot of extra calories with 80 daily repetitions. Hopefully, I’ll tone up a bit with consistent performance.

I didn’t have too many problems increasing the volume this week. It definitely felt physically challenging. However, I think the hardest aspect is having the mental toughness to keep going. 

Week 3

With no real problems in week two, I’m excited to build on my progress and have another solid week. It’s time to dig in and overcome the mental side of things to get towards my main goal.

\I’ll increase the repetitions to my target in week four for one final push. This slower method of progressive overload ensures progress while limiting potential injury risk.

At the start of the week, I definitely feel like my full-body coordination has improved. I’m finding the technique pretty easy now. This has helped me with my general movement and mobility for sure.

I had a pretty busy week this week. Luckily, I was able to fit the reps in at different points during the day even before bed. This is one thing I love about performing such a versatile movement!

At the end of the week, I think I’ve overcome the mental challenge. The amount of movement has been my main barrier. I’ve been so used to purely strength-based exercises, so this has been a welcome change.

Week 4

At the start of week four, it’s time to up the volume and complete this challenge! Going to five sets is a big jump, but I feel I’m ready to do it. I’ve got the technique down, my muscular endurance has improved, and my core feels ready. I know how important performing the correct technique is for progress.

I’ll be using the same principles for this week. Perform five sets of 20 reps throughout the day whenever I can. This increase in volume will provide the added intensity I need for one final push!

As I approach the end of the challenge, I definitely know I’m going to miss performing them. Doing 100 repetitions every single day is a lot, but I really like the dynamic movement and added benefits. 

With week four finishing, I can officially say that the challenge has been completed! It wasn’t without struggle, but that’s what makes it a good challenge.

Results And Key Changes 

Now that you’ve learned about my experiences when performing the challenge, here are the results and key changes I noticed.

My Cardiovascular Health Felt Great

In today’s society, having good cardiovascular health is more important than ever. It’s estimated that there will be a 90% increase in cardiovascular disease prevalence from 2025–2050. The rise in desk-based jobs and sedentary living has reduced activity levels and increased cardiovascular disease risk factors. 

The push-up burpee combines the strength-based push-up with the cardio-based burpee. This gives you an excellent full-body conditioning exercise.

Even after just two weeks in, my cardiovascular health felt better. Combining multiple aspects of physical performance into one movement truly worked for me. At the end of the challenge, I felt stronger, healthier, and much more efficient. Movement really is a key factor in improving cardiovascular health!

I Increased My Muscular Endurance

Muscular endurance is the ability to perform repeated muscular contractions without tiring. Good muscular endurance helps to move efficiently and perform everyday activities.

The push-up burpee combines two bodyweight movements. Therefore, both tend to work best using higher volume training to provide progressive overload. 

If you’re wondering about your training volume, check out this article. It answers the question of how many push-ups should I be able to do. This provides a good starting point as you can apply some of the same principles to the push-up burpee.

For this challenge, I chose to aim for 100 daily push-up burpee repetitions. I started at 60 and slowly progressed my training volume. 

This volume increase allowed me to boost my muscular endurance. This included my upper body and core muscles especially. Even though I found it challenging, the fact I managed to add 40 daily reps is a testament to this. 

I Burned More Calories Which Improved My Body Composition

Body composition refers to the percentages of muscle, bone, and fat in the body. Alongside helping to provide a general measure of health, it also determines movement. 

Two of the main ways to change body composition are through exercise and dietary intake. Less food intake and more exercise tend to lead to less fat accumulation. Of course, other factors do matter, but this is best left for another article. 

The push-up burpee is a high-intensity exercise. This means that it requires more energy to be performed than most normal exercises. The combined strength and cardio elements further add to the difficulty and therefore, energy requirements. 

The full-body high-intensity nature of the push-up burpee provided a great way to burn extra calories. This meant that my body composition slowly improved throughout the challenge. While it’s not always a main goal of mine, it’s definitely something I enjoyed seeing. 

My Core Stability And Posture Felt Better

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, my core stability and posture are things I’ve needed to work on. My previous challenges have improved them, but there’s still work to do. 

The dynamic movement pattern used in the push-up burpee meant I constantly needed to use my core strength. This allowed me to keep a stable exercise position and perform the right technique cues. 

This high volume of core strength work improved my core stability, and with it, my posture. At the end of the challenge, I felt more confident when sitting to write and walking around. With my lower back pain, this is something that I’ll always welcome. 

My Full-Body Coordination Was Challenged

Full-body coordination is the ability to control the muscles, limbs, and joints to perform desired actions and movements. During movement and exercise, it allows muscles and joints to move together as intended to produce force. 

I’m active, perform regular exercise, and regularly play sports with friends. However, I was surprised at the coordination challenge that push-up burpees provided. 

Throughout each set, I found myself having to really focus on maintaining the correct positions for both movements. Even towards the end of the challenge, the many different movement components challenged me. 

At the end of the month, my full-body coordination certainly improved. This helped me to move more efficiently and should also improve my sports performance. 

How To Do Push-Up Burpees

How To Do

1. Stand straight with your legs hip-width apart and arms by your sides. Use a padded area or mat if one is available. 
2. Hinge from the hips to perform a partial squat. Lower your upper body towards the ground, placing both hands shoulder-width apart. 
3. Your knees should be slightly bent. Your hands should be directly under your shoulders.
4. Bring both legs back to come into a high plank position. There should be a straight line from your head to your heels. Your arms should be extended to support your upper body.
5. Bend your elbows and lower your chest to the floor to perform a push-up. 
6. Once your upper arms come parallel to the ground, extend your elbows to come back to the high plank position.
7. Jump both feet towards your chest and bring your hands off the floor. You should shift your weight back at the same time to maintain balance. 
8. Come into a standing position and jump off the ground.
9. Repeat the same technique cues for the stated sets and repetitions.

Tips

• Ensure you land softly with slightly bent knees each time your feet contact the ground. This prevents excessive knee stress and possible injury risk.
• Your hands should come back to the same position during each repetition. Use markers to help if needed while learning the correct technique.
• Aim to maintain a consistent breathing pattern throughout. Focus on a rhythmic tempo as you perform both movements. This ensures a consistent oxygen supply to your working muscles.
• Each movement should be linked together to ensure a smooth movement pattern. However, avoid using momentum at any point. Think about the correct technique cues while ensuring you continue moving.
• Avoid letting your chest touch the floor at the bottom of the push-up. The bottom position should be when your upper arms come parallel to the ground.

Final Thoughts

After a month of push-up burpees, I can see exactly why it’s so commonly performed in circuit routines. It’s a simple and functional movement that requires no equipment, little set-up time, and offers a host of useful benefits. With this, why wouldn’t you include it in your gym routine?

In my quest to become more functional, I will be aiming to add more push-up burpees to my functional routine. Whether you’re on the go or at home in front of the TV, the possibilities with push-up burpees are endless. 

Add them to your gym routine, circuit session, or home gym workout. Have a go at them once you’ve finished reading and you won’t regret it!

Frequently Asked Questions