Burpees are a great full-body cardio workout you can do anywhere. With one movement you can work your entire body and get your blood pumping.

And with these 10 Burpee Variations, you can mix things up and work your body from different angles. Some of these 10 burpee variations are more core intensive while others focus more on your chest, back or legs.

Try these 10 Burpee Variations and our Burpee Challenge below!

10 Burpee Variations

For demonstrations of each of the Burpee Variation described below, see the video. Make sure to maintain good form while doing these moves. If at any point your form breaks down, please regress the movement.

You can always step back instead of jumping back or do any of the push ups from your knees instead of your toes.

1. Beginner Burpee – The Beginner Burpee variation is still very challenging; however, there is no push up in the movement. Anyone just starting out may find they need to step back instead of jumping back as shown in the video.

To do the Beginner Burpee, start standing tall with your feet together. Then bend over and place your hands on the ground as you jump your feet back into a plank. Keep your core tight as you jump back.

Jump back far enough that you are fully extended. Do not let your butt stick up in the air.

Then jump your feet back up to your hands and stand up. As you stand up, jump up off the ground.

Again if you are just starting out, step back instead of jumping back into the plank and maybe even skip the jump at the top.

2. Basic Burpee – Do not be fooled by the name, the Basic Burpee is anything but basic or easy. It is just the traditional burpee you see in workouts and magazines. It is a great movement to work your entire body, especially your chest, triceps, shoulders and core.

To do the Basic Burpee, start standing with your feet together. Then bend over and place your hands on the ground as you jump your feet back into a high plank or top of a push up position.

From that high plank position, perform a push up, dropping your chest down to the ground. Then push back up to the plank position and jump your feet into your hands.

Come back to standing and jump up off the ground before repeating the movement.

If you can’t perform a full push up, you may drop to your knees for the push up or stick with the Beginner variation. If you want to get more of a cardio workout, you will want to keep the movement quick so skip the push up if you can’t do a full one. If you want more of an upper body workout while still getting your blood pumping, put in the push up even if you have to do it from your knees and it slows you down.

3. Jack Burpee – The Jack Burpee is a great variation to really get your blood pumping and to work your legs and core a bit more. The movement combines a jumping jack like movement with a burpee.

To do the Jack Burpee, start standing with your feet together. Then bend over and place your hands on the ground as you jump your feet back into a high plank position with your feet together.

From that high plank position, jump your feet out wide then back together. Then jump your feet into your hands and come up to standing.

At the top, perform either a basic jumping jack or a plyometric jumping jack, leaving the ground as you spread your legs and swing your arms up to the side and overhead.

Like with most burpee variations, to regress the movement, step back instead of jumping back. And instead of jumping your feet out wide in the plank position, step your feet out to the side and back in. And at the top, perform a basic jumping jack or even no jack at all.

The quicker you do the movement and the bigger and higher your plyo jumping jack is at the top, the harder the move will be.

4. Burpee Sit Thru – The Burpee Sit Thru is a very core intensive movement as well as a great rotational exercise.

To do the Burpee Sit Thru, start standing with your feet together. Then bend down and place your hands on the ground as you jump your feet back into a Bull Dog position.

Unlike the Basic Burpee, you won’t jump your feet back into a plank. You will want to jump your feet back so you are in more of a crawling position with your knees bent.

From this bent-knee position, kick one leg under your body and through as you lift the opposite hand to “sit through.” Then bring the leg back under your body as you lower your hand back down and sit through on the other side. You will again kick the leg under your body and through as you lift your opposite hand. You want to rotate all the way through so you could actually sit if you lost your balance.

Once you’ve performed a sit thru to both sides, jump your feet back into your hands and come to standing. Jump up off the ground at the top and then repeat the movement.

Beginners may find they want to jump back into more of a plank position to make the sit thru easier. Advanced exercisers with more mobility will want to perform the sit thru from more of a bull dog hold starting position. AKA straighter legs makes the movement easier.

Move quickly, rotating open and sitting all the way through on each sit thru.

5. Renegade Row to Press Burpee – This is a great full body strength and cardio exercise. Because of the row movement and the press at the top, you get in some extra back, shoulder and core work.

Just make sure with this movement that you don’t lift the weights up off the ground with your low back.

To do the Renegade Row to Press Burpee, start standing, holding dumbbells down by your sides.

Then bend over (while squatting down) to place the weights on the ground and jump your feet back into a plank position. When you jump your feet back, jump them out a bit wider for more support.

The closer together your feet are, the harder the move will be on your core to fight rotation during the row.

From the plank position, row one dumbbell up to your side, driving your elbow down and back toward the ceiling. Lower the weight down and row the other dumbbell up. Make sure not to shrug your shoulders as you row. You want to feel your back working.

Also, fight the urge to rotate open as you row. Keep your body in a nice straight line from your head to your heals. Really focus on squeezing your glutes.

Once you’ve performed a row on both sides, jump your feet up to your hands and stand up, bringing the weights up to your shoulders as you come to standing. Press the dumbbells overhead, keeping your core tight so you don’t feel this in your low back.

Lower the weights back down and repeat the movement.

While you want to challenge yourself with heavier weights, make sure you can still do the movement correctly and move quickly.

Beginners may want to use only very light weights and even perform the row from their hands and knees instead of their hands and toes.

6. Mountain Climber Burpees – Valslides are a great way to make bodyweight exercises more challenging without adding weights. That is why the Mountain Climber Burpee with valslides is a fun option for anyone looking to get their heart rate up while really blasting their entire core.

To do the Mountain Climber Burpee with Valslides, start standing with a slider under each foot.

Then bend over and place your hands on the ground as you slide your feet back into a high plank position.

From the high plank position, slide one knee in toward your chest and then the other as if “running.” Perform 2 knee drives per side, alternating sides, moving as quickly as possible and then slide your feet back in toward your hands and come up to standing.

There is no jumping in this movement. To make it harder, add in a couple more mountain climbers or move faster.

To regress the movement, do not use the sliders to do the Mountain Climbers.

Make sure your butt doesn’t go up in the air as you perform the Mountain Climbers during this burpee. You want a nice straight line from your head to your heels as you do the movement.

7. Oblique Knee Tuck Burpee – Another very core-intensive variation, the Oblique Knee Tuck Burpee also uses the sliders. This is a more advanced movement that really targets your shoulders, quads and obliques.

Beginners may want to do a straight in knee tuck instead of the oblique knee tucks and they may not want to use sliders.

To do the Oblique Knee Tuck Burpee, start standing with a slider under each foot. Then bend over and place your hands on the ground as you slide your feet back into the high plank position.

From the high plank position, tuck your knees in together to your right elbow. Then straighten your legs back out center.

Then slide your feet in on the sliders to tuck your knees into your left elbow.

Slide your feet back out center.

Perform a knee tuck to each side then slide your feet in to your hands and come back up to standing.

Repeat.

Beginners may want to tuck their knees straight in instead of toward each elbow.

Make sure your butt doesn’t go up in the air as you tuck. Also, do not tuck so far in that you sit back on your heels. You want to tuck your knees in quickly and then extend them back out.

8. Side Arm Balance Burpee – This is a great burpee variation to work on upper body and core strength as well as shoulder stability.

To do the Side Arm Balance Burpee, start standing. Then bend over and place your hands on the ground as you jump your feet back into a high plank position.

Perform a push up. Once at the top of the push up, lift one hand up toward the ceiling and rotate into a side plank. Open completely and then place the hand back down on the ground and perform another push up, dropping your chest to the ground.

At the top of the push up, rotate into a side plank on the other side. Then perform another push up.

Once you’ve completed the push up, jump your feet in toward your hands and come to standing, jumping at the top.

Beginners can always step back instead of jumping. They can also do the push ups from their knees or even remove a push up or two if needed.

Beginners may simply jump back and do a side arm balance to each side. Or they may just need to remove one push up and do a two push up variation (push up, side arm balance, push up, side arm balance then jump up). Or they can even do a single push up variation (push up, side arm balance, side arm balance, jump up). All are acceptable variations as long as the focus is on a quality movement. Do fewer push ups if it means QUALITY push ups.

9. Slam Ball Burpee – If you have a slam ball and would like to really get your blood pumping while working on your lat and core strength, you will want to try the Slam Ball Burpee.

To do the Slam Ball Burpee, start standing, holding the slam ball in both hands. Choose a weight light enough that you can move quickly and slam the ball powerfully. This is about POWER and moving explosively not about strength so a heavy weight isn’t needed.

Then reach the ball up overhead, extending your body as you reach your arms back and overhead.

Slam the ball down as hard as you can into the ground, hinging over as you slam while bending your knees. Then place your hands on the ground and jump back into a high plank position. (You may want to advance the move by adding in a push up here).

Then jump your feet back into your hands so that you are squatting to pick up the ball. Again reach overhead with the ball and slam it into the ground as hard as you can.

Make sure to use your legs to lift and slam. Do not just round your back to pick the ball up.

Slam the ball as hard as you can each and every time.

Beginners will want to use a lighter ball and may step back into the plank position.

10. Spiderman Burpee – This is a great advanced burpee variation. The Spiderman Burpee is a full-body cardio move that works your chest, shoulders, triceps, core and legs just a little bit extra.

To do the Spiderman Burpee, start standing with your feet together and then jump back into a high plank position.

Perform a push up and then bring your right knee into your right elbow. Perform another push up and bring your left knee into your left elbow.

Then perform one last push up and jump your feet in toward your hands.

Come to standing and perform a tuck knee jump, jumping up as high as you can while bringing your knees up and in toward your chest.

Then repeat the move.

Beginners may want to start with push ups from their knees or simply a Mountain Climber Burpee variation. Or they may want to do the Beginner Burpee except with a Tuck Knee Jump at the top.

Beginners can break down this movement as necessary to make it something they can complete quickly with good form.

To advance the movement, do it as quickly as possible. You can even make the move harder by performing the knee drive at the bottom of the push up.

These 10 Burpee Variations are each a great full-body cardio workout in one move making them a great workout if you are short on time.

Have only 5 minutes but want to do some sort of workout? Try the 50 rep Burpee Challenge.

Choose one of the variations above and do 50 of those Burpees as quickly as possible. Record your time and try to beat it next time!