10 Intense Burpee WODS For Endurance & Conditioning

Much like the beloved British spread, you either love burpees or absolutely hate them. They are a staple of the CrossFit WOD, regularly be programmed into workouts just to make you sweat a little harder than you already were.

Burpees fatigue your muscles and lungs faster than many movements included in CrossFit training. They are, therefore, a great tool to improve your overall conditioning and gymnastics strength.

The burpee is essentially a two-part movement: a push-up followed by a jump in the air. The best think about burpees is you’ll never do a burpee incorrectly! That’s right… as CrossFit Invictus says, “They may get ugly or a bit sloppy at times, but falling down and getting up takes very little skill.”

“They are the perfect analogy for life – you get knocked down by a challenge and you find a way to get back up and continue moving forward. Because of this, burpees are the perfect character building movement.”

Deceivingly exhausting, there are ways to scale the movement if you need to:

The easy burpee movement progression

1. Squat as low as possible and bring your hands to the ground
2. In that frog-like position, step or kick your feet back
3. Lower your chest and thighs to the ground
4. Push yourself back up with your arms
5. Jump (or step) back to that frog-like squat position
6. Stand up and jump, making sure your feet leave the ground

The crash burpee movement progression

1. Fall to the ground as quickly as possible, slowing the crash down with your arms and kicking your legs back at the same time. Only catch yourself when you’re near the bottom.
2. Push yourself back up with your arms and jump or step your feet to where your hands are. Make this movement efficient by closing your hips rapidly and keeping your legs as straight as possible to avoid extra squatting.
3. Stand up and use the momentum to jump. The smaller the jump, the faster the burpees, yet always ensuring there’s daylight under your feet.

Burpee’s are a full-body cardio exercise which works multiple muscle groups in one go — hence its reputation; it’s hard! Burpees also burn a ton of calories, is a great measurement of fitness, and can be done from anywhere.

8 Intense Burpee WODs to Test Your Endurance

If you’re ready for a challenge, it’s time to try some of these intense burpee WODs that will put even the world’s fittest to the test.

Workout 1 – Kalsu

For Time

• 100 Thrusters (135/95 lb)

5 Burpees to start and at the top of every minute

Start with 5 burpees. Then complete as many thrusters as possible until the minute is up. At the top of the minute (1:00) complete another 5 burpees. Repeat each minute until 100 total thrusters are completed.

Score is the total time it takes to complete all 100 thrusters.

Good Score for “Kalsu”

– Beginner: 22-30 minutes

– Intermediate: 19-22 minutes

– Advanced: 15-19 minutes

– Elite: <14 minutes

Tips and Strategy

Prior to the start of the workout, decide how many thrusters you can realistically complete every minute (remember you always start with 5 burpees). Stick with that number, no matter how much it hurts. For example, if you get 5 thrusters every minute, you’ll be done in 20 minutes.

Intended Stimulus

This WOD should feel REALLY hard. This is a mental test as much as it is a physical one–the ticking clock (the one that tells you it’s time to do burpees AGAIN) feels like an enemy within minutes of starting the workout. Embrace the burning lungs and legs. Scale the load/volume so you can finish in 30 minutes or less; but don’t scale “the suck” out of “Kalsu.”

Scaling Options

Just like the other CrossFit hero workouts, “Kalsu” is grueling and unforgiving. Scale the load and/or reps so you finish in 30 minutes or less.

Intermediate

• 100 Thrusters (95/65 lb)

5 Burpees to start and at the top of every minute

Beginner A

• 100 Thrusters (75/55 lb)

3 Burpees to start and at the top of every minute

Beginner B

• 50 Thrusters (45/35 lb)

3 Burpees to start and at the top of every minute

Workout 2 – (Home)work

5 Rounds For Time:

• 5 Burpees
• 20 Squats
• 5 Burpees
• 10 Push-ups
• 5 Burpees
• 20 Lunges
• 5 Burpees
• 10 V-ups

Workout 3 – Fat Amy

For Time

• 50 Air Squats
• 10 Burpees
• 40 Sit-Ups
• 10 Burpees
• 30 Lunges (alternating legs)
• 10 Burpees
• 20 Kettlebell Swings (1.5/1 pood)
• 10 Burpees
• 10 meter Bear Crawl
• 10 Burpees
• 20 Kettlebell Swings (1.5/1 pood)
• 10 Burpees
• 30 Lunges (alternating legs)
• 10 Burpees
• 40 Sit-Ups
• 10 Burpees
• 50 Air Squats

With a running clock, as fast as possible perform the work in the order written.

Score is the time on the clock when the final repetition (the 50th Air Squat) is completed.

Good Times for “Fat Amy”

– Beginner: 18+ minutes

– Intermediate: 15-17 minutes

– Advanced: 12-14 minutes

– Elite: <11 minutes

Tips and Strategy

In a chipper WOD like “Fat Amy,” there are so many movements that you probably won’t experience major muscle fatigue at any given point. Use that to your advantage and go fast and as unbroken as possible.

Write the WOD in big letters/numbers on the whiteboard so you don’t lose time trying to discern what the next movement is or how many reps you’re supposed to do.

Intended Stimulus

“Fat Amy” should feel fast and breathless. Muscle fatigue shouldn’t be a huge factor in this WOD, but burning lungs should. Scale the volume as needed so you can move quickly.

After “Fat Amy,” you should feel energized–like you could go home, clean your house, cook dinner, and start writing your first book.

Scaling Options

This is a light, (mostly) bodyweight workout with movements that athletes of almost any level can manage. If necessary, scale the volume of repetitions so you can move through the movements quickly and unbroken.

Beginner

For Time:

• 40 Air Squats
• 5 Burpees
• 30 Sit-Ups
• 5 Burpees
• 20 Lunges (alternating legs)
• 5 Burpees
• 10 Kettlebell Swings (35/26 lb)
• 5 Burpees
• 10 meter Bear Crawl
• 5 Burpees
• 10 Kettlebell Swings (35/26 lb)
• 5 Burpees
• 20 Lunges (alternating legs)
• 5 Burpees
• 30 Sit-Ups
• 5 Burpees
• 40 Air Squats

Workout 4 – The Seven

7 Rounds For Time:

• 7 Handstand Push-Ups
• 7 Thrusters (135/95 lb)
• 7 Knees-to-Elbows
• 7 Deadlifts (245/165 lb)
• 7 Burpees
• 7 Kettlebell Swings (2/1.5 pood)
• 7 Pull-Ups

Complete 7 rounds of the movements in the order written. Each round is made up of 49 repetitions: 7 Handstand Push-Ups, 7 Thrusters, 7 Knees-to-Elbows, 7 Deadlifts, 7 burpees, 7 Kettlebell Swings, and 7 Pull-Ups.

Score is the time it takes to complete all 7 rounds.

Good Times for “The Seven” (estimated)

– Beginner: 40-49 minutes

– Intermediate: 33-39 minutes

– Advanced: 25-32 minutes

– Elite: <24 minutes

Tips and Strategy

This WOD, like many Hero WODs, is a grind. And whenever you’re faced with a grinding sort of workout, it’s best to start slowly. A fast pace out of the gate will likely result in burnout.

For pacing: As soon as you’re done with round 1, look at the clock. If it took you 5 minutes, then work hard to complete each of the remaining 6 rounds in 5 minutes, +/- 30 seconds.

Intended Stimulus

“The Seven” is meant to be a long, brutal workout that challenges your mental toughness alongside your physical fitness. The load should feel moderate, but not so heavy that you can’t go unbroken on the barbell movements. Scale the gymnastics movements so you can do unbroken sets of 7 reps. Get this thing done in an hour or less. “The Seven” should be a workout that you never forget.

Scaling Options

This workout is meant to be relatively long—30+ minutes for most athletes. The load should feel moderate—not maximal. Scale the volume, the load, and/or the skill level (see: Handstand Push-Up Scaling | Pull-Up Scaling | Knees-to-Elbows Scaling) so you can complete this workout in under an hour.

The rest in this WOD is during the transitions—when you move, for instance, from the thrusters to the knees-to-elbows. If you have to break up the sets of 7 reps into smaller bits, then either the load is too heavy and/or the skill level is too high.

Intermediate

• 5 Rounds
• 7 Push-Ups
• 7 Thrusters (95/65lb)
• 7 Knees-to-Elbows
• 7 Deadlifts (155/105 lb)
• 7 Burpees
• 7 Kettlebell Swings (53/35lb)
• 7 Pull-Ups

Beginner

• 5 Rounds
• 7 Box/Bench Push-Ups
• 7 Thrusters (45/35lb)
• 7 Hanging Knee Raises
• 7 Deadlifts (95/65lb)
• 7 Burpees
• 7 Kettlebell Swings (35/26lb)
• 7 Ring Rows

Workout 5 – Bert

For Time:

• 50 Burpees
• 400 meter Run
• 100 Push-Ups
• 400 meter Run
• 150 Walking Lunges
• 400 meter Run
• 200 Air Squats
• 400 meter Run
• 150 Walking Lunges
• 400 meter Run
• 100 Push-Ups
• 400 meter Run
• 50 Burpees

With a running clock, perform the prescribed work in the order written as fast as possible (“For Time“).

Score is the time on the clock when the last rep of Burpees is completed.

Tips and Strategy

Go for a steady pace of around 75-80% of your max speed during this long, bodyweight chipper WOD. The Push-Ups will likely prove to be the crux of this workout, so break the reps up early—big sets of Push-Ups will burn you out. Pick up the pace during the last 50 Burpees of “Bert”—you’re almost at the finish line at that point.

Intended Stimulus

This Hero WOD (like many Hero WODs) should feel long and grueling. Due to the big sets of movements (200 Air Squats in a row, 100 Push-Ups in a row, etc.) you’ll feel plenty of muscle fatigue. Everything should hurt during this workout: your upper body, lower body, core and lungs are all put to the test.

This WOD isn’t about going fast, but rather steadily chipping away at the movements. If you find you need to rest for more than 10 seconds at a time, then you’re either going too fast, or you need to scale the volume.

Intermediate athletes should finish in 50-70 minutes.

Scaling Options

Most of the exercises in “Bert” are approachable by all skill levels, however the volume of the movements is high. Reduce the volume as needed so you can move smoothly and steadily throughout the WOD and finish.

Intermediate

For Time:

• 40 Burpees
• 400-m Run
• 80 Push-Ups
• 400-m Run
• 120 Walking Lunges
• 400-m Run
• 160 Air Squats
• 400-m Run
• 120 Walking Lunges
• 400-m Run
• 80 Push-Ups
• 400-m Run
• 40 Burpees

Beginner

For Time:

• 20 Burpees
• 200-m Run
• 30 Knee Push-Ups
• 200-m Run
• 40 Walking Lunges
• 200-m Run
• 50 Air Squats
• 200-m Run
• 40 Walking Lunges
• 200-m Run
• 30 knee Push-Ups
• 200-m Run
• 20 Burpees

Workout 6 – Cooper

10 Rounds for Time:

• 10 Burpees
• 10 Air Squats
• 10 Push-Ups
• 10 Sit-Ups

Time Cap: 30 minutes

Cooper is a pure bodyweight (“Gymnastics“) workout that consists of 10 rounds of 10 Burpees, 10 Air Squats, 10 Push-Ups, and 10 Sit-Ups. Try to find a (slower) pace that you can maintain for the entire 10 rounds. The time cap for Cooper is 30 minutes.

Score is the time on the clock when the last round of the Sit-Ups is completed.

Scaling Options

Intermediate

8 Rounds for Time

• 10 Burpees
• 10 Air Squats
• 10 Push-Ups
• 10 Sit-Ups

Time Cap: 30 minutes

Beginner

5 Rounds for Time

• 10 Burpees
• 10 Air Squats
• 10 Push-Ups
• 10 Sit-Ups

Time Cap: 30 minutes

Workout 7 – Ellen

3 Rounds for Time

• 20 Burpees
• 21 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches (50/35 lb)
• 12 Dumbbell Thrusters (2×50/35 lb)

With a running clock, as fast as possible complete the prescribed work in the order written for 3 rounds.

Score is the time on the clock when the last round of the Dumbbell Thrusters is completed.

Scaling Options

Reduce the reps and/or loading to complete this workout in 12-15 minutes. Each set of Snatches and Thrusters should be completed in only 1-2 sets with minimal rest in between.

Intermediate

3 Rounds for Time

• 20 Burpees
• 21 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches (35/20 lb)
• 12 Dumbbell Thrusters (2×35/20 lb)

Beginner

3 Rounds for Time

• 10 Burpees
• 12 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches (20/10 lb)
• 9 Dumbbell Thrusters (2×20/10 lb)

Workout 8 – The Longest Mile

4 Rounds for Time

• 10 Burpees
• 100 meter Run
• 10 Air Squats
• 100 meter Run
• 10 Push-Ups
• 100 meter Run
• 10 Sit-Ups
• 100 meter Run

With a running clock, as fast as possible perform the prescribed work in the order written for 4 rounds.

Score is the time on the clock when the last round of 100 meter Run is completed.

Workout 9 – Donna

• 5 Rounds for Time
• 60 High Knees
• 30 Burpees
• 20 Chair Dips
• 10 Air Squats

With a running clock, as fast as possible perform the prescribed work in the order written for 5 rounds.

Score is the time on the clock when the last round of Air Squats is completed.

Movement Standard

High Knee: With the stance hip-width apart, drive one knee up to the chest in a swift motion, followed by the other knee a quickly as possible like running in place.

With a running clock, as fast as possible perform the prescribed work in the order written for 5 rounds.

Score is the time on the clock when the last round of Air Squats is completed.

Movement Standard

High Knee: With the stance hip-width apart, drive one knee up to the chest in a swift motion, followed by the other knee a quickly as possible like running in place.

Workout 10 – Open 12.1

AMRAP in 7 Minutes

• Burpees

The workout begins with the athlete in a standing position. Athlete must move from standing to flat on the ground to touching an object (6 inches above their max standing reach) with both hands.

Score is the total number of repetitions before the 7-minute clock ends.

Good Scores for Open 12.1

– Beginner: <80 reps
– Intermediate: 90-110 reps
– Advanced: 120-135 reps
– Elite: 140+ reps

The workout begins with the athlete in a standing position. Athlete must move from standing to flat on the ground to touching an object (6 inches above their max standing reach) with both hands.

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