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Burpees Calories Burned: How Many Calories Do Burpees Burn?
Burpees Calories Burned: How Many Calories Do Burpees Burn?
How Many Calories Do Burpees Burn?
Burpees are one of the highest calorie-burning bodyweight exercises you can do, because they combine a squat, a push-up, and a jump into one continuous, full-body movement.
A 70kg (154 lb) person doing burpees at a steady, sustainable pace burns roughly 8-12 kcal per minute — noticeably more than push-ups, squats, or jumping jacks at a comparable pace, since burpees work nearly every major muscle group at once and keep your heart rate elevated throughout.
| Burpees | Approx. Calories Burned (70kg person) |
|---|---|
| 10 burpees | ~5-8 kcal |
| 20 burpees | ~10-15 kcal |
| 50 burpees | ~25-35 kcal |
| 100 burpees | ~50-70 kcal |
| 1 minute (steady pace) | ~8-12 kcal |
| 5 minutes | ~40-60 kcal |
| 10 minutes | ~80-120 kcal |
These are estimates — the exact number depends on your body weight (a heavier person burns more per burpee), your pace, and how strict your form is. A slower, more controlled burpee with a full push-up and a full jump burns more than a rushed, shallow version, even at the same rep count.
How to Do a Burpee (Step by Step)
- Start standing, feet shoulder-width apart.
- Squat down and place your hands on the floor in front of you.
- Jump your feet back into a plank position.
- Do a push-up (a full push-up for the standard version, or skip it for an easier variation).
- Jump your feet back toward your hands.
- Explode upward into a jump, reaching your arms overhead, then land softly and repeat immediately.
A full rep flows through all six steps without pausing — the exercise's calorie-burning power comes largely from that continuous, no-rest movement pattern.
What Muscles Do Burpees Work?
Burpees are a genuinely full-body exercise: the squat and jump work your quads, hamstrings, and glutes; the push-up portion works your chest, shoulders, and triceps; and the brief plank position between them engages your core throughout.
Few other bodyweight exercises recruit this many muscle groups in a single continuous movement, which is a big part of why they're so demanding and so effective as a conditioning tool.
Burpee Variations
| Variation | What It Changes | Good For |
|---|---|---|
| Half burpee (no push-up) | Skips the push-up portion | Beginners, or a faster pace for conditioning work |
| Modified burpee | Steps back instead of jumping back | Lower-impact option, easier on the knees and wrists |
| Burpee broad jump | Adds a forward broad jump after standing | A staple of Hyrox and obstacle-race style training |
| Bar-facing burpee | Performed by jumping over a barbell | Common in CrossFit-style workouts |
| Burpee pull-up | Adds a pull-up at the top of the movement | An advanced, gym-equipment version combining two exercises |
| Dumbbell burpee | Holding light dumbbells throughout | Adds resistance to the push-up and the standing portion |
| Navy SEAL burpee | A stricter, more exaggerated version with a wider push-up and higher jump | A tougher, military-training-style variation |
| Reverse burpee | Rolls backward onto the shoulders before standing back up, skipping the push-up | A lower-impact alternative that's easier on the wrists |
If a full burpee feels too demanding at first, the half burpee or modified burpee are legitimate ways to build up — you'll still get real conditioning benefit while your strength and coordination catch up to the full movement.
Are Burpees Good for Weight Loss?
Burpees are one of the more efficient bodyweight exercises for burning calories in a short amount of time, which makes them a genuinely useful tool in a weight-loss routine — especially in short, intense intervals (like 20 seconds of burpees followed by rest, repeated). That said, as with any single exercise, burpees alone won't produce weight loss without an overall calorie deficit; they're a strong contributor to that deficit rather than a shortcut around it. They're also excellent for cardiovascular conditioning, since the combination of strength and jumping keeps your heart rate high throughout.
How Many Burpees Should You Do a Day?
There's no universal number — it depends on your fitness level and goals. A reasonable starting point for a beginner is 3 sets of 5-10 burpees with rest in between, building up gradually toward 50-100 total burpees across a workout as conditioning improves. Doing a very high volume (100+ in one continuous set) is more of a fitness challenge or benchmark than something needed for typical weight-loss or conditioning goals.
Do Burpees Really Work? Setting Realistic Expectations
Burpees are a genuinely effective, evidence-backed conditioning exercise — they raise your heart rate quickly, burn a meaningful number of calories per minute, and build functional full-body strength.
What they won't do is transform your body on their own in a short period; visible changes in body composition still come down to consistent overall calorie balance and training over weeks and months, not any single exercise performed for a few days. Used consistently as part of a broader routine, they're one of the more time-efficient tools available.
Track Your Burpees With Hint
Because burpees burn calories quickly and are often done in short, intense bursts, they're an easy workout to under-log if you're only tracking "20 minutes of exercise" broadly.
The Hint app lets you log burpees and other bodyweight exercises specifically, so high-intensity sessions get credited accurately rather than averaged into a generic workout estimate.
Hint's Pro Workouts feature is free to use and lets you track calorie burn from burpees directly, along with free AI-generated insights on the workout itself.
If you already use a fitness tracker or smartwatch to measure calorie burn, you can connect it to Hint through Apple Health or Google Health Connect and get free AI insights on your post-workout nutrition — so your tracked workout and what you eat afterward are looked at together, not separately.
FAQs
How many calories does 1 burpee burn? Roughly 0.5-1 kcal per burpee for an average adult, so 20 burpees burn approximately 10-15 kcal.
How many calories do 100 burpees burn? Roughly 50-70 kcal, depending on body weight and pace.
How many calories do burpees burn per minute? Roughly 8-12 kcal per minute at a steady, sustainable pace for a 70kg person — one of the higher calorie-burn rates among bodyweight exercises.
How do you do a burpee correctly? Squat down, place your hands on the floor, jump your feet back into a plank, do a push-up, jump your feet forward, then jump up explosively — that's one full rep.
What muscles do burpees work? Nearly your whole body — quads, hamstrings, glutes, chest, shoulders, triceps, and core, all in one continuous movement.
Are burpees good for weight loss? Yes, they're an efficient calorie-burning exercise that also builds cardiovascular fitness, but they work best as part of an overall calorie deficit rather than as a standalone weight-loss method.
How many burpees should a beginner do? Start with 3 sets of 5-10, with rest in between, and build up gradually as your conditioning improves.
What's an easier version of a burpee for beginners? The half burpee (skipping the push-up) or the modified burpee (stepping back instead of jumping) are both legitimate lower-impact starting points.
Can I track calorie burn from burpees automatically? Yes — the Hint app's free Pro Workouts feature tracks calorie burn from burpees and gives you free AI insights on the workout. If you use a fitness tracker or smartwatch, you can also connect it to Hint via Apple Health or Google Health Connect for free AI insights on your post-workout nutrition.
About the Author
Dr. Krishna Athmakuri is the Co-Founder and CEO of Clearcals, where he leads the development of data-driven health technology for India. With a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, his expertise spans protein analytics, bioprocess engineering, and health data systems. Earlier in his career, he developed biotherapeutics for diabetes and metabolic diseases at companies including Dr. Reddy's and Aurobindo Pharma. At Clearcals, he now applies that scientific rigour to build personalised fitness tools — including the Hint app — grounded in Indian nutritional science and clinical evidence. Connect with Dr. Krishna on LinkedIn
