If there’s one movement that unites the entire CrossFit community in collective suffering, it’s burpees.
No matter how fit someone is, how strong they are, or how many competitions they’ve done, the reaction is always the same when burpees appear on the whiteboard:
“Ah, fugg.”
Yet somehow, despite being universally hated, burpees show up in workouts constantly. And athletes keep doing them.
So what makes burpees so brutal — and why are they such a staple in CrossFit workouts?
Burpees Are Full-Body Chaos
Burpees look simple.
Drop to the floor.
Push up.
Jump.
Repeat.
But after a few reps, the reality hits.
Burpees combine several demanding elements at once:
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Strength (pushing yourself off the floor)
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Explosiveness (jumping up every rep)
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Cardio (doing it over and over again)
Instead of isolating one muscle group, burpees force your entire body to work together.
And that’s exactly why they’re so exhausting.
Your Heart Rate Goes Through the Roof
Few movements spike the heart rate as fast as burpees.
Within seconds, breathing becomes heavy and the lungs start working overtime.
That’s because burpees require constant movement from standing to the floor and back up again.
This rapid transition forces your body to deliver oxygen to multiple muscle groups at once, making burpees one of the most effective — and painful — conditioning tools in CrossFit.
Burpees Attack Your Mental Toughness
Burpees are just as much a mental challenge as they are a physical one.
When a workout includes 50, 75, or even 100 burpees, the hardest part often isn’t the movement itself.
It’s the moment you realize how many reps are still left.
Athletes quickly learn an important CrossFit lesson:
Break the workout into small pieces.
Five reps.
Then five more.
Then five more again.
Burpees train the ability to keep moving even when the mind wants to stop.
Burpees Work Anywhere
Another reason burpees appear so often in CrossFit programming is their simplicity.
They require:
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No equipment
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No setup
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Very little space
Because of that, burpees are perfect for high-intensity workouts where the goal is simply to keep moving and push the pace.
That’s also why burpees show up frequently in competitions, outdoor workouts, and conditioning sessions.
Everyone Hates Them Equally
One of the funny things about burpees is that they humble everyone.
A beginner struggles through them.
An elite athlete moves faster — but still suffers.
Unlike heavy lifts or complex gymnastics, burpees remove many advantages. They’re a simple test of work capacity and determination.
No matter your fitness level, they will eventually make you tired.
Why CrossFit Keeps Programming Burpees
From a coaching perspective, burpees are extremely useful.
They help develop:
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Cardiovascular endurance
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Muscular endurance
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Coordination and body control
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Mental toughness
And because they’re so demanding, burpees quickly elevate the intensity of any workout.
In short, they’re an efficient way to make a workout challenging without needing equipment.
The Real Reason CrossFitters Keep Doing Them
Despite the complaints, eye rolls, and dramatic sighs, burpees serve an important purpose.
They remind athletes that fitness isn’t always comfortable.
Sometimes progress means doing the movements you don’t enjoy — and getting a little better at them each time.
And strangely enough, when a workout finishes and the suffering stops, there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing you survived it.
Final Thought
Burpees may be one of the most disliked movements in CrossFit.
But they’re also one of the most effective.
They build endurance, toughness, and the ability to keep moving when things get uncomfortable.
Which explains why, even after swearing they hate them, CrossFit athletes still show up the next day ready for whatever the whiteboard says.
Even if it includes burpees.