Are Burpees Really Idiotic?
Are Burpees Really Idiotic?
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[Note: The following is an abbreviated excerpt from a discussion started in the Strong ON! Facebook group]
Since I’ve seen a lot of articles and conversation going around about “good” vs “bad” exercises, I thought it merited a discussion.
1) Very few exercises are “inherently bad.” If there’s an argument to be made against an exercise, that argument is productive only when considering how the exercise is performed, for what reasons the exercise is performed, or in what context the exercise is performed.
For example, an exercise can be inefficiently performed (poor technique) or may be an inefficient exercise for the goal (poor exercise selection) or may be inefficiently programmed (poor programming). These are often arguments worth having (to the extent you’re not just arguing for the sake of arguing, but trying to advance in understanding) but even when they succeed, they don’t necessarily render an exercise “inherently bad.”
To say, for example, the kettlebell swing is a bad or unhealthy exercise is to just not have any appreciation for context or nuance—really, to just not have any idea what you’re talking about. But to say the kettlebell swing would be an inefficient exercise for improving bench press—well, there you might have an argument.
2) Virtually any exercise can be injurious. Walking can be injurious. So can sleeping in bed. If there is any guarantees of life, it’s that it produces injury, and then some. So we do what we can to be safe, not by avoiding “bad” exercises and only doing “good” ones, but by understanding the intricacies of human movement, adaptation to stress, the recovery process, individualization and personal history, and other assessment-based steps we can take to mitigate the risk of harm while exercising, without maintaining an overly fragile or fearful mindset when entering the gym.
3) Practicality vs idealism. Some exercises may be ideal in certain situations but not as practical in YOUR situation. Are you not going to do any exercise if you can’t do the perfect exercise? Just something to keep in mind.
4) Perfection versus improvement. Movement is a skill that requires ongoing practice to improve and maintain. Too many coaches set too high of a bar at the beginning which discourages participation and improvement. Forget about perfection. Get a person moving safely first, and focus on improving just one or two things at a time. If you bombard a person with a barrage of initial criticism, that person will become overwhelmed and have no idea where to begin.
All that said, I do believe some exercise on the far end of things are probably not worth pursuing or at least not worth pursuing beyond a certain point, for “most” people. An example I sometimes give is the one arm chin up. Because unless your goal is to do a one arm chin up, I don’t think the amount of time it takes to develop this skill, the benefits you get out of it, and the likelihood of tendinitis that come along with it, merit the investment. Again, that doesn’t make it a “bad” exercise, but are just some things worth considering before you decide to program it.
For better or worse (obviously, I would argue for worse) there has been so much indoctrination over the years through the various fitness camps—powerlifters attacking kettlebells, gymnasts attacking bodybuilders, and so on and so forth—and everybody is guilty of it, to some degree.
This is why people are so quick to deem an exercise good or bad, rather than having a conversation about when and for whom that exercise may (or may not) be appropriate. I get it’s not as “sexy” to be nuanced, but I’d rather be boring and right, than inflammatory and wrong.
As Generalists, my hope is we can transcend this snobbish, sub-intellectual attitude, and assimilate the best from every fitness practice and modality, and thus take an intelligent, nuanced approach to critiquing exercise selection and systems, so that the conversation can be productive, rather than pandering or polemic.
– Pat
The Pat Flynn Show
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Michael Rickard says
You hit the nail on the head here. Or as my mentor used to say, “You are 100% correct.” Exercises are neither inherently good or bad. I agree that some are easier to hurt yourself on if you’re not careful than others, but I can’t think of any exercises that are just bad for you. People need to remember that some exercises take time to work up to, just as a martial artist doesn’t go from a white belt level move to a complicated spinning back kick. You need to develop your body and the skills under a good instructor. When I was in Con College, people did burpees and they had remarkable results.
Morgan Christopher says
Burpees aren’t for everyone (they are physically demanding, more than many exercises I’ve done), but they are a fantastic way to build and maintain fitness. You don’t like gyms? Do some burpees. Don’t have much space at home for equipment? The burpees don’t require much room to perform them. While you want to do more than burpees, they are an excellent exercise and I just don’t understand how people see them as a way that’s easy to hurt yourself. The burpee has been around less than a hundred years, but its effectiveness is well-known.
Cheska J says
“This is why people are so quick to deem an exercise good or bad, rather than having a conversation about when and for whom that exercise may (or may not) be appropriate. I get it’s not as “sexy” to be nuanced, but I’d rather be boring and right, than inflammatory and wrong.” Very, very, veryyyy well said.
Pat, you’ve always been one to make great points, and always one to make a very good explanation as to where you stand on things. A lot of people tend to have that notion of “this is good so it’s gonna be 100% good in all contexts.” and vice versa, as you said, what’s good and what’s bad merits discussion, and you’ve definitely already made the best points there!