It’s an old exercise and its still around. The reason? It works. The Burpee has many variations and most people can modify it to their own level of fitness to reap the benefits. What benefits are those? How about shedding unnecessary fat, AND revealing what is underneath so you can get a lean, healthier look? Strength, stamina, cardio, flexibility, coordination, confidence. Its an exercise that develops all of these, and you don’t really need any equipment. Hopefully you have already watched episode 1 of FFTV, and have an idea of what is required on your part to start. Stage one is the squat.

Squatting sounds and looks like it should be simple, but in my experience many people have all kinds of problems getting it back. You see, we all were able to squat as a kid, but for more reasons than you would want to know, it becomes more difficult. Especially as age advances. So what you say? Why do I need to squat like I used to? Of course if you don’t have any knee cartilage anymore squatting like you used to is probably NOT a good idea, but for everyone else? Well——-
Here is a short story about myself. I used to be a competitive runner. I raced 5ks, 10ks, the Marathon and sometimes even the mile run. I was in great “running shape,” but all that training also gifted me with a tight back, legs and hips. The short running stride (the notorious distance runners stride) also made me more “quad” dominant. I was actually training my quads (muscles in the front of my thighs) to take the loads and my all important backside (hamstrings and butt) to take less loads. Muscles became so tight that any kind of decent squat was out of the question. One of the results were that all those tight muscles couldn’t put my joints through the kind of movement they needed to feed and nourish themselves. All the joints in your body can actually be “oiled”, so to speak, if they are put through full range motions. Squatting is DEFINITELY one of those full range movements. When (back in 1992) I began Yoga and actually tried to squat it was NOT pretty. I worked at it and over time got most of it back. Thanks to that open minded approach in my exercise I now feel better than I did 20 years ago. And last month I turned 49.
The bad news is you don’t even have to have run like I did to feel that way! If you sit around all day like a sloth. If you have had an injury. If you don’t exercise. If you don’t “practice the move” you will lose your “kid” squat. Especially as you age, and I hate to tell you this—–your back will not like that either. Your back and your hips have a connection. You need to move your hips to keep your back healthy.
You will also want to get closer to your “kid” squat because it is an exercise that works the biggest muscles in your body. That is exactly what you DO want if your goal is to dump some fat off. Your muscles are the engine where fat burns off, but you got to use those muscles to run the engine and burn it off.
How do you do that? First, check out episode #1 of Fusion Fitness TV. Then try some of the stuff in there. You may be one of those people who are able to get “down into the hole,” as they say in weightlifting, with your but to your calves, and your back pretty much straight.  Although, in my experience, the odds are not in your favor and you aren’t one of “those” people.
Anyway, see what you can do. A mirror can help. Stand in a profile and watch yourself squat from the side. Here is a great tip I learned from Pavel Tsatsouline, kettlebell trainer extrordinare. Flatten your hands like a Karate chop and put them right where your hips need to bend. (see pic #1) This is where you need to start from. Bend from this point of your hips first. Throughout the squat keep thinking “move from your hips.” Think of sitting back on your heels. A great way to practice this is to sit back on a chair and stand up again. Just tap your butt on the chair and stand up again. Work up (over time) to 50 of them. (See pic #2). Once you can do 50 you can increase the speed of your squats. This will be harder, and build more strength. You will also be even better prepared for that full, 6 count Burpee.
As you descend, hold your abs flat and tight while holding your low back in a neutral position. Your low back may want to round  so you will need to practice patience and only go as deep as you can with out your low back excessively rounding. Keep sitting back. At first you may feel like you will fall backwards. Slow it down and pull yourself into it. Try not to relax too much when you descend, Try instead to use a bit of strength and pull your self down and back. Use the muscles in the front of your hips to help you with this.

PIC #1 Fold in your hips at the "hinges" shown here.

PIC #2 Sit back and tap your butt on a chair. Then stand up. Notice how vertical the shins are.

How deep should you allow yourself to go? As soon as your low back starts to round that is the point to stop. You are at your current limit. More than that might eventually aggravate your low back. Find a chair or a box to mark your current depth and work it there until it become easier. Don’t cheat yourself. Make every squat the same depth. That is where a marker like a chair or box will pay big dividends for you. As you improve slowly progress to using lower chairs, stools or boxes. An inch or two at a time. I have found that piling a couple pillows on a chair gives you something to remove as you improve. Don’t be in a hurry. Work the groove. Train your muscles to squat again.
Once you are down in your squat (wherever that may be for you) stand up, press through your heels and immediately push your hips forward and up. Watch out for the temptation to bend forward (see pic #3.). Instead work hard to always keep your hips under you (see pic #4). This will require a lot of strength in your midsection. (abs, back, hips) Keep watching future episodes of Fusion Fitness TV for ways to keep that area strong and stable.

PIC #3 Here I am shifting my weight forward to try and stand up. You go to fix it!

PIC #4 Here I am standing up by pushing through my heels and moving my hips foward and up. You got to get your hips underneath you as soon as possible.

This article is becoming kind of long in the tooth so I leave you with a couple of last tips.  First. Please do not hold your breath. You can experiment for the best way to breathe for yourself, but if you are having trouble holding your abs and back in place I would recommend to inhale on the way down and exhale on the way up. Inhaling on the way down will hold some pressure in your center (abs and back) so you are more stable there. Take deep breaths and don’t be afraid to sound funny when you do. Gasp, yell whistle or whatever you want. As you practice it will get easier and better.

Second. As you lower into your squat you may have to stretch your arms out in front of you for balance. If you have already watched the episode you will know what I am mean. Make sure you keep your upper back open as you do this by squeezing your shoulder blades together. Another way to think about this is to keep your chest open. If you are more flexible and strong you can isolate your legs a little more by holding your hands clasped behind your head.
You may also feel a lot of tight spots. Ankles, back, hips, legs. Heck, even your neck. You may feel like your entire body is locked up tight. Keep watching future episodes to learn how to help unlock these areas and see how it feels to do free flowing squats again. You can also read the blog called, “Ankles and calves, what a pain” for advice on a very common tight spot.
Remember——-I preach this correct posture stuff  so YOU can go about your exercise healthy and enjoy the results. Seriously. It is not something I just come up with to make your life harder. This is stuff I have learned from great teachers and then experimented with on myself.  I will never ask you to do something that I have not first done myself. Exercise is supposed to make you better not destroy you. Once you are able to squat better, and have incorporated it into a Burpee, you will get a hundred times more the benefit out of a truly great exercise. Your fat won’t have a choice. You are telling it that it has overstayed its welcome and its time to go.

PS – You can also read this interesting article on how people in third world countries squat and how that kind of squatting  improved weightlifters.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_thirdworld_squat

Best,
Robert