In a recent video shared on Instagram, fitness trainer Charlee Atkins said burpees are the secret to many injuries. The trainer, who has a huge following on social media, shared a clip of her on national television and advised against doing burpees.
Many backed Atkins’ statement.
“As a girl who got hurt doing burpees, #cancelburpees!!!,” wrote one Instagram user. “I despise burpees. I don’t like doing them for my clients and I don’t like doing them for myself. I think burpee challenges are stupid and dangerous. What I like about burpees is the individual part of the exercise. Jumping. Transitioning to the high plank .Push-ups. Transition to standing. I split the moves or perform them slowly and focus on form and function,” wrote another.
Why no Poppy?
Not just Atkins, several fitness trainers are against burpees.
The main reason why burpees are not a good recommendation for many people is because of incorrect shoulder positioning. Anyone who does burpees knows that it requires a lot of upper body strength and puts more emphasis on the shoulders.
Improper shoulder position can affect the tendons and ligaments in the upper body and can cause serious injuries that take time to heal.
The proper way to do a burpee is to stay in a push-up position with your shoulders symmetrically over your wrists and your elbows locked out.
Another downside of burpees is that during the transition, which is a quick transition, people often put a lot of stress on their lower back. The Burpee movement consists of smooth and quick transitions from squats to jumps. There is a lot of stress on the wrists, feet and back during this fast movement, so the risk of injury is high.
It is very important to keep your hips aligned.
Hip flexibility is an important part of the burpee. If you have flexible hips, you can only transition easily from one form to the other without increasing your risk of hip injury.
How can burpees help?
Burpees are a full body workout and have amazing effects on the body when done in reps. Ideally, people should be very careful when doing burpees and not start doing them assuming it’s an easy exercise.
Burpees work the legs, glutes, buttocks, as well as the abs, arms and shoulders.
