Burpee/Squat Brawl

There are a couple different workouts I always keep in my back pocket for when I’m short on time, traveling, and have no equipment around.

And the burpee/squat brawl is one of my favorites (besides tabata intervals, of course.)

While I can’t take credit for crafting the set-up of this workout, I’ve been using it for quite some time with a number of different movements to perform workouts at-home or while traveling, or after heavy strength training. Sometimes, I’ll make it an upper body workout with push-ups and chair dips, or I’ll rotate in a core stabilization exercises like the glute bridge in place of the burpee.

For this workout, you’ll be doing burpees and air squats in an ascending and a descending pattern.

And don’t even play—I know you heart burpees.

The objective with this workout is to go all-out, which is why there is a 1 minute rest after the first round. While that may seem like a lot of rest, it won’t feel like it if you’re working at full capacity.

And as always, prioritize proper form over moving faster. You’ll get way more benefit out of doing the movements properly than moving faster with poor quality movements that could end up hurting you in the long run.

Burpee/Squat Brawl

Instructions: Perform the workout written below as fast as good form allows. Rest 1 minute, and perform the second round in reverse. (1 Air Squat, 9 Burpees.) During each round, the objective is to go all-out, and complete the round in as little time as possible.

Warm up: Perform 5-10 minutes of Dynamic Range of Motion movement. Then, do 3-5 repetitions of each exercise below.

The Workout:

1 Burpees, 9 Air Squats
2 Burpees, 8 Air Squats
3 Burpees, 7 Air Squats
4 Burpees, 6 Air Squats
5 Burpees, 5 Air Squats
6 Burpees, 4 Air Squats
7 Burpees, 3 Air Squats
8 Burpees, 2 Air Squats
9 Burpees, 1 Air Squats

Rest 1 minute. Perform a second round with the burpees and air squats reversed.

Cool down: Stretch and foam roll.

Modifications

Instructions: Perform the workout as described above as fast as good form allows. Do not perform the second round in reverse.

Want more workouts like the one above? Check out my other sprint workouts, or functional fitness workouts.