Burpee (exercise)

The burpee, or squat thrust, is a full body exercise used in strength training and as an anaerobic exercise. The basic movement is performed in four steps and known as a "four-count burpee":

According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, the exercise was named in the 1930s for American physiologist Royal H. Burpee, who developed the burpee test. He earned a PhD in applied physiology from Columbia University in 1940 and created the "burpee" exercise as part of his PhD thesis as a quick and simple way to assess fitness. The exercise was popularized when the United States Armed Services adopted it as a way to assess the fitness level of recruits when the US entered World War II. Consisting of a series of the exercises performed in rapid succession, the test was meant to be a quick measure of agility, coordination and strength.

At 4 pm on May 17, 2014, in Greenwood, SC, Cameron Dorn broke two burpee world records: the most burpees performed in 12 hours with 5,657 and the most burpees completed in 24 hours with 10,105.

At 6 am on October 21, 2013, in Portland, OR, Lloyd Weema broke the burpee world record: the most chest to ground burpees performed in 72 hours with 9,480.

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Wikipedia