# Burpee With Chair - Canonical: https://fitwill.app/exercise/10508/burpee-with-chair/ - Media ID: 10508 - Primary muscle: Quads - Body part: Full Body - Equipment: Bench Or Seat - Video: https://fitwill.app/videos/10508/burpee-with-chair.mp4 ## Description The Burpee With Chair is a scaled version of the classic burpee that uses a sturdy chair as an elevated hand support instead of placing your palms on the floor. You start standing tall, hinge forward to plant your hands flat on the seat, kick your feet back into an inclined plank position, then drive your knees back in and return to a full stand with your arms reaching overhead. Because your hands stay on a raised surface, your torso stays at an angle and your wrists, shoulders, and lower back handle far less load than in a ground-based burpee. This movement is a good fit for people who want the conditioning effect of burpees but find the floor version uncomfortable or too demanding. Beginners building toward their first full burpee, heavier trainees, anyone with stiff hips or wrist discomfort, and older lifters who want a joint-friendlier heart-rate booster all benefit from the elevated setup. The higher the seat, the easier the rep; a stable dining chair is usually the right starting height for most adults. Muscularly, the Burpee With Chair touches nearly everything. The squat-down and hop-in phases load the quads, glutes, and hamstrings, the inclined plank position asks the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core to hold you steady, and the repeated stand-ups keep the heart rate climbing. It is primarily a conditioning exercise rather than a strength builder, so expect it in circuit training, home workouts, and warm-up finishers more than in a heavy lifting session. Setup matters more than speed here. The chair must be heavy or wedged against a wall so it cannot slide or tip when your weight shifts onto the seat. Place your hands flat on the seat roughly shoulder-width apart, with fingers spread for stability, and keep your shoulders stacked over your wrists when your feet kick back. A chair that wobbles or drifts forward is the main safety risk with this exercise, so test it with your body weight before your first rep. To execute well, think of the rep as one continuous rhythm rather than four separate stops. Hinge and place the hands, shoot the feet back with a soft landing, brace the midsection for a beat, then pull the knees forward and stand all the way up with a deliberate arm reach. Land quietly and keep your knees tracking over your toes on both the kick-back and the hop-in. Controlled reps beat flailing reps every time. You can progress by lowering the support toward bench height, adding a push-up at the top of the plank, or pausing one second in the inclined position. To regress, step the feet back one at a time instead of hopping and rise without the jump at the top. In either direction, the chair version lets you accumulate conditioning work while keeping the movement pattern honest. ## Instructions 1. Place a sturdy chair on a non-slip floor, ideally with its back rest against a wall so it cannot slide or tip during the set. 2. Stand facing the chair seat about an arm's length away, feet hip-width apart, arms relaxed at your sides. 3. Hinge at the hips and bend your knees, placing both palms flat on the seat about shoulder-width apart with fingers spread for grip. 4. Brace your abdominal muscles so your torso stays firm before any weight transfers onto your hands. 5. Hop or step both feet back together until your body forms a straight, inclined line from head to heels, with shoulders stacked over your wrists on the seat edge. 6. Hold the inclined plank for a brief beat, keeping your neck neutral and your hips from sagging or hiking up. 7. Drive your knees forward and hop or step your feet back in toward the chair, landing softly with bent knees underneath your hips. 8. Push through your legs to stand fully upright, reaching both arms straight overhead as you finish the rep. 9. Exhale as you kick back and stand up, inhale as you lower your hands toward the seat for the next rep. 10. Reset your stance and hand position between reps if the chair or your feet have drifted at all. ## Tips & Tricks - Test the chair before your first rep by pushing down on the seat with both hands; any wobble means you need a heavier chair or a wall behind it. - If your shoulders shrug up to your ears in the inclined plank, actively push the seat away and think about lengthening your neck. - A common mistake is letting the hips sag when the feet kick back, which arches the lower back; squeeze your glutes for a moment in the plank to hold the line. - Hop your feet to a landing just outside your hands' width rather than narrow, so your knees are not forced inward on the hop-in. - Keep the hand placement on the seat edge, not the middle of the seat, so your wrists stay stacked over the chair's strongest point. - Slow the stand-up phase down instead of rushing it; standing tall with an overhead reach is where the quads and glutes do their work in this variation. - If your wrists complain, grip the front edge of the seat with your fingers and knuckles instead of laying your palms completely flat. - Breathe in a rhythm rather than holding your breath; exhaling on the kick-back keeps your midsection from stiffening at the wrong moment. - When fatigue makes your landings loud and heavy, stop the set or switch to stepping your feet back, since sloppy landings are where knees and ankles get irritated. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What muscles does the Burpee With Chair work? It is a full-body conditioner. The quads, glutes, and hamstrings power the squat and stand-up phases, while the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core stabilize the inclined plank position. The repeated rhythm is what drives your heart rate up. ### Is the Burpee With Chair good for beginners? Yes, it is one of the best ways to learn burpee mechanics without floor-level demands. Beginners can even step the feet back one at a time and stand up without jumping until the pattern feels smooth. ### How high should the chair be for the Burpee With Chair? A standard seat height of around 45 centimeters works for most people. The higher and closer the support, the easier the plank position, so start tall and lower the surface only as your shoulders and core get stronger. ### Should I do a push-up during the Burpee With Chair? The basic version skips it, which keeps the focus on conditioning and clean transitions. Once you can hold the inclined plank without your hips sagging, adding a slow push-up with your chest toward the seat is a natural progression. ### Why does my chair slide forward during the Burpee With Chair? Your weight is shifting too far forward onto your hands as the feet kick back, or the floor is too slick. Angle the chair so its back rest presses against a wall, and land your feet back with less force. ### Can I replace floor burpees with the Burpee With Chair entirely? For general conditioning, absolutely. The elevated setup reduces wrist and lower back strain while keeping the same movement pattern, though it does slightly reduce the demand on the chest and shoulders compared with a ground-based burpee. ### How many reps of the Burpee With Chair should I do? Work in time blocks or modest sets, such as 20 to 40 seconds of continuous reps or 8 to 12 reps per round. Stop the set when your form breaks down, especially when your hips start sagging in the plank or your landings get heavy. ### Is the Burpee With Chair safe for people with knee or wrist issues? It is generally friendlier than a floor burpee because the hands stay elevated and the wrists stay at a neutral angle. Still, step the feet back instead of hopping if your knees are sensitive, and keep the chair braced so your support never moves unexpectedly.