Upper Back Pain After Burpees

October 19, 2021
October 19, 2021

The burpee is a full-body exercise and combines strength and aerobic elements to give you a terrific workout, especially for your chest, shoulders, arms, and legs. 

Aside from burning lots of calories, it is a powerful cardiovascular exercise due to the movement of the legs and the pumping motion involved. 

The great thing about the burpee is that you don't need any special equipment to do them. They can be performed pretty much anywhere, and they're fantastic for beginners and advanced athletes. 

However, most people who have tried this exercise have come to despise it. Burpees are sure to leave you panting, and if done incorrectly, they can potentially cause injury. 

The problem is that it's all too easy to slip up on your form, especially if you're towards the finish of a workout and need to conserve your energy. 

Common injuries reported from an improper form are back pain.

Why do I have back pain after burpees?

The transition from squat to pushup is the component of the burpee exercise that puts the most tension and strain on the lower back. 

The core is subjected to a great deal of stress and strain when executing this dynamic body extension exercise. 

The flexor muscle group, which connects the femur to our pelvis or lumbar spine, is vital in protecting the hips from sagging during this portion of the movement.

These are technical errors that might occur during the exercise, putting strain on your back:

  1. Because your core is unable to stabilize your pelvis/lumbar vertebrae, the iliopsoas will tighten powerfully in an attempt to maintain your hips high, causing your pelvis to rapidly slide into an upper pelvic tilt, stressing your spinal cord.
  2. Your core/iliopsoas combo cannot maintain a balanced midsection, leading you to "droop" in the center as you spring the legs out — this action will generate a quick lumbar extension, generating shearing and higher load stresses across your lumbar vertebra region.

It's important to keep the lumbar spine in a neutral position during the exercise. The hips should be the primary source of movement. 

If you can't reach down to a complete squat, consider putting your hands on a chair instead of the floor. It's critical to improve core stability and hip mobility.

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PROPER FORM

You've probably seen the burpee done in various ways, and there are plenty of entertaining variations and progressions. Still, there's only one method to do the classic burpee. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Have a straight posture with both feet about shoulder-width apart on the ground.

Step 2: Squat down until your hands are level on the floor, facing you.

Step 3: To get into a plank position, immediately thrust your feet and legs backward.

Step 4: Execute a pushup, then quickly push yourself up and hop your feet wide just out of your palms.

Step 5: From a crouched stance, push through your heels to spring into the air, hands to the sky, 

Step 6: Land softly on your knees bent slightly, then instantly reverse the movement to a wide, low squat with your feet outside of your hands. Repeat.

Do burpees work your upper back?

Yes. Burpees are an overall exercise that engages almost all of the muscles in the body, from head to foot. 

The pushup element of the burpee develops the chest, arms, shoulders, torso, and core. The jump or squat at the finish of the burpee works your legs and glutes. 

Although this workout involves only your body, you'll probably want to do it outside on grass or pavement. You can also do burpees indoors on a rug or padded surface. Just be certain that the floor is tidy before you start jumping up and down.

When you first squat down for the rep, your glutes, hamstring, and squads are all engaged. To regulate your motion, your quads and glutes lengthen eccentrically. 

Bending your knees makes the hamstrings contract. Your core muscles and deltoids, and rotator cuffs are called into action when you transition from the beginning of a squat to a plank position. They work together to support your shoulder and lower back, which are both vulnerable to injury. 

Burpees will engage your triceps and chest if you include a pushup in the exercise. Lastly, your glutes, quadriceps, and calves work hard to stretch your hips, knees, and ankles when you hop your feet right back to your hands — and then catapult your body into the air.

Benefits of burpees

Muscular Endurance

After a certain number of repetitions, the traditional burpee becomes an exercise in endurance, not strength. The Burpee with Push-Up is a great way to build power and muscular endurance at the same time. It also avoids the common mistake of performing two individual exercises back to back. That error leads to lower reps and fewer gains. Now you can get the best parts of both exercises.

Improved cardio

Burpees engage your cardio in addition to your arm, leg, and core muscles. One of the many advantages of burpees is that they provide excellent aerobic exercise.

Is it okay to do burpees every day?

Some people do burpees daily. It is safe, but most experts would not recommend it. You wouldn't want to overwork yourself, especially if you don't get enough rest. 

The least you would want to happen is to have damaged muscles, resulting in overuse injuries or mass loss due to doing burpees daily. You can perform this workout once or twice a week as part of a more comprehensive workout routine for general fitness.

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