How useful are burpees in military training?

Burpees aren’t “historically military” in the sense of being a timeless soldier’s drill, but the concept behind them—rapid transitions between standing, prone, and back up under fatigue—absolutely shows up across eras.

If you look at infantry doctrine and memoirs from WWII onward, a constant theme is energy spent on posture changes: hit the deck, crawl, pop up, sprint, repeat. S.L.A. Marshall’s writings on small-unit combat and many postwar training manuals emphasize that the battlefield punishes the unfit not only through long marches, but through repeated bursts of movement and getting up from awkward positions while loaded.

So the “usefulness” of burpees is less about the exact exercise and more about what they train: general conditioning, tolerance for discomfort, and the ability to recover between short efforts. They’re a decent stand-in for the chaos of up-down movement. But they’re not a substitute for the historically decisive pillars: loaded movement (rucking), running, and strength for carrying and digging. Used as a tool—fine. Used as the whole plan—misguided.

From a gear perspective, burpees are “useful” because they expose weak points fast: shoes with bad grip, socks that slip, and clothing that binds at the shoulders/hips when you drop and stand repeatedly.

Practical take: if you’re doing them at home, prioritize footwear and surface. A stable trainer with decent outsole traction beats squishy running shoes for repeated down-up reps. On rough floors, a thin training mat or even a cut piece of closed-cell foam under your hands can keep your wrists happier without turning it into a yoga session.

Also, don’t turn every session into a sweat-fest in a plate carrier. If you want realism, occasionally do a light “uniform simulation” (boots + pants) to see how mobility feels, but keep most burpee work unloaded so you can keep good speed and form. For military fitness, the gear that matters more is a ruck and good boots—burpees should be an accessory, not the centerpiece.

In basic we did a ton of stuff that looked like burpees or “half burpees” because it’s an easy way for instructors to smoke a group with zero equipment. So yes, they’re useful in the sense that you’ll probably do them, and you’ll want to not gas out.

But real usefulness? The best carryover I felt was learning to keep moving when your lungs are on fire and you still have to follow instructions. That’s the military part.

If you’re programming them: don’t go max reps every day. Pick 1–2 days a week where you do burpees as a finisher (like 5 rounds of 10–15 with controlled pace). The rest of the week build the boring base: run easy, run intervals, do push/pull/legs strength, and ruck gradually. If something starts hurting (wrists, shoulders, low back), swap in alternatives and consider getting a coach to check form—showing up injured is the fastest way to lose training time.

Burpees are useful, but the internet lies about *why*. They’re not a magic “operator” exercise and they won’t replace running or rucking—anyone selling that is marketing.

Here’s the real deal: burpees are a cheap intensity tool. Period. If you can’t run hard because you’re cramped for space/time, burpees spike heart rate fast. That’s it.

But if you do endless sloppy burpees, you’re just practicing sloppy movement under fatigue. That’s not “mental toughness,” that’s bad training. If your form turns into a worm on the floor, stop counting reps and start building actual capacity—pushups, squats, short sprints, and progressively longer runs/rucks. Burpees belong in the toolbox, not on the throne.

Even in a future battlefield full of drones and sensors, burpees still map to something relevant: rapid anaerobic bursts and recovery while under stress, especially for small teams moving between cover or repositioning quickly.

Modern units spend a lot of time on tasks that look “low tech” but are physically demanding: hauling batteries, setting up comms, moving with EW gear, carrying extra power systems for UAV ops. The demand is often stop-go, not just steady jogging.

That said, if you want training that reflects current trends, pair conditioning (burpees, intervals) with movement quality and load carriage. The future soldier is often a *systems carrier*—burpees help conditioning, but rucks and strength work help you move the actual kit that powers and protects those systems.

From the mechanized side: burpees aren’t going to make you a better driver or gunner, but they can help with the reality of “hurry up and climb.” In armored units you’re constantly getting in/out of hatches, lifting ammo and gear, sprinting to vehicles, and doing maintenance in awkward positions.

Burpees train getting down and up fast, but they don’t train the exact strength demands we see: posterior chain strength, grip, and loaded carries. If your goal is military readiness broadly, I’d put burpees behind:

- farmers carries (or heavy backpack carries)

- deadlift/hinge pattern work (safely coached)

- step-ups and squats

- rucking progression

Use burpees as conditioning intervals when you can’t run, or to add “up-downs” at the end of a session. Just don’t confuse them with the strength you need to move ammo cans, track pads, or toolboxes.

On ships, “military fitness” is often about limited space, awkward hours, and staying ready for emergencies. In that environment, burpees are popular because they’re equipment-free and can be done on a small patch of deck or in a cramped gym.

Their usefulness is mainly conditioning and work capacity. For damage control or rapid response, what matters is being able to move quickly in gear, climb ladders, and work when you’re already tired. Burpees can contribute to that general readiness.

But if you’re thinking specifically about naval demands, I’d add stair/ladders (step-ups), carries, and core stability work. Burpees are fine—just one tool among many, and not the best choice if your shoulders/wrists are already beat up from other training.

For aviation folks, fitness standards vary, but general conditioning and injury resilience matter. Burpees can be a decent “no equipment” conditioning drill, especially when travel or shift work kills routine.

That said, aviation training tends to reward consistency more than hero workouts. If burpees leave you too sore to run, lift, or recover, they’re counterproductive. I like them in short, crisp sets where you can keep control—think intervals where you stop before form breaks.

If your goal is overall military prep, keep the priorities straight: steady running base + some intervals + strength. Burpees are a garnish that keeps your heart rate honest when you’re short on time.

Most entry fitness tests don’t directly include burpees (service-dependent), but burpees can still support test performance because they build general conditioning and the ability to push through discomfort.

If your near-term goal is enlistment/selection prep, I’d structure it like this:

- Train specifically for your test events (run, pushups, situps/plank, etc.)

- Add 1–2 conditioning sessions/week (burpees can fit here)

- Add progressive rucking only if it’s relevant to your pathway, and build slowly

Also, don’t ignore recovery. If burpees flare up wrists/shoulders/knees, switch to low-impact conditioning (bike/row if available, or step-ups) and consider a coach or PT for movement screening. The best plan is the one you can do consistently for months.

Burpees show up around SOF prep circles because they’re simple, miserable, and easy to scale. But the bigger SOF prep picture is: can you move under load for hours, can you run, can you swim (for some pipelines), can you recover day after day, and can you stay uninjured.

In many selection prep programs, burpees are used as a quick “smoke” between runs or calisthenics—basically to simulate getting worked while smoked. Useful? Yes, for grit and transitions.

But if someone is doing 300 burpees a day and calling it “selection prep,” that’s cosplay. Better is controlled sets inside a balanced plan: pullups, pushups, squats/lunges, running, and rucking progression. Burpees are a spice—too much ruins the meal.

Fieldcraft-wise, the value of burpees is general work capacity for ugly tasks: digging a fighting position, hauling water, moving wood, building a shelter, repeated kneel-stand cycles while wearing a pack.

But the outdoors also punishes avoidable injuries. If you’re training for being useful in the field, I’d rather see a mix of:

- loaded carries (even just a backpack)

- step-ups (mimics uneven terrain)

- crawling drills sometimes (controlled)

- steady cardio for long days

Burpees are fine on flat ground, but they’re not a substitute for time on feet and load management. Keep them technical and stop before you start slamming into the ground—field readiness is about durability, not just suffering.

Burpees are useful less because of any specific combat requirement and more because militaries need scalable, standardized, low-cost training that can be done anywhere. That’s why you see calisthenics survive across budget cycles and across very different force structures.

Modern conflicts show two parallel demands: elite units needing high-end endurance and resilience, and conventional forces needing broad readiness at scale. Burpees fit the “at scale” part—easy to teach, easy to measure, easy to integrate into group PT.

Individually, though, the best ROI is still building a base (aerobic fitness, strength, and load carriage). Burpees can help maintain conditioning when your time, equipment, or environment is constrained, which is increasingly common in today’s operational tempo.

In engineer and support units, the job is often repetitive work under time pressure: lifting, carrying, shoveling, setting up obstacles, moving supplies. Burpees mimic the “up-down + breathe hard + keep working” rhythm, but they don’t build the specific capacity you need for sustained manual labor.

If your aim is to be useful on the ground, combine:

- strength for hinge/squat and upper back

- carries (sandbag/backpack)

- step-ups for legs and knees

- a steady aerobic base

Then add burpees as short interval conditioning once or twice a week. Think of them as a fast way to stress your engine, not as the foundation of your “work strength.”

I’m kind of in the same spot as you (home workouts, not much equipment). Burpees definitely make me feel “military fit” but I also can’t tell if it’s actually helping my run time or just making me tired.

Do you guys do the pushup part every rep or do a simpler version? And how many is considered a good number without overdoing it? I get wrist soreness if I do them a lot, so I’ve been swapping some days for mountain climbers or step-ups on a sturdy chair.

If you model “military fitness” as a set of tasks, burpees score high on generality but low on specificity. They touch multiple domains: anaerobic capacity, trunk stiffness under fatigue, and rapid transitions. That’s why they feel so transferable.

But in most realistic task lists—ruck for distance, sprint to cover, drag/carry, climb, repeated short efforts over hours—the limiting factors are usually (1) aerobic base and (2) strength-endurance under load. Burpees train the short-effort piece, but not the loaded piece.

So I’d place them as an accessory conditioning node in your training graph: they improve your “burst and recover” loop, which supports everything else. Just keep the main effort aimed at the highest-probability tasks: running progression, rucking progression (if relevant), and strength work.

Even with exoskeletons and robotics entering logistics and combat support, the human still ends up doing a lot of transitions: kneel/stand, prone/stand, getting in and out of vehicles, moving around sensors and robots, and working in confined spaces.

Burpees are a crude proxy for “transition efficiency under fatigue.” If you want to future-proof the benefit, focus on clean movement: controlled drop, stable trunk, solid push, efficient stand. Speed comes after.

Where tech changes the equation is load distribution—assisted carry might reduce some strain, but it won’t eliminate the need for conditioning and durability. So yes, burpees can be useful, but pair them with mobility/stability and progressive load work so your body can handle the real-world friction of kit and terrain.