While burpees and deadlifts might be two of the most dreaded exercises, they're also two of the most effective.
"The deadlift is one of the best weighted full-body exercises you can perform," says Kollins Ezekh, personal trainer and creator of Built By God TV. "And the burpee with push-up is the ultimate body-weight exercise."
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Together, they're a fitness powerhouse. Both are compound exercises that require all your major muscle groups to engage. Plus, while deadlifts focus on developing full-body strength (especially on the back of your body, aka your posterior chain), burpees are an explosive exercise that let you tap into the benefits of HIIT like increased calorie burn and improved cardio endurance, Ezekh says.
How to Do This Workout
Perform the workout below, designed by Ezekh, by combining these two exercises into a superset, meaning back-to-back with little to no rest in between moves.
Start with 10 reps of each, then do one fewer rep with each set until you reach 1 rep of each (i.e. 10 deadlifts, 10 burpees, 9 deadlifts, 9 burpees, 8 deadlifts, 8 burpees, and so on).
In total, you'll be doing 110 reps — 55 deadlifts and 55 burpees. "This workout will engage almost all muscles in your body and get your shredded," Ezekh says. Because it's so intense, aim to do it just once a week as part of a varied exercise routine, he says.
Move 1: Deadlift
- Stand with your feet outside your shoulders. Point your toes out slightly.
- Stick your hips back and bend forward to grab the barbell (or you can use two dumbbells) with both hands, using an overhand grip.
- Hinge at the hips, flatten your back and pull the bar off the ground until you're standing straight up.
- Lower it back down to the ground under control with your back flat.
Tip
"Start with just your body weight or lighter resistance according to your fitness level and experience with the exercise," Ezekh says.
Move 2: Burpee
- Begin by pushing your hips back and down while maintaining a flat back.
- Lower your hands to the ground underneath your shoulders, kick both feet back and land in a plank position with your shoulders, hips and ankles in a straight line.
- Perform a push-up, keeping your elbows at a 45-degree angle from your body and maintaining alignment.
- Jump your feet back underneath your hips and stand up with a flat back.
- Immediately transition into a jump straight up, arms overhead.
- Land softly with your hips back and knees in line with your feet and hips.