The Life of a Busy Student: 30 Burpees for 15 Days

At the end of December, I was looking for some sort of activity to get me eased into working out, but not something that required a half hour dedication with a full meal plan to follow. I ended up stumbling upon a pin on Pinterest about doing 30 burpees every day for 15 days. The lady who did it there said she did 3 sets of 10 burpees. For the first three days, she rested for 1 minute between sets, the next three days 45 second rests, the next three days 30 second rests, the next three days 15 second rests, and the final three days there was no rest.

After reading about it, I decided that it was something I could do. I did 30 burpees for 15 days, and here's what I found out...

1. Burpees are not the kind of move that get easier the more you practice them.

Don't get me wrong, they do get a little easier over time, but they are still a challenge. The first three days weren't too bad, that one minute break between sets really helped. Days 4-6 also went pretty well, and Dusty informed me that 45 seconds is the recommended rest period between sets. Days 7-9 got a little harder, 30 seconds did not seem to give me enough time to catch my breath between sets. Days 10-12 were difficult, if I didn't stand next to my timer, my break would go about 3 seconds too long. Days 13-15 were the hardest, I'm not sure I will ever do 30 consecutive burpees for any reason in the future.

2. Burpees are truly a total body move.

By day three, my obliques were hurting and I don't even understand how they are involved in this move. Throughout the 15 days, I had next-day soreness in my thighs, shoulders, and abdominal muscles.

3. I had more energy.

Most days, I did the burpees first thing in the morning. Some days it required a commitment because I had to be at work at 7am. When I was able to do the burpees before work, I felt much more energized on my drive to work and throughout my 10 hour day. Yes, a couple of days I pushed them off until evening (hello New Years), but I still got them in.

4. They're not the move if you're looking for a "quick fix."

I had no intentions of changing my eating habits, or even watching what I ate for the duration of this. I also didn't have any other supplemental workout, aside from walking around, which wasn't any more than normal. I'm not one who pays much attention to the scale, but I figured it would be cool to see how my body weight fluctuated over the 15 days. I started December 27, 2017 at 163.0 pounds, and throughout the challenge I ranged from 162.8 pounds to 168.4 pounds. When I finished the challenge, I weighed pounds 164.4 pounds.