100 Burpees For Time – CrossFit Tips, Tricks, and Times

Here’s how it went the first time I tried 100 Burpees For Time:

A buddy mentioned he was going to give “100 Burpees For Time” a shot. Huh.  Never tried it.  I don’t fear burpees.  Sure, I’ll give it a go…

First 20: I’m flying!  What’s the world record for this workout?
Rep count 30: Uh, I’m not even half way…
Rep count 40: I can’t remember what the range of motion is for a burpee. Does it involve sitting?
Rep count 50-100: (I’m not going to bother describing the rest.  It wasn’t pretty.)

In the end I managed to complete the 100 burpees in 7:05.  The next day I realized I had a bruise on my chin from the repeated impacts.  Ouch.

Strategy:

Most people make the same mistake I did and come screaming out of the gate on this workout redlining their body and turning themselves into a staggering mess before they get half way.

The good news is that the straightforward nature of 100 Burpees For Time lends itself to a very simple and effective strategy. Identify how fast you’d like to complete the workout, determine the number of burpees per minute you’ll need and then stick to that pace.  During the first few minutes you may feel odd going slower than needed or resting for ten to fifteen seconds if you finish the required number of burpees per minute early. Stick to your pace! Do not accelerate just because you finished a little early.

Pacing Guide:

Burpees Per Minute Target Finish Time
5 20:00.0
6 16:40.0
7 14:17.1
8 12:30.0
9 11:06.7
10 10:00.0
11 09:05.5
12 08:20.0
13 07:41.5
14 07:08.6
15 06:40.0
16 06:15.0
17 05:52.9
18 05:33.3
19 05:15.8
20 05:00.0
21 04:45.7
22 04:32.7
23 04:20.9
24 04:10.0
25 04:00.0
26 03:50.8
27 03:42.2
28 03:34.3
29 03:26.9
30 03:20.0
31 03:13.5
32 03:07.5
33 03:01.8
34 02:56.5
35 02:51.4
36 02:46.7
37 02:42.2
38 02:37.9
39 02:33.8
40 02:30.0

 

What To Expect

The required range of motion is a factor but most athletes go with the chest and hips touching the ground, then a small hop and clap with your hands overhead. This is similar to the standard used during the 2012 CrossFit Games Open.

+11 Minutes Beginner
7-11 Minutes Intermediate
5:45-7 Minutes Advanced
5:45 Minutes or less Elite

Bottom line

This workout is predominantly mental.  You will become extremely uncomfortable.  The difference between individuals’ scores will primarily be dictated by how long each individual rested during the one hundred burpees.  Start too fast and you will require significantly more rest than if you paced yourself.

Tactic:  Here’s the bad news: stopping at various points in the workout is not going make things any easier (despite what your brain is screaming).  Here’s the good news: since stopping isn’t going to help, stick to your plan and power through (again, despite what your brain is screaming).  While your friends are gasping with their hands on their knees, you keep moving.  Steady work will win this race.  The crux of the problem is that once your heart rate becomes significantly elevated, stopping between reps will not provide any significant recovery.  Stopping  for five seconds, ten seconds, or even thirty seconds will not provide any relief from the discomfort.  Focus on the fact that you will be able to rest for an extended period once the workout is complete.

Got another tip for this workout?  Did this one work for you? Did you beat my 7:05 time for your first time?  Leave a note in the comments!

By Phil

Phil is the media wizard behind the brilliant FuncThat. He discovered CrossFit in 2009 and has been hooked ever since. He eagerly awaits the day CrossFit adds weight and age classes to the Games since he's confident he could dominate the 125 pound, 38 year old male division (as long as double unders aren't included). You can follow Phil and FuncThat on pretty much every social media platform ever. Here's a summarized list: Google+, Twitter, Facebook. If you're looking for help setting up your affiliate's site or need a hand with your social media you can contact Phil at psteffek@functhat.com

70 comments

  1. I got 7:27 when I did it back in September. I did it exactly like you did and you’re so right. Resting during it isn’t worth it, it just prolongs the suck. I think I’ll do it again in November and work to focus more on starting with a sustainable pace and keeping it going throughout instead of sprinting through the first 20 and then wanting to die.

    Reply

    1. I hear ya Alix. I’m curious to try it; keeping a sustainable pace throughout. At 15 burpees per minute (*sounds* reasonable) you’d finish the WOD in 6:45, a very respectable time… Damn, I wasn’t planning on doing this again any time soon but now I want to know…

  2. Yea, 15 burpees a minute *sounds* reasonable. Until I realize that’s still 1 burpee every 4 seconds and that, while doable, doesn’t sound NEARLY as reasonable/sustainable…
    Let me know when you do it again!

    Reply

  3. yeah, i am in the army reserves where obviously fitness is a large component of what we do and a guy mentioned that if you can get under 7.30 theres something wrong
    i tried it and got 6.30 which i was fairly pleased with

    the bigger the jump out when you hit the ground the easier the whole workout is, it helps you maintain form

    Reply

  4. Hey this weekend I was at the beach with some buddies and I said to my friend lets do 50 burpees for time. He had never done them let alone 50 for any kind of time. He was up for the challenge so 3,2,1 away we went I finished in 1:32sec he was close behind at 2:12sec! Not bad for a first time so I decided to do a first timer for me and that was 100 for time! I was pretty amped up and I don’t fear burpees at all and I got 4:45sec!! Super excited can’t wait to try again and kill that time!

    Reply

  5. I just finished the 100 day burpee challenge. Starting time was 6:59. Did them for time 6 times during the challenge. Played with different strategies and you are right short rests doesn’t help much. My goal was under 5 min. On day 99 I got them in 4:53. It was Fran like misery. Awesome to reach my goal.

    Reply

  6. I got my PR yesterday, 100 burpees in 4:58, I wanted to die afterwords. Took about six months to get there super pumped on it.

    Reply

    1. Right on Carlos! I’d love to hear if you used any particular strategy for the workout or trains leading up to it…

  7. I have never done a burpee in my life and I had to do the 100 burpee challenge for the first time today and I got it in 6 minutes and 10 seconds. I feel like absolutely dying!

    Reply

  8. Reading all the comments here – looks people gathered here are from a bit more elite circle …
    I did 100 burpees 5 times so far and while i improved from 15 minutes to 10.40minutes … hearing a 7minutes as “start time that i improved later”.
    makes me feel that … i have a good way to go 🙂
    Wish me luck 🙂
    Gonna try that 13 emom burpees for 8minutes mark.

    Reply

    2. My current time 8:38 => 2.02 minutes improvement.
      A little trick i did was to do one leg variants when the body start screaming for rest.
      For me that happend around 70 so i did 10.
      The way to do it is – instead of jump with two legs forward is to move forward one leg like a lunge, set the foot firm, and then draw your other leg and jump up as usual.
      It is OK (according to crossfit games rules) – everything else is there – the jump up , the chest and quads on the ground.

      PS : a large part of the improvement played that i lost around 21 pounds of weight the past 2.5 months. Really helps with the movement.
      PS 2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS_E18DsqFA – Carl Paoli (known gymnastics trainer showing burpees technique , part 1-6)

    3. 6:56.
      Did a little trick – did not went to 100 burpees for time but went to 7 minutes amrap. I.e. time cap under my current max.
      I guess having a smaller time cap let me loose my head a bit and give more assuming “it will all be over soon”.

  9. Scraped under 6 mins on first go, which seems ok for an old bloke I thought. Did the ‘burnt out halfway through’ method though, so hoping to get closer to 5 mins with more sensible pacing.

    Reply

  10. 6:29:64 was my first try. I went in thinking “I can get down and up in 3 seconds, which would give me 20 a minute.” I reached 30 at 1:10 and knew I was going too fast!! I haven’t tried 100 in a while but I have been working on my one minute pace. I’ll have to test again soon and try your tips. Thanks for posting the level chart. It’s crazy to think how fast the Elite athletes complete 100!!

    Reply

  11. I just did 100 in 6:24. You’re absolutely right about taking breaks! You have to embrace the pain and keep on going. I stopped for a couple of breaths after 20 then thirty something. At that point I realized I had to keep going and finish without breaks because it wouldn’t really help!!
    Too bad I hadn’t read your article before I started. I’ll have to shoot for a time of 5:45 or less now!! Thanks for the tips.

    Reply

    1. Right on Stacey! 6:24 is not too shabby. Let me know when you get 5:45 🙂

    2. Wow , this is still very impressive time. Grats.
      I wonder what you are capable if you consider that slow 🙂

  12. Love the site. I started doing 100 burpees each morning about 2 1/2 years ago just before I went to work. It has taken me till today to be able to do all 100 without stopping. I managed 4:15! I couldn’t believe it. It is a huge mental game as you say. A lot of the times I have ended up burning out really early on.
    I’ve got a big spreadsheet at work which helps me to avoid missing any. But actually a really important thing is to make sure that you have rest days. My big break throughs have come when I’ve been forced to rest for a couple of days due to injury or circumstances.
    Now to see about pushing for the mystical sub 4:00 100 burpee time.

    Reply

  13. I did sets of 25 with 30 second rests in between and finished at 7:41. I then decided to slow my pace for an unbroken set a few weeks later and did it in 7:40. I’m going to try doing sets of 10 with 10 second breaks. Not sure if it will help.

    Reply

    2. So I ended up doing 20 then 20 second break, then 10 with 10 second breaks until 70. I did the last 30 unbroken. Finished at 7:17. So somewhat inconclusive.

    3. Hi Julia – Just saw this. 7:17 vs. 7:40 is close to a 10% improvement using your 10/10 method. I’d say that’s significant!

  16. Is that 100 Burpees or 100 Push-Up Burpees ?
    Anyways, before my C4 and 3 broken ribs injury I was able to do 100 PushUp Burpees just over 4 mins but nowdays, just before 6 mins mark. I am still recovering from my injury, my goal is to do 100 Pushup burpees under 4 mins. 🙂

    Reply

  17. I got 5:41 this morning – finished before everyone else so I was pretty happy with my time!

    Reply

  18. 100 in 4:50 this morning.

    I started with 30 a few months ago (the Spartan Race number, figured a good starting point), adding 1 each day.

    Once I got to 80, I just did 100 on the next go.

    Painful!

    Reply

  21. I am a PT and nutritionist/dietician my burpee zscore 6.05secinds can’t see to break that under 6 min but I get there but I am a tall lad standing at 6ft 5 in tall

    Reply

  22. Started the 100 burpee challenge a week ago. I am 43 & been doing crossfit for 2 years. So far 9:04 is my quickest. Going to use your advice and take no breaks, or atleast try.

    Reply

    1. Maaan , i don’t think i can keep the pace you kept 🙂 That is under 7 minutes for each 100 … No way i can survive that 🙂
      Good job!

  26. “Did you beat my 7:05 time for your first time?” Nope, not even on my 8th try. I’ve been doing these the past week to improve my mental and physical endurance. It went good for a couple days, shaving off a minute each time. Then I hit a wall with my time at 8:46. My body was sluggish for a few days after that, and with my poor mental strength, times got longer. So now I’m browsing the Internet for inspiration. Thanks for the post, pointing out that small rests won’t do much for feeling a recovery and I won’t die if I keep pressing on. I’ll give it a shot on my workout today.

    Reply

  27. First time I did this I got 7:30. Was pretty pleased but like you said I was taking a 10-15 second rest every 10 burpees. Over 2 weeks I got to 5:30 for my PR. I got to the point where I was doing a set of 35, 15, 15, 15, 10, 10. Minimal rest in between. If I do any more than 35 burpees on the first set my time gets worse, very minimal rest in between sets, maybe a second or 2 and then right back into it. Trying to beat get to 5:15 but haven’t hit my PR in a while. I was feeling really good that day I guess.

    Reply

    1. I’m doing these with a proper pushup in between, no floor bounce or chest touching the ground. Maybe that’s why it seems harder.

  28. Did this for the first time last week. 100 in 6:58 with push up. Aim is to get under 5:45. Used Tabata 20 sec on 10 second rest 14 cycles. That’s 7 mins.
    Will try doing without the rest next.

    Reply

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