The Burpee Workout That Special Forces Soldiers Use to Get Insanely Fit

All you need is 20 minutes and a floor - by Bobby Maximus

Imagine you’re in a prison cell, confined by four walls. You have a bed, a sink, a toilet, and nothing else. When your cell door opens and it’s time to go to the yard, your safety depends on your fitness.

This is the perfect workout you’d want to do.

It’s not for the faint of heart, but it has an incredible ability to give you strength, speed, and insane endurance. Those are all skills that make you harder to take down. That’s why I’d do it when I was fighting in the UFC, and why I give it to the Special Forces soldiers that I train at Gym Jones, where I’m the general manager.

Do this workout as quickly as you can, but make sure to use strict form. If you can finish in 15 minutes or less, you may be able to claim the title of “the hardest man in the yard.” And if you like this workout - and learning how fitness can make you mentally tougher - check out my new Men’s Health book Maximus Body, which features 100+ workouts and thousands of secrets for hacking your fitness.

Directions: Stand in one corner of a room. Do 20 burpees. Now run to another corner of the room and do 19 burpees. Run to another corner and do 18. Repeat the pattern until you reach 1 burpee. Rest only as needed.

This article was originally published on MensHealth.com