There's no denying it's pretty dang empowering to stop, drop, and push your way through a few rounds of burpees. But this move isn't exactly easy, so it must be doing something amazing for your body.

As it turns out, all that jumping, pressing, and sweating makes burpees a fantastic full-body, functional exercise. It stimulates a fight or flight response within our bodies that can help us improve reaction time, mobility, and quality of life.

That's what makes the idea of a burpee challenge so appealing. What better way to whip yourself into shape from head-to-toe than 30 days of burpees?

The benefits of burpees are impressive

This badass move targets almost every muscle group in your body in microseconds. And if you do enough burpees in the long term, that can translate to major muscle sculpting, like stronger arms with triceps definition and toned legs, just to name a few perks.

The cardio benefits are also incredible. Burpees help you build strength and cardio endurance at the same time, which is why so many people turn to this exercise as a go-to for efficiency and productivity. All of a sudden bounding up and down the stairs in your house will feel a whole lot easier.

How to do a burpee

If you're new to the burpee: Start by squatting down with legs shoulder-width apart, put hands on floor, then step feet back one at a time. Hold the plank for a beat, then reverse the movement to return to start.

A common mistake among beginners: Putting a hand on your knee to help yourself stand up. Instead, keep your hands on the floor as you step the feet in, and work on standing up from that squat by squeezing your glutes.

If you're ready to do the perfect burpee: Start standing with feet together, squeeze glutes, then jump up, keeping toes pointed. As you land, jump back into a high plank position. Hold it for a beat, then jump back to start and then up in the air again. That's one rep.

While the standard version of this move is already a standout, here’s a 30-day burpee challenge designed to help you level-up your burpee game and improve your strength and cardio endurance as a result.

Your 30-day burpee challenge plan

The challenge is simple. Complete the amount of burpees listed below for each day. At times, this will be unpleasant, but after 30 days, you’ll be a new person. You'll be leaner, stronger and really, really good at burpees.

The beauty of this burpee challenge is that it’s scaleable – it’s based on your current fitness level, established by the test on day one. Push as hard as you can on day one and then again on the final burpee test – you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come in 30 days.

Day 1 – Max number in two min (test)

Day 2 – 25 per cent of test every two minutes, complete four times

Day 3 – 25 per cent of test every two minutes, complete five times

Day 4 – 50 burpees for time (as quickly as possible)

Day 5 – One burpee every 10 seconds for five minutes

Day 6 – Rest day (or complete any days missed)

Day 7 – 50 per cent of test then rest two minutes, complete three times

Day 8 – 10 burpees for time, rest two minutes, complete three times

Day 9 – 25 per cent of test every 90 seconds, complete four times

Day 10 – 60 burpees for time

Day 11 – Rest day (or complete any days missed)

Day 12 – 15 burpees for time, rest three minutes, complete three times

Day 13 – 25 per cent of test every two minutes, complete five times

Day 14 – 20 burpees for time

Day 15 – Ascending burpees (First minute, one burpee; second minute, two burpees; etc.) to failure

Day 16 – Rest day (or complete any days missed)

Day 17 – Max burpees in 60 seconds

Day 18 – 15 burpees, rest 60 seconds, complete five times

Day 19 – 25 per cent of test every two minutes, complete four times

Day 20 – 60 burpees for time

Day 21 – Rest day (or complete any days missed)

Day 22 – 15 burpees for time, rest three minutes, complete three times

Day 23 – Tabata burpees: 20 seconds all out, 10 seconds rest, complete eight times

Day 24 – Rest day (or complete any days missed)

Day 25 – 50 burpees for time (go quicker than day four)

Day 26 – Five burpees every minute for 10 minutes

Day 27 – 25 per cent (of test) every two minutes, complete four times

Day 28 – Rest day (or complete any days missed)

Day 29 – 20 burpees, one every 10 seconds

Day 30 – Retest max number of burpees in two minutes