This 30-minute barbell and burpee workout is fun, challenging and great for building strength and conditioning! All you need is a timer, a barbell and weights and space for burpees.

Written details for a 30-minute barbell and burpee workout.

Suggested Warm-Up

Do your own warm-up or complete this before starting the workout.

Complete 2 rounds:

  • 30 seconds jog in place or shuttle run
  • 20 jumping jacks
  • 30 high knees
  • 10 air squats
  • 5 inchworms to upward dog stretch
  • 20 mountain climbers
  • 5 burpees

Complete 2 rounds with just the bar (no added weight):

  • 5 deadlifts
  • 5 power cleans
  • 5 push press
  • 5 thrusters

After that, build up to the weight you plan to do the workout at and then get started!

Workout Details

Every 2:30 minutes for 30 minutes, complete each set as fast as possible:

  1. 20 deadlifts + 10 burpees + 10 air squats
  2. 10 power cleans + 10 burpees + 10 air squats
  3. 10 push press + 10 burpees + 10 air squats
  4. 10 thrusters + 10 burpees + 10 air squats

Tip: Download the Smartwod Timer app and set the EMOM timer for every 2:30 minutes for 30 minutes.

How it Works: Start a timer and do 20 deadlifts, 10 burpees and 10 air squats as fast as possible. Rest until 2:30. At 2:30, do 10 power cleans, 10 burpees and 10 air squats as fast as possible. Rest until 5:00. At 5:00, do 10 push press, 10 burpees and 10 air squats as fast as possible. Rest until 7:30. At 7:30, do 10 thrusters, 10 burpees and 10 air squats as fast as possible. Rest until 10:00. Repeat for 3 rounds, or 30 minutes total.

Workout Tips

  • Suggested weight: I used 85 lb. for this workout, which was hard but doable. Recommended weight is 65-85 lb. for ladies and 95-115 lb. for men.
  • Choose a weight that is challenging but will allow you to complete the barbell work in one quick set without rest. You should be able to move the bar quickly and efficiently with go form and go straight into the burpees once you’re done.
  • Each round is meant to be a sprint. Move fast!
  • You should be getting roughly 1-minute of rest per round.
  • Feeling like some extra spice? Add another round bringing it to 4 total rounds in 40 minutes. Whew!

Dumbbell Version

No barbell? No problem! This workout can be modified for dumbells. The format will be the same.

Every 2:30 minutes for 30 minutes, complete:

  1. 20 DB deadlifts + 10 burpees + 10 air squats
  2. 10 DB hang power cleans + 10 burpees + 10 air squats
  3. 10 DB push press + 10 burpees + 10 air squats
  4. 10 DB thrusters + 10 burpees + 10 air squats

Weight Suggestion: If you only have a set of lighter dumbbells (approx. 20 lbs.), use two for everything. If you only have heavier dumbbells (approx. 35-50 lbs.), do 5 single-arm dumbbell hang cleans per arm, 5 single-arm push press per arm and 5 single-arm thrusters per arm.

Quick Tip: Same goes as for the barbell, the weight should be challenging but you should be able to move quickly and efficiently with good form, so choose accordingly.

Beginner Version and Tips

Here are a few options for adjusting this workout to suit your fitness level:

  • Adjust the time. Keep the reps the same but increase the time to every 3:00 minutes. Complete 2-3 total rounds.
  • Adjust the reps. Keep the time the same but decrease the reps of all movements by 2 (8 power cleans, 8 burpees, 8 squats).
  • Use a lighter weight. Remember, you want to be able to do each set of barbell movements quickly and efficiently without rest. If you’re having to rest every few reps, it’s too heavy.

More Workouts to Try