Burpee — Rep Rate

Why this matters

The burpee broad jump is the most metabolically expensive station in Hyrox — a full chest-to-floor down, a stand, and a forward jump, repeated for 80 m. Rep rate is the single best pacing read because the dominant mistake here is going out too hard: a rate that's sustainable for the first 20 m and impossible for the last 20. Unlike a row or ski where you can hide on the machine, every burpee is a max-ish whole-body effort, so a rate above the sustainable window cashes out as a forced walk later in the lane. The whole game is finding a metronomic rate you can hold to the final rep.

Because each rep also covers ground (the broad jump), rep rate and jump distance trade off — a longer jump means fewer, harder reps to cover the 80 m; a shorter jump means more, lighter reps. The fastest split is whichever combination the athlete can hold without redlining.

How it's measured here — and the slow-motion trap

This is a windowed count. Scrub to the start of a clean rep (e.g. the moment of ground contact) to open the window, scrub to the same point of a later rep to close it, count the reps between. Rate = reps ÷ window-seconds × 60.

If the clip is phone slow-motion (120/240 fps captured, 30 fps timestamps), an uncorrected rate reads 4–8× low. Set Capture FPS in the Clip Inspector to the true capture rate so the tool rescales to real time.

What good looks like

9–15 reps/min held steady across the 80 m, the same unhurried rhythm at the last rep as the first. Consistency beats a fast start every time on this station.

Common faults

• Conservative (< 9 reps/min) — safe but slow; sustainable, but likely costing time. If form is solid there's room to lift the rate.
• Above redline (> 15 reps/min) — sprint pace, rarely holdable across the full 80 m. The athlete who starts here almost always pays it back with a mid-lane stall. Settle into a pace you can hold to the last rep.
• Decaying rate — a strong open that fades is the classic burpee pacing error; the start window reads "high", the end window "conservative".

Coaching cues

• "Pick a rhythm you could hold for double the distance — then hold exactly that."
• "Breathe on the stand." A consistent breath cadence anchors a consistent rep rate.

Related measurements

• Launch Vector at Take-Off — the jump efficiency that sets how much ground each rep buys.
• Landing Knee Flexion — soft, controlled landings are what make a high rep rate repeatable rather than jarring.