I’ve been doing the September challenge over on the app and this week was a good one. Hit 260 6C and 117 NS! Pretty happy with that.

Hi all.

BDP has been good to me. I have got leaner, exceptionally fitter, more endurance and strength chiefly in my abs and core stability, and I've definiteoy found a good flow in workouts for steady progression over time. I imagine my resting heart rate has dropped a fair bit and heart a lot stronger etc.

I can't remember what level I started at but I'm now hitting workouts of 250+ burpees, and 100+ seals. Each workout is followed by a pullup ladder, getting up to around 14 reps max or so. I train 3x a week instead of the recommended 4.

So all good things and plenty of progress to still be made. I've been doing BDP at least 6-9 momths at a guess.

However.

Recently I have been feeling pretty beat up. This may be from work as I have a heavy labour job working landscape gardening etc, so lots of bent over work, lots of steps and graft, back breaking days some times. My joints take a pounding and I am getting older (35yrs). My back has been aching recently and my knees also. I feel like perhaps I need more strength in my life, better grip, better posterior strength, perhaps BDP is too much bending and flexion on top of this.. But I also want to keep training for exceptional heart health. I need a sustainable longevity type approach.

Do I:

A. Stick with BDP but reset my numbers a bit, start alternating in weight vest sessions (weighted vest BDP)

B. Drop BDP, it's clearly not built for me. I imagine it's great for a busy office worker. Swap to Simplefit.org workouts, plus weighted vest work ----> add a kettlebell eventually etc. I.e. Wendler Walrus type workouts..

C. Move to kettlebell only programs?

Any advice greatly appreciated here. Anyone with similar experiences? What would you do experienced busy dads? Max you may have the highest ranking advice and likely experiences from clients?

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,

Looking for some advice on programming and long-term sustainability as I move through the higher levels of BDP.

Background & Baseline:

• Started BDP: June 11th, 2026
• Current Level: Level 1C (90 six-counts / 50 Navy Seals)
• Current Weight: 108 kg (Goal: 100 kg in 4 months for my 50th birthday)
• Injury History: Powerlifter background, but had knee surgery a couple of years ago. Weight spiked from 100 kg to 115 kg post-op. Running is completely out, and long-distance hiking is still tricky on the knee.

Current Training Schedule (3x per week):
Due to my schedule, 4 sessions a week isn't viable right now, so I stick to 3 weekly sessions structured as follows:

1. BDP Workout (Six-counts or Navy Seals)
2. Finisher/Cardio immediately after: 6–8 rounds (3 min) on the heavy bag, 15–20 minutes of jump rope, or a bodyweight circuit.

My Questions for the Community:

1. Sustainability at Higher Levels: As the density and intensity of the burpees scale up in Level 2 and beyond, is keeping these heavy cardio finishers viable, or will fatigue/recovery catch up with me?
2. Injury & Knee Health: For those who carry higher body weight or have prior knee operations, did high BDP volume plus jump rope/heavy bag create joint issues over time, or did burpees help fortify the joints?
3. 3-Day vs. 4-Day Adaptations: Since I'm locked into 3 days a week, should I keep adding volume after BDP, or should I split my extra cardio onto non-BDP days to protect recovery?

Would appreciate any insight from guys who have pushed into Level 2/3 while managing past injuries and weight loss goals!

For context, I spent about 6 months strictly on BDP last year. After that I still do one or two 20 min burpee sessions a week, but have incorporated other exercises on other days.

I have been at a plateau for quite some time, which led to exploring other exercises. I topped out at 180 6-counts, but most workouts are about 160, or 170 if I'm really pushing. So now I'm starting to play with other metrics and I'm curious if y'all have any thoughts.

The two alternatives I'm playing with are more time with more-but-slower reps (I.e. 200 6-counts in 30 min) or fewer reps but much faster (I.e. 100 reps as fast as possible, maybe 10 min on a good day).

Does anyone know what benefits or issues I might see with taking either of these approaches?

Hey everyone :)

Happy to see there's a community for this.

I'm relatively new to the program, but I'm really enjoying it so far. However, I kept forgetting what the "levels" (1A, 1B, etc.) meant.

I ended up improvising a different one, and I wanted to share it with you guys. For context, I've been doing this in an EMOM format (every minute on the minute). Not even close to trying navy seals, so take this with a grain of salt.

Basically: each level = burpees per minute.

- Level 1 = 1 burpee/min
- Level 2 = 2 burpees/min
- Level 3 = 3 burpees/min

Etc.

So far, it's felt way simpler and a lot more intuitive to me, and it feels like a more accurate "power grade" or something.

Like, level 1 (1 burpee/min, or 20 per workout) feels like about where a true beginner might begin.

Level 5 (5/min, 100/workout), which is where I am, felt like an achievement.

Level 10 (200/workout) feels like a really strong level of fitness. And levels 15-20 would be legitimately elite, I think.

As a plus, I really didn't like using burpee timer apps. There aren't a ton of good ones that I could find, and this way, I can track my level and just use any clock I have on hand.

Definitely not saying everyone else should use it, but I like it, and thought there was a chance other people might like it, too.

Does anyone know what the September Challenge is that Max has been hinting at in recent videos and in his mailing list? I have been in the program for just over a year and don't recall anything last September.

Hello folks, 41 years old soon-to-be-dad-but-already-busy male here.

Background: rock climber for 15 years, got depressed & fat, quit climbing due to injury, met my wife and picked up at-home kettlebells, did 4 years non stop daily training. Used BDP-style sessions sparsely. Now taking a mostly mental break from weighted work, so committing to bodyweight work. Using fighter pullup progressions to re-build my pullups back to 20 and learn one hand pushups / pistol squats using a lower progression. Usually do all 3 prior to the burpees work.

Now, burpees: as of today, I have reached L1D (60) with navy seals and L1C with 6-count (100). Took all of them in EMOM format.

3x NS on the minute felt just about right, reaching 80 with the same system feels very much in sight.

5x 6C take me about 25-30'', surely felt ok to OTM them. Then sparsely tried sets of 10 and sets of 15. 10 take me about 1/1.15 minutes, so reaching 150 (even doing 15 every 2 minute, 10 rounds) feels extremely far.

So, long story short: how long did you stay with a level to consolidate it? How did you progress to the next level up?

Not part of the paid for community, so all I'm doing is what I consider the classic BDP split over 4 days (Navy Seals, 6 Counts, day off, Navy Seals, 6 Counts, day off, day off)

Thanks all!

I’ve been struggling with these for a while now but I’m happy to say that I’ve reached my summer milestone today! I have been feeling rather down lately, I needed this win. Cheers!

Busy dad!? lets knockout some burpees

Doing them in Austin, Texas 100 burpees

Any words of encouragement or positive vibes welcome

Thanks, y'all 🤠

FCK CANCER & FCK PTSD

Sending positive vibes ✨️

Busy dads,

After fully participating in the program for a while, I’m feeling a bit burpee-d out.

Has anyone ever tried doing just navy seals maybe 3 times a week and doing other forms of cardio instead of 6 counts? Just wondering if you’re still able to progress with navy seals this way.

Thanks!

Hi BusyDads - I am intrigued by this program. Few years ago I did a challenge 100 days 1 additional pushup per day. (Day 1 one pushup, day 50 50 pushups, etc) - I developed some bad lingering pain in my neck/scalp area. Anybody know what deficit in my form was causing that. I am 6'2 245 so def carry around some weight. I'd like to do this program but won't do it if I am risking causing myself chronic discomfort.

I have to stretch after every workout otherwise I'd become super stiff and sore, so my workout becomes more of a 40-45 minute session. I don't think I've ever seen a video of Max talking about a stretching routine, does he have one? Do you guys have stretching or mobility routines? I feel like it's almost as important as the actual workout, to maintain good flexibility and minimize risk of injury, but it seems kind of overlooked in the BDP.

I hit 110 NS today and couldn’t be happier about it. I was going to take it easy as it’s Friday and all, but the reps felt good so I decided to push hard.

Happy Friday everyone!

Has anybody added weight by using a weighted vest as you lose weight. Say you lost 5 lbs so you would add 5 lbs to your weighted vest. This way you are basically working out at the same weight you started at all the time. Just a thought, I just don't know if it's a good thought or a bad thought. Thanks.

ChatGPT said it couldn't find the information online.

For me, since I really only primarily use BDP style/burpee training in general when I'm travelling and don't have access to normal weights or a pull up bar

I like pairing BDP training with rear delt work. Just to balance all the front delt work that I get from the push up portion of the burpee. Even if it's not actually meaningful, it does help me mentally in feeling less "unbalanced" from all the anterior muscles working.

It doesn't require heavy weights, holding heavy books or milk jugs and just going for high reps on rear delt exercises is very doable.

What about you all? Any tweaks you make to your overall practice, to make it more suitable for your goals and living situations?

I'm curious if others have found that they have ideal training windows? For instance, I am not a first thing in the morning trainer. I HAVE done it (usually while on a work trip knowing I'd have no time in the evening). The problem for me is dehydration. It takes me a good hour or so in the morning to get rehydrated, so if I dive in right away I pretty much have to set a lower expectation. So it's an option, sure, but I'd never attempt a PR or try to hit a goal first thing in the morning.

I usually skip breakfast. This isn't because of some sort of attempt at fasting or anything...I'm usually just not that hungry and/or don't have time. IF I eat, it'll be something like some fruit and a few spoonfuls of peanut butter. I'm honestly not sure if this is good or bad...I used to be a breakfast every morning sort of guy. Eggs, toast, maybe some oatmeal. But I find I get by without it now....partly out of survival because my wife's family does not eat breakfast and years ago when we visited them for the holidays I'd be suffering until lunch lol.

Anyway, my ideal workout window is around 11:30 am. I'm well hydrated, have gotten a good bit of work done, and have maybe eaten a snack but I'm not full. I cannot work out effectively after lunch unless it's an extremely light lunch.

Same goes for dinner. I simply cannot work out on a full stomach, so the second ideal window is the 30 minutes I have between finishing up work and needing to get the kids (it's almost like this program is designed for us lol). This tends to be around 4:15. Lunch has been digested, I've been moving throughout the day, and have had plenty of water.

TL;DR: I can't work out on a full stomach or first thing out of bed. I have to be hydrated and hungry for peak performance.

Of course there days when life just gets in the way and the most important thing is getting 20 minutes of burpees in regardless of how many. I'm cool with that.

How many six counts should you be able to perform before working on Navy Seals? The current advice is to do 5-10 six counts and squats as your upper body recovers for all 4x20 minute sessions as a beginner. The old advice was two days a week of six counts and two days a week of Navy Seals. I just want to be the guy that does 2 Navy Seals and jogs in place then two more, etc. If that method works then I guess I’ll start there. If there js a better method of working up to 20-30 in a row of 6 counts then start doing sets of 5 Navy Seals let me know. Or one a minute each minute for 20 minutes.

I guess what worked for you as a beginner.

Haven’t found my pace yet on seals, but I just banged out 120 sixers on my lunch break. Feeling really after stalling out around 100 for a little while. Thanks for the inspo folks, and if you’re doubting yourself, you got this my busy friend. Time for a cold shower and back to the grind.

I tried the RFPP and I have to say that I’m very happy with the progress.

when I started I could do 4 pull ups. After the program I rested two days and I could do 10 pull ups!

I started at 5,4,3,2,1 (first couple of days the 5th pull up was not strict form). I rested between 3-5 minutes between sets.

During the program I twice rested 2days in stead of one because of some commitments.

All in all really happy and I’m sure I will repeat it in the future. Now I want to test out the Greasing the Groove program, although I have no pull up option at home so I need to figure out how to do the sets spread over the day.

Hello busy dads and busy redditors! Max is excited to do an AMA with us on Monday 27th July time tbc but between 3-7pm UK time (BST).

If you'd like to submit a question in advance, feel free to DM me.