For this basic gym necessity, you shouldn't settle for anything other than perfect form.Let Men's Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. and associate fitness editor Brett Williams guide you through the move's subtleties, saving you from the bad habits that are keeping you from unlocking your fitness potential.

Just remember to make sure you have enough room to jump around and get sweatyyou don't want to slip up and hit the deck too hard.

Jump Efficiently

Eb says: When you're doing burpees, think of getting off the ground as "efficiently" as possible. Note that I didn't say "quickly." If you focus only on quickness, but you're not hitting efficient positions, you're going to leak and waste energy. By default, you won't get up as quickly as you want to. And if you're wasting a ton of energy on each rep, it'll slow you down and fatigue you faster as you pile up reps and work time.

Hit the Ground Strong

Eb says: Never be a jellyfish on the ground when doing burpees. Remember that that straight-body position, which you hit once when you put your hands and feet on the ground and then again when you lower your chest to the ground from there, is meant to be a plank. That means your abs are fired up and your glutes are contracted. You'll be much faster through both phases if you keep your core fired up, and you'll be protecting your spine and staving off any lower back injuries, too.

Keep a Wide Base

Eb says: Always think "feet wide" when doing burpeesas in, at least shoulder-width apart at all times. Essentially, you want your feet constantly at a width from which you can jump. So when you lower your torso to the ground, and you're in that plank, they're wide. When you leap your feet back towards your hands, they're wide, too. Do this, and when it's time to jump, you won't have to waste any time getting into optimal position to jump -- because you're already there.

Own Your Jump

Eb says: Own the jump on the burpee. That doesn't necessarily mean jumping sky-high, but it does mean really jumping (as opposed to the bunny hops I see too many people doing. Explode from your ankles, knees, and hips on every jump. A burpee is a valuable opportunity to train triple extension (the same thing that athletes train, and the same thing you train when you're doing a power clean), so don't waste that in the quest to do zounds of reps faster than everyone else.

6 Killer Burpee Variations

Once your master the basic form, try these variations for another challenge.

Tuck Jump Burpee

This variation is all about the jump. Start as you would for a standard burpeesquat down with your hands on the ground inside your feet, kick back into a pushup position with your feet wide and hit the deck. Then leap your feet forward,but focus even more on exploding upwards out of the hole than you typically would in a normal rep. As you leap, bend your knees and bring them to your chest, tucking at the top, before extending your legs to land safely.

Hand Release Burpee

Youll slow down and focus more on your time on the floor with this variationwhich can be a great tendency-breaker if youre rushing through your standard reps. Youll also add some back work to the burpee, engaging lats and rhomboids when you lift your hands off the ground and squeeze your shoulder blades. If theres a criticism with the burpee, its that the move can batter your shoulders, but the hand-release moment helps offset that. Move through the first steps of the standard burpee, but pause once your chest hits the deck. Raise both hands off the floor for a full beat, then press back down into the floor to raise up through the jump.

Burpee to Jump Lunge

Swap out the pure explosiveness of the standard burpee for a more controlled jump lunge. Go through all the first steps of the exercise, but once youre back on your feet, hop and cycle one leg forward, the other back, allowing your knee to lightly tap the ground (for your own sake, avoid slamming the floor). Immediately jump and switch your legs to the opposite side and repeat.

Single-Leg Burpee

This one is a toughie. Youll do the entire exercise on one leg, challenging your balance and unilateral strength. Understandably, you might not squat as low as you would in a standard rep to get into position. Make sure to move more slowly and deliberately here to stay steady on that one foot and focus on control; dont let your knee cave inwards at any point.

Burpee Switch

The Switch will put your coordination to the test, especially when you string several reps together in a set. Go through all of the movements of the standard burpeebut instead of jumping straight up, jump to turn around 180 degrees, land cleanly, and jump straight back to face the front.

Lateral Jump Burpee

Youll need even more floor space to take on this variation, but youll be doing something people dont do often enough and incorporating lateral work into your training. Youll perform a standard rep, until you get to the jump. Instead of leaping upwards, spring laterally to the side. Immediately squat down into the next repbut then, instead of using your jumps to travel even further around your gym, leap back to the starting spot.

Want to master even more moves? Check out our entire Form Check series .