Burpee Add-One Ladder | Friends

Quick Intro

Burpee Add-One Ladder starts small and does not stay that way. Two partners race three burpees. The partner who finishes second calls “one more”, and both race four. Then five, then six, one rep higher every round. The ladder keeps climbing until one partner calls a stop or the top rung agreed at the start is reached. The partner who finished first in more rounds wins.

The extra rep always applies to both partners. Coming second does not mean doing more work alone, only announcing the next rung. Even so, burpees are demanding enough that the ladder becomes hard surprisingly quickly.

The burpee, from standing down to the floor and back up through a jump, is taught at Burpees. This guide covers the game: racing clean reps, how fast the volume grows, the top rung, stopping and keeping landings safe.

What You’ll Need

Two people.
A cleared, non-slip floor with room for both side by side, about two metres each.
A phone or paper to track who wins each round.

How to Play

Agree the starting rung, the top rung and the rep standard.
Stand side by side, an arm’s length apart.
On “go”, both race the rung’s number of burpees with clean reps.
Whoever completes their last rep first and is standing upright wins the round.
The partner who finished second calls the next rung, one rep higher.
Rest for about 30 to 60 seconds.
Race the next rung. Keep going until a partner calls a stop or the top rung is raced.
The partner with more round wins takes the ladder.

How Fast the Reps Add Up

Each rung only adds one rep, so the climb feels gentle at first. The totals tell a different story:

Ladder	Burpees each
3 to 6	18
3 to 8	33
3 to 10	52
3 to 12	75

Seventy-five racing burpees, with short rests, is a very hard session for most people. This is why the top rung matters so much.

Agree the Top Rung First

Before the first race, agree the highest rung, based on both partners’ real conditioning. For most pairs, eight or ten is plenty. Once the top rung has been raced, the ladder is over, however good both partners feel.

Calling a Stop

Either partner can stop the ladder at any moment. The rounds already won decide the result, so stopping costs nothing except the races still to come. Calling a stop because the landings are getting heavy or the lower back is sagging in the floor position is the right call, and both partners respect it.

What Counts as a Clean Rep

Agree the standard before the first race:

Down: hands on the floor, feet back into a plank, chest and thighs to the floor.
Up: feet jump back under the hips, stand fully upright.
Jump: a small jump with the hands overhead.

A rep that misses part of the standard does not count, and the racer has to do it again. Racing invites shortcuts, so both partners watch each other’s reps as well as their own.

Making It Fair

The slower partner can do step-back burpees, stepping the feet back into the plank and forward again one at a time instead of jumping. It takes the impact out of the rep and makes the race closer. Agree it before starting. Training With a Friend covers more on handicaps for races.

Staying Safe

Landings first. As fatigue builds, landings from the jump get heavy and the drop to the floor gets sloppy. Watch for both, in yourself and in your partner.
A clear, non-slip floor.
Rest between rungs. Short is fine, but take it every round.
Stop at pain. Any pain in the wrists, shoulders, back or knees ends the ladder.
Warm up. A few slow burpees, squats and arm swings before the first race.

Common Mistakes

No top rung. The ladder climbs past the point where the reps are worth doing.
Racing half reps. They do not count.
Belly-flopping to the floor. Lower under control, with the hands taking the weight first.
Starting too high. Three is a good first rung. The ladder will get hard on its own.

Fitting It Into a Session

Burpee Add-One Ladder is a finisher. Put it at the end of a session, after strength work, when there is nothing left to save the legs and lungs for. One ladder is plenty. Building a Partner Session has more ideas on placing a hard finisher.

Getting Better Over Time

Note the top rung reached, who won each round and how the session felt. Over a few weeks, both partners reach the top rung with cleaner reps. When it starts to feel comfortable, raise it by one.

Loser’s Ladder — Squat Jump climbs the same kind of ladder with squat jumps.
Dare Ladder lets the round winner set the next rung.
Tabata Trade-off races burpee intervals with an extra interval for the loser.
Odd One Out — Burpee Count is a burpee game for a group where the most reps does not win.

FAQ

What happens if both partners finish at once?

Nobody wins the round, and the ladder climbs by one as usual.

Can we race with different burpee versions?

Only when it is the agreed handicap. Otherwise both partners use the same rep standard.

How long should the rest between rungs be?

Thirty seconds early in the ladder and up to a minute near the top.