The Bar-Facing Burpee is a high-intensity, functional CrossFit exercise that combines the classic burpee with a lateral jump over a barbell. This movement ramps up the challenge by adding a spatial awareness component and an explosive jump, making it a popular inclusion in both Open workouts and high-stakes CrossFit competitions.
It’s a deceptively simple exercise: drop to the floor, perform a burpee, and jump over the barbell—but when repeated for reps, it tests your cardiovascular endurance, full-body coordination, and mental toughness like few other movements. The bar-facing requirement adds precision and forces athletes to stay engaged rep after rep.
Whether you're pushing through a metcon or testing max reps in a qualifier, bar-facing burpees are a true measure of grit, movement efficiency, and heart.
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Bar-facing burpees are a full-body movement that light up multiple muscle groups at once:
This high-intensity combo challenges endurance and muscle coordination across the entire kinetic chain, especially under repeated, fast-paced reps.
Here’s how to properly perform a bar-facing burpee:
• Stand facing a loaded barbell on the floor. Feet are shoulder-width apart.
• Drop your chest and thighs to the ground, completing a full burpee. Both legs may kick back together or step back one at a time.
• As you push up from the floor, jump your feet forward underneath you, staying square to the bar.
• Immediately jump laterally over the barbell with both feet at the same time. No stepping allowed.
• Turn around to face the bar again and repeat for reps.
Movement standards:
• Chest and thighs must touch the ground.
• Feet must take off and land at the same time over the bar.
• Must face the bar before every jump.
Tips for efficiency: breathe rhythmically, stay low to reduce vertical motion, and use a steady pace that you can maintain across rounds.
Absolutely. Bar-facing burpees are one of the most effective movements in CrossFit for developing aerobic and anaerobic capacity, movement efficiency, and physical resilience.
They challenge every energy system, spike your heart rate, and build muscle endurance throughout the upper and lower body. When performed under fatigue, they also sharpen your mental focus and coordination.
Whether you’re prepping for competition or just want a powerful conditioning tool, bar-facing burpees work—and they’re as functional and brutal as CrossFit gets.
Bar-facing burpees are more than just a sweaty challenge—they're a functional test of athleticism. Here’s why they’re a CrossFit favorite:
• Conditioning boost – One of the best bodyweight tools for increasing work capacity fast.
• Agility and spatial awareness – Navigating the bar forces coordination and accuracy.
• Mental toughness – When these show up in workouts, they demand focus and grit.
• Competition relevance – Featured in CrossFit Opens, Regionals, and Games.
• No equipment beyond a barbell – Easy to program and scalable with minimal setup.
Plus, they pair well with weightlifting movements in a WOD, adding a cardio-intensive element between heavy lifts.
