2 burpees and I'm gassed

[AndyHEdwards]

I'm 64,haven't exercised in years,2 burpees (without the push up) and my heart rate rockets despite being on bete blockers,lack of fitness or something sinister?

[MPx]

Well deffo lack of fitness...but could be something more as well - no way we could know. The good news is that you've decided to do something about fitness and taken the first tentative step. The challenge will be to stick with it - nothing comes easy of for free. My advice is to find a routine that you enjoy and stick with it. Have some patience, dont expect (or try) too much too soon. Over time you'll find you can do more, or do it faster, or do it with a lower HR. If you're lucky then all three! We're not medical on here, so can't really help with those questions...but always interested in the training side.

[Tsnor]

I'm 64,haven't exercised in years,2 burpees (without the push up) and my heart rate rockets despite being on bete blockers,lack of fitness or something sinister?

Good discussion to have with your doctor.

Now is a great time to start a doctor approved exercise program. Maybe stop with the burpees until you talk to your doctor. You doc may have a program based on walking that ramps up gradually. Your doc will also know WHY you are on beta blockers, and how to avoid unnecessary risk while getting back to prime shape.

Do not stop taking your beta blocker without consulting your doctor first.

[reuben]

Burpees, Turkish getups, and the like are hard full body exercises. Probably not the best exercise to start with from a sedentary base. Maybe try lunges instead, with or without weights (also good for balance). Work up to some simple "animal movements", like the bear crawl/walk if you have enough space.

More than once I've seen someone doing an exercise at a gym, thought it would be great for my purposes, tried it, and found that it was a lot harder than it appeared.

If you jump in the deep end it's easy to get injured, and nobody wants that.

Stick with it, but be realistic. Fitness takes time. Lots of time.

Definitely check with your doctor.

[Dave Neve]

Burpees are hard so going into a series of them without a warm up could be enough to knacker you if you're not fit to start with.
After all, you normally need to warm up before any harder form of exercise.

Also, I don't do burpees due to toe problems but I wonder how many breaths people take to do one burpee and where in the routine. For instance, if you try to take a breath when you are still bent at the waist just before coming up, that would be hard as your diaphragm is crushed. And being gassed can = lack of oxygen. So see what others say about this