This powerful bodyweight exercise will damage your body… If you’re not careful.
The burpee.
It might be “sexy” to do burpees galore, and sure, they give you the biggest bang for your buck of ANY bodyweight exercise on the planet. But you won’t be feeling so awesome if you pull out your back or bust your shoulder.
So if you have an injury or you’re struggling with form, PLEASE don’t do burpees. The best fix is an exercise substitution.
You can replace the burpee with any of the following exercises. All of these are total body conditioning moves that target your abs without damaging your joints.
Here are the 3 options you can try:
#1: Walkouts
The hand walk out to plank is a totally underrated exercise, and the best bodyweight replacement for the burpee.
It teaches your abs and lower-back muscles to play nicely together, and also develops strength and stability in the shoulders while creating a “metabolic disturbance” like no other.
This exercise is highly effective because it creates a “metabolic flush” meaning the blood is shunted from your legs, to your upper body and back to your legs again in quick succession.
Check it out below… Do not underestimate this one.
#2: Total Body Extension
The truth is, this is one of the best non-impact bodyweight conditioning exercises ever created. You can even do one this mum. No excuses, OK?
Here’s how:
– Start in the standing position as if you were going to do a bodyweight squat
– Dip down quickly into a quarter squat and swing your arms behind you by your sides
– Explode up and extend your body onto your toes, raising your arms overhead
– Control the descent back and in one movement, return to the dip before exploding up again
Fun times all round. And honestly, if your heart is not racing after 30 seconds, you need to pick up the pace!
#3: DB Thrusters
You know this one already…
You can count on this total body exercise to boost your power and torch calories at the same time, while targeting your legs, hips, shoulders and core.
This “metabolic disturbance” will boost your afterburn so you continue burning calories until 2020. Lolzzzz…
But I catch people doing this wrong all the time. Here’s a tip when doing DB or barbell thrusters:
(i) Hold the weight in front of your shoulders, with elbows bent.
(ii) Take 2 seconds to lower your hips until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
(iii) Push back up, press the dumbbells overhead until your arms are straight.
(iv) Lower the dumbbells shoulder height as you immediately descend into the squat for the next rep.
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