Better Exercises Than Burpees

If you were to interview gasping participants in a health-club boot camp, just after the meanie exercise instructor has ordered a minute of burpees, they’d likely say “Anything!” is a better exercise than burpees. This combination of a squat and a plank does win grudging credit from advanced boot campers impressed with its effect on their conditioning -- especially if they are trying to achieve personal fitness goals or pass military fitness tests. If you have different goals, an alternative exercise may be more realistic.

  1. Kettlebell Swing

    • If you’re trying to get in shape, looking for a simple exercise and want an enormous bang for your workout-time buck, the kettlebell swing smokes the burpee in terms of personal effectiveness. And it’s more within the realm of the something the unfit can try and see ready results from, as trainer Tracy Reifkind notes in her book, “The Swing!” She recounts taking her then-heavyset body into the garage, experimenting with her husband’s kettlebell, loving the swing and six weeks later being incredulous at viewing her toned upper body in a dressing room. The American Council on Exercise confirms that the kettlebell swing creates strength and a calorie burn on par with swift running or cross-country skiing.

    A Tougher Burpee

    • Your definition of “better” may be to perform a burpee that is tougher than the standard burpee. Adding a pushup to your plank, and a jump at the top of your squat, converts the exercise to an advanced variation. Or you can try an inverted burpee, which involves rolling back into yoga’s Plough position from a standing position, rolling forward back into a stand, followed by a handstand.

    An Easier Burpee

    • Conversely, you can simplify the burpee by raising your hands overhead, placing your hands on the floor, placing one leg behind you at a time and bringing each leg back and standing up, starting with 10 repetitions. An even easier modification can entail leaning forward to grasp a counter or tabletop edge, lowering into a modified pushup, standing up and simply raising your arms.

    Adherence

    • Whichever exercises you pick as alternatives to the standard burpee -- which can include hill sprints to mimic its cardio challenge or squats to provide its overall conditioning at a lesser intensity -- what’s important is that you consider the exercise fun at least on some level and convenient. Sticking with an exercise depends on adhering to it as part of a lifestyle change, so the best exercise will be one you’ll look forward to doing as appropriate to your fitness level and interests.