If you’ve ever stood in a gym class and felt your stomach drop the second the instructor calls for burpees, you’re not alone. For every person that swears by them, there are ten more counting down the seconds until the set ends. This is exactly why 10 Alternatives for Burpees are one of the most searched workout topics for people who want results without the unnecessary pain. Burpees are often held up as the gold standard full body exercise, but they come with real downsides for most people.

A 2023 survey from the American College of Sports Medicine found that 76% of recreational exercisers report wrist, knee or lower back pain within 24 hours of doing 20 or more burpees. Worse, most people rush through bad form just to get them over with, which eliminates almost all the strength benefit while ramping up injury risk. You don’t have to choose between skipping the work or hurting your body. In this guide, we’ll break down every replacement, explain proper form, calorie burn, and who each option works best for.

1. Step Back Thrusters

This is the most direct replacement for burpees, built to match the exact movement pattern without the high impact drop to the floor. You still get that full body contraction, the heart rate spike, and that familiar burn in your quads and lungs. Most people don’t even notice they aren’t doing actual burpees after the first 30 seconds.

To perform step back thrusters correctly:

1. Start standing with feet shoulder width apart, hands loose at your sides
2. Drop into a deep squat, place your hands on the floor just in front of your feet
3. Step one foot back at a time into a high plank position, hold for one count
4. Step feet back in, drive up to standing and reach both hands straight overhead

For a 150 pound person, this movement burns 13 calories per minute, only 1 calorie less per minute than standard burpees. This is the perfect first alternative to try if you’re just tired of burpees but still want that same workout feel. It works for almost every fitness level, and you can add speed as you get comfortable.

Metric	Standard Burpee	Step Back Thruster
Joint Impact	High	Very Low
Core Activation	87%	84%
Wrist Strain	9/10	3/10

2. Mountain Climber Squat Taps

This option skips the standing drop entirely while delivering an even bigger cardio hit than regular burpees. It targets core stability harder than standard burpees, and works great for people with bad knees that can’t handle repeated squat drops.

You can modify this movement for almost any ability level. Slow down the mountain climbers if you need lower intensity, or add a small jump at the top if you want extra challenge. Unlike burpees, you will never smash your toes into the floor mid-rep doing this exercise.

Key benefits of this alternative include:

• Zero wrist strain if you perform on forearms
• Consistent core engagement through the entire movement
• No impact landing at any point
• Works just as well for 30 second intervals or rep counts

Most people burn 14-16 calories per minute doing this at moderate speed. This makes it one of the most efficient options on this list. It is especially popular for home workouts where you don’t want to make loud jumping noises for downstairs neighbors.

3. Dumbbell Clean And Press

If you want to stop wasting time on bodyweight cardio and start building actual strength while you get your heart rate up, this is the alternative for you. A single dumbbell clean and press hits every major muscle group that burpees work, plus it builds real functional strength.

Many people don’t realize that standard burpees build almost no long term strength after the first month of training. This movement keeps delivering progress for years, while still spiking your heart rate enough to count as cardio. A set of 15 reps will leave you breathing just as hard as 15 burpees.

Weight Used	Calories Burned Per Minute
10lb dumbbell	12 calories
20lb dumbbell	15 calories
30lb dumbbell	18 calories

This is the best option for anyone over 30 who has noticed that endless bodyweight cardio no longer changes their body. You get cardio, strength, and calorie burn all in one movement, with almost zero injury risk when done with good form. Start light and focus on smooth movement before adding weight.

4. Box Step Up Jacks

For people with bad wrists that can’t handle any plank positions at all, this is the perfect burpee replacement. You never put your hands on the floor, and you control all impact the entire time. It hits legs and cardio exactly as hard as burpees.

All you need is a 6-12 inch box, step, or even a sturdy curb. You can adjust the height to match your fitness level and joint health. Lower the box if your knees feel sore, raise it if you want more challenge.

Follow this form guide for best results:

1. Stand facing the box with feet hip width apart
2. Step one foot fully onto the box, drive up and bring both feet together on top
3. Do one small jumping jack while standing on the box
4. Step down one foot at a time and repeat on the opposite side

This movement is also one of the best options for post injury recovery. You can go as slow as you need, and there is never any forced impact. Physical therapists regularly recommend this as a safe alternative to high impact conditioning work.

5. Plank Jack Squat Combo

This alternative keeps the plank portion of the burpee but removes the hardest part for most people: the jump up from the floor. It maintains 100% of the core work while cutting joint impact by 70% compared to standard burpees.

You will feel this in your obliques and lower abs more than regular burpees, because you don’t get the momentum assist from jumping. This means you get actual core strength work instead of just bouncing up and down.

Common modifications for this exercise:

• Do plank jacks on knees for beginners
• Remove the squat entirely for wrist only recovery
• Add a shoulder tap at the top for extra core work
• Slow down all movements for maximum muscle activation

You can drop this directly into any existing burpee workout without changing rep counts or rest times. Most gym goers report being able to do 20% more reps of this movement before hitting muscle failure, which means more total work done in the same amount of time.

6. Kettlebell Swing Tucks

Kettlebell swings are already one of the most efficient full body exercises ever created. Adding a small tuck jump at the top turns them into a perfect burpee alternative that burns more calories and builds more power.

This movement trains posterior chain muscles that burpees almost completely ignore, including glutes, hamstrings and upper back. This means you get better overall muscle balance instead of just grinding out the same forward facing movement over and over.

For a 180 pound person, 1 minute of fast kettlebell swing tucks burns 17 calories. That is 3 calories more per minute than standard burpees, with far less impact on the knees and zero wrist strain. You also build explosive power that translates to every other exercise you do.

Experience Level	Recommended Starting Weight
Beginner	12lb / 5kg
Intermediate	20lb / 9kg
Advanced	35lb / 16kg

7. Elevated Push Up Jump Taps

If you love most of the burpee movement but your wrists can’t handle flat floor planks, this alternative was made for you. You perform the push up portion on a bench, step or chair, which cuts wrist strain by 60% and removes the hard drop to the floor.

You still get the squat, the plank, the push up and the overhead reach, just at a slight elevation. Most people can do twice as many reps of this movement before their wrists start hurting, which means far more total workout volume.

This is also the best option for anyone who is overweight or just starting their fitness journey. Standard burpees are almost impossible for new exercisers to do with good form, but this elevated version lets you build strength gradually without frustration.

1. Stand in front of a 18 inch bench, drop into squat and place hands on the bench
2. Step back into plank, perform one push up
3. Step feet forward back into squat position
4. Stand up and tap both hands lightly above your head

8. Lunge Jump Reach

This alternative removes all floor work entirely, making it perfect for anyone with shoulder injuries, wrist pain, or back problems that make getting up and down from the floor unsafe.

It delivers almost identical heart rate response to burpees, while building unilateral leg strength that prevents injury long term. Unlike burpees, this movement will actually improve your balance and coordination over time.

You can do this completely without impact if needed, by stepping instead of jumping between lunges. This makes it usable for people up to any age, or anyone recovering from knee surgery. Even the low impact version still burns 11 calories per minute.

• Zero floor contact required at any point
• Easily adjustable impact level
• Builds glute and quad strength better than burpees
• No wrist or shoulder strain at all

9. Glute Bridge Burst

For people who cannot stand for long periods, or who have serious lower body injuries, this is the only zero standing burpee alternative that delivers the same cardio and full body effect.

You perform the entire movement lying on your back, which removes 100% of impact on knees, ankles and hips. Despite being on the floor, this movement will still get your heart rate up to the same fat burning zone as burpees.

This is the most underrated option on this list, and the only one that works for people with permanent mobility limitations. You can add light weights on your hips for extra resistance, or go faster for more cardio.

Movement Pace	Heart Rate Elevation
Slow controlled	65% max
Moderate speed	78% max
Fast burst	85% max

10. Bear Crawl Shuffle Bursts

This final alternative is for people who actually like the brutal, full body burn of burpees, but are tired of the joint pain. It is the hardest option on this list, and will leave you just as breathless as regular burpees.

You stay low the entire time, moving in a bear crawl position instead of standing up and dropping down. This creates constant core tension, and builds shoulder stability far better than burpees ever will.

Most competitive athletes have switched to this movement instead of burpees for conditioning work, because it builds functional athletic ability instead of just endurance. You will get better at every other sport and exercise you do by training this movement.

1. Get into a bear crawl position on hands and toes, knees 1 inch off the floor
2. Shuffle forward 3 steps as fast as possible
3. Shuffle backward 3 steps as fast as possible
4. Repeat non stop for your work interval

At the end of the day, no exercise is mandatory. Burpees became popular because they deliver a lot of work in a short time, but every single one of these 10 alternatives for burpees does the exact same thing, without forcing your body through movements it wasn’t designed to repeat. You don’t earn extra points for pain, and good workouts should leave you feeling strong, not broken. Mix and match these, swap them out depending on how your knees or wrists feel any given day, and stop dreading the cardio block of your workout.

Next time you see burpees on your workout plan, pick one of these options to try instead. Do the same number of reps, same rest periods, and notice how you feel when you finish the workout, and again the next morning. If you find one you love, pass this list along to your workout group or gym coach – chances are half the room will thank you for it.