Megan Falk joined the Shape.com team in 2019 and serves as the assistant editor, primarily covering exercise tips, fitness modalities, workout trends, and more. Previously, she was Shape’s editorial assistant and covered food trends and nutrition, sustainability, health and wellness, and beauty topics, among others. Before joining the team, Megan worked as an editorial intern at DoctorOz.com. Megan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism and a minor in food studies from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Her writing has also appeared in Health, SAVEUR, her hometown’s magazine, Hour Detroit, and more. She’s currently preparing to earn her personal trainer certification through the American Council on Exercise.
Welcome to Modify This Move, the ongoing series where you'll find everything you need to amend a standard exercise to meet your goals, your body, and your mood. Each story breaks down how to perform a foundational fitness move, then offers various modifications based on your current fitness or energy level, present or prior injuries, or the muscles you want to target most. So check your ego at that door and ensure every workout meets you where you're at today.
Just like eating broccoli or reducing your screentime, you've likely been told time and time again that performing burpees, however unpleasant, is pretty darn good for your health.
"Burpees are a great cardiovascular challenge," says Kristie Larson, an NASM-certified personal trainer and body-neutral strength coach in New York. "If you want to become more conditioned and improve your endurance or athleticism, they're a good option to add to your routine." Not to mention, burpees are a full-body move, calling on your core, chest, triceps, quads, inner thighs, and glutes, Mike Donavanik, C.S.C.S., an NSCA-certified personal trainer, previously told Shape.
Burpees also offer a few functional benefits to sweeten the deal. For one, they help you practice getting down to the ground and rising back up again, movements you do IRL (think: dropping down to lie next to your dog on the living room floor, popping back up to standing after a fall), says Larson. The move also helps improve mobility of the hip (a ball-and-socket joint), which can have lifelong benefits, she adds. "You use your hips so much in everyday life, so helping the joints stay happy and healthy is beneficial not just today but also down the road," says Larson. "The more care you take in supporting the joint and having strength and flexibility around the joint, the more you can help improve the longevity of your hips."
Still, burpees are pretty advanced and require a high level of athleticism, so they may not feel like a good fit for everyone, says Larson. And that's where modified burpees can be valuable. If you're still early on in your fitness journey or are experiencing aches and pains, you can tweak the traditional burpee to meet you where you're at today. For example, folks looking to master each step of the burpee or take it easy on the cardio front can try a modified burpee that slows the exercise down. Or, people dealing with shoulder soreness or hip tightness can utilize modified burpees that may keep their symptoms from worsening by stretching these joints or minimizing their role in the exercise.
At the end of the day, you should feel comfortable choosing a burpee — modified or not — that works best for your body and needs. "Practicing getting down to the ground and back up again with burpees is really helpful, and doing so in a way that feels the most beneficial for your body is going to be the best option in the long run," says Larson.
Ready to give the sweat-inducing exercise a shot? Follow the instructions below to master the classic burpee, then watch as Larson demonstrates how to switch up the exercise with seven different modified burpees she shared that work for all abilities and fitness goals.
A. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward, and arms at sides.
B. Sit back into hips and bend knees to lower into a squat, keeping chest up and preventing back from rounding.
C. Hinge at hips to fold forward and place hands on the floor directly in front of feet. Shift weight onto hands.
D. Jump both feet back and softly land on balls of feet in a high plank position. Body should form a straight line from head to heels.
E. Bend at elbows to lower body, from chest to knees, all the way to the floor, then quickly push up to return to the high plank position.
F. Jump both feet forward, placing them directly behind hands.
G. Lift hands off the floor, then press into heels to rise up out of the squat and explosively jump into the air. Land softly.
If the traditional burpee doesn't seem to work for your body, goals, or fitness level, you have options. Here, you'll find modified burpees that scale the exercise up or down, including moves that target the core and reduce the cardio challenge. Plus, Larson shares burpee variations that take conditions such as shoulder pain, hip tightness, back stiffness, and dizziness into account. No matter which option you choose, continue checking in with your body as you power through your reps and try a different modified burpee if it doesn't sit right with you.
Remember, move with intention and control — don't just fling your body up and down so you can complete your set as quickly as possible. Doing so will ensure you're scoring all the key benefits a burpee has to offer and staying injury-free, says Larson. "You should also think about your hands landing outside of your chest [when you lower to the ground] instead of outside of your shoulders," she adds. "This is a friendlier position for your shoulders, and it's going to put some of the work into your chest instead of it all going into the tops and fronts of your shoulders."
This modified burpee is just like the traditional form of the exercise, but you'll slow down the tempo. In turn, you're able to better focus on each movement within the burpee and perfect your form. "You take it step-by-step, allowing you to get more comfortable with each part of the process," says Larson. "When you get more comfortable with that, you can progress to doing everything simultaneously or stay doing the walking burpee forever, if that's something you'd like to do." While this variation isn't as taxing on your cardiovascular system as the classic burpee, you'll still get your heart rate up, she adds.
A. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward, and arms at sides.
B. Sit back into hips and bend knees to lower into a squat, keeping chest up and preventing back from rounding.
C. Hinge at hips to fold forward and place hands on the floor directly in front of feet. Shift weight onto hands.
D. Step right foot back until right leg is fully extended, then repeat the process with left foot, to assume a high plank position. Body should form a straight line from head to heels.
F. Step right foot up and directly behind right hand, then repeat the process with left foot.
G. Lift hands off the floor, then press into heels to rise up out of the squat and return to standing.
To seriously put your athleticism to the test, try this burpee variation, in which you'll turn around at the top of the jump, says Larson. That quick change of direction makes the move particularly challenging, as it tests your agility and balance, she adds.
A. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward and arms at sides.
B. Sit back into hips and bend knees to lower into a squat, keeping chest up and preventing back from rounding.
C. Hinge at hips to fold forward and place hands on the floor directly in front of feet. Shift weight onto hands.
D. Jump both feet back and softly land on balls of feet in a high plank position. Body should form a straight line from head to heels.
E. Bend at elbows to lower body all the way to the floor, then push up to return to the high plank position.
F. Jump both feet forward, placing them directly behind hands.
G. Lift hands off the floor, then press into heels to rise up out of the squat and explosively jump into the air, twisting entire body to the left. Land softly facing the opposite direction.
If you're experiencing shoulder pain, taking the plank out of the burpee and practicing this variation could do you some good. In this modified burpee, you'll still get your heart rate up and challenge the muscles in your lower body and core, but you won't put any pressure on your shoulder joints, says Larson.
A. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly outward, and hands clasped in front of chest.
B. Sit back into hips and bend knees to lower into a squat, keeping chest up and preventing back from rounding.
C. Press into heels to rise up out of the squat and explosively jump into the air, simultaneously driving hands down and to sides.
D. Land softly in the squat position with hands clasped in front of chest.
Instead of lowering down onto your stomach, this burpee variation involves lying on your back then rolling back up and returning to standing. And this backward motion is even more taxing on your core, says Larson. But that's not the exercise's only benefit: "If, for whatever reason, you can't put pressure on your chest, this can be a good option," she says.
A. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward, and arms at sides.
B. Sit back into hips and bend knees to lower butt to the floor, keeping chest up and feet on the ground and preventing back from rounding.
C. Place hands on the floor at sides next to hips, then lie back on the floor. Simultaneously, drive knees up to chest in a tucked position. Press hands into the floor and engage core to lift lower back off the floor and raise legs toward the ceiling.
D. Lower hips back to the floor, place feet flat in the starting position, and engage core to sit up, bringing knees to chest.
E. Press hands into floor to lift butt up off the ground and shift weight into feet.
G. Lift hands off the floor, then press into heels to rise up out of the squat and explosively jump into the air. Land softly.
To complete this low-impact modified burpee, you'll push your hips back in order to extend your arms down to the floor, which challenges your hip mobility and hamstring flexibility, says Larson. "You get a dynamic stretch in your hamstrings, which for some people can be a limiting factor in your hip mobility," she explains.
A. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward, and arms at sides. Hinge at hips to fold forward and place hands on the floor directly in front of feet. Shift weight onto hands.
B. Keeping core engaged and legs straight, walk hands forward to come to a high plank position with shoulders in line with wrists and body forming a straight line from head to heels.
E. Roll back onto toes and bend knees while walking hands back toward feet. Roll up one vertebra at a time to return to the starting position.
This modified burpee doesn't require you to lower down to the floor, which can be beneficial if you're dealing with lower back issues or typically experience back stiffness after a round of the exercise, says Larson. "It reduces the likelihood of [over-]extending the lower back to return to standing, [so] it can be good for those who experience lower back tightness after burpees," she says.
A. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward, and arms at sides.
B. Sit back into hips and bend knees to lower into a squat, keeping chest up and preventing back from rounding.
C. Hinge at hips to fold forward and place hands on the floor directly in front of feet. Shift weight onto hands.
D. Jump both feet back and softly land on balls of feet in a high plank position. Body should form a straight line from head to heels.
F. Jump both feet forward, placing them directly behind hands.
G. Lift hands off the floor, then press into heels to rise up out of the squat and return to standing.
If regular burpees make you feel like the room is spinning, try skiers instead. "Skiers offer similar benefits of increased heart rate and full-body coordination," says Larson. "However, they allow the athlete to keep their eyes fixed on one point and involve a less vertical range of motion, both of which could be more suitable for people who experience dizziness."
A. Stand with feet hip-width apart, toes pointing forward, and arms at sides.
B. Rise up onto toes and simultaneously raise arms in front of body and overhead until fully extended.
C. Lower heels back down to floor and drive arms down to sides of body and extend them back behind butt, simultaneously hinging at hips and bending knees slightly so chest is almost parallel with the floor.
Photography: Anthony Cunanan Art direction: Jenna Brillhart Model and fitness expert: Kristie Larson Activewear: Girlfriend Collective