Hate the burpee? Here are alternatives

If you've tried the burpee exercise, you know it gets your heart rate up and your muscles working. But it's hard and can often cause injury if you're not performing the move correctly or overdoing it.

"It works on power, strength and stability all at once," said Avenu Fitness Owner Cassie Gallagher. "However, a lot of people injure themselves while doing a burpee. Might be due to tightness or weakness - we might be sitting at our desk all day."

Gallagher has three alternatives that we can do safely and effectively.

"The first example we're going to do is a modified burpee, and you're just going to elevate yourself off of the ground, and it's going to make it a lot easier and a lot safer for you to do the burpee," says Gallagher.

She continues, "If your body can't handle a burpee at all, we're going to show you another modification where you're going to do deadlifts and then a push up. So, we're taking the hip hinge movement of the burpee, and then doing the plank or push up movement of the burpee, and we're just alternating."

"With a burpee, you're doing all of them at one time, but when you modify we separate them. You're going to do 20 deadlifts and 10 pushups, and then we do 20 deadlifts again and nine pushups. And if you can make it all the way down to one push up while going back and forth, that would be ideal, and you get a great workout in 15 minutes or less," she explains.

Now, if you still want power or you don't have a kettle bell or dumbbell at home, Gallagher has another option.

"The third modification you can is a jump squat. You can use your hands for a little bit of an explosive power, or for a little bit more of a challenge, don't use your arms and keep them across your chest, and you go down to your push up and keep that the same. Keep it the same count, as well. 20, 10, 20, 9, 20, all the way down to one," says Gallagher.

The biggest tip with any exercise, but especially the burpee is to listen to your body. If something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't and don't push yourself.

Gallagher, and her husband Brent own the Avenu Fitness in West University and a new location in River Oaks.