“Yo Mikey, my knees hurt. I can’t do jump squats – any suggestions?”, “I don’t have a dumbbell. Any bodyweight exercises I can do instead?” and “Every day, I am getting smarter… simply by just knowing you. Thanks for being awesome” are things I get emailed all the time.
Ha – I’m totally lying about the last one. There, I admitted it.
This is something that has been long overdue… just like the video cassette of “Encino Man” I rented from Blockbuster in the early 1990’s (and I still have – please do not judge).
I’m going to put together the “Ultimate Metabolic Workout Finishers Substitution List”, so you, the fanatic of using finishers in your workouts, can have a “go-to” list so you can create the best finisher based on your particular fitness level.
This is something you can print and put inside a cool-looking frame, matted and color-coordinated.
Or… just printed. Whatever.
Leg Exercise Substitutions:
Jump Squats – One of my favorite “finisher” moves I write in, however I know that sometimes this isn’t the best choice for some depending on fitness level, etc., etc. Here are some moves you can put in the place of jump squats:
– Bodyweight Squats
– Total Body Extensions – don’t underestimate the power of this low-impact move. If you do 3, sure… no big deal. If you start stringing 10 or more? … you will start to feel the cardio system working. This is when you dip into a partial squat, bringing your arms behind you, and then extend your arms above your head in one motion. For extra credit, you can go up on your toes.
– Vertical Jump and Stick – this is perfect for those that can’t knock out a lot of jump squats in a certain time frame. For example, if I write jump squats for 30 seconds and you can’t do those that long, plug in Jump and Sticks. This is when you do a jump squat, followed by holding the squat position for a couple of seconds.
Burpees – a staple in many finishers – here are some moves you can sub for that one…
– Total Body Extension
– Bodyweight Squat
– And don’t forget – you can remove the pushup and/or jump from the burpee to fit your level
Substitutions for Lunges – for those with nagging knee problems – FIRST, see a specialist. With that being said, here are some knee-friendly moves to replace the lunge in your finisher:
– 1-Legged Hip Extension
– Hip Extensions
– Hip Extensions with your feet on a stability ball or bench
Back Exercise Substitutions:
Pull-ups – Honestly? I have a tough time with these myself. If you are serious about increasing your pull-up/chin-up/pushup numbers, check out my friend Shawna’s program, “Challenge Workouts“. When you do them, they build the ultimate athletic-looking body. But we all can’t perform Pull-ups due to lack of equipment, fitness level and other things. So, here are some moves you can do to replace the pull-ups:
– Assisted Pull-up
– DB Row
– Barbell Row
– Inverted Row (overhand grip)

Inverted Row
Chin-ups – use the same list above, except for the inverted row – use an underhand grip
Chest Exercise Substitutions – When it comes to writing finishers, it’s all about the pushups… about a billion varieties. I’ll throw in Spiderman Pushups, Decline Pushups, Elevated Pushups and more.
But here are a few pushups substitutions:
– Incline Pushups – when you raise a smith bar or use a bench/platform to do pushups. The higher your hands are set, the easier it is.
– Kneeling Pushups
– Normal Pushups (to replace the crazy ones)
So, when a finisher calls for my crazy ones (like the Decline Spiderman Pushup… yeah, seriously) than don’t hesitate to adjust it to your fitness level. For example, if a finisher calls for the Spiderman Pushup (8/side), you can perform 16 kneeling or incline pushups.
That’s totally cool – we are all different.
For bodyweight dips – you can sub for close-grip pushups.
Ab Exercise Substitutions
Stability Ball Jackknife – you can do the stability ball rollout
Hanging Leg Raise – you can do a knee raise (with your legs bent – it makes it easier)
Plank variations – you can do a kneeling plank
Ab Wheel Rollout – you can do the stability ball rollout
So, let’s do a cool neat little “Cheat Sheet”:
Jump Squats – Total Body Extensions, Bodyweight Squats, Vertical Jump and Stick
Burpees – Take out the jump/pushup, Total Body Extension, Bodyweight Squat,
Lunges – 1-Leg Hip Extensions, Hip Extensions, Hip Extensions w/Feet on a Bench or Stability Ball
Pullups – Assisted Pullups, DB Row, Barbell Row, Inverted Row (overhand grip)
Chinups – Same as above, except for the inverted row, use an underhand grip
Pushups (especially the crazy ones) – Kneeling Pushups, Incline Pushups, Normal Pushups
Stability Ball Jackknife – Stability Ball Rollout
Hanging Leg Raise – Hanging Knee Raise or Rollout
Plank Variations – Kneeling Plank or Normal Plank for the harder ones
Ab Wheel Rollout – Stability Ball Rollout
Alright, that should be enough to keep you busy for a while. Don’t be afraid of doing a finisher – use substitution exercises and finish your workouts strong,
Mikey, CTT
Leave A Reply (6 comments so far)
Jose
11 years ago
Excellent article Mikey. To replace lunges, I also use the anterior reach lunge, which is more hip dominant and resembles the lunge movement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gztBydYNEMk
Have a good day!
Mikey
11 years ago
Thanks Jose – Have an awesome day yourself!
Sandra
11 years ago
Thanks Mike. I, too, have knee problems and trouble doing squats. Thanks for the alternative.
Mikey
11 years ago
Happy to help Sandra! Thanks for the feedback.
Jeff
11 years ago
This is great!
now I will put some variety into my workouts!
Mikey
11 years ago
Awesome to hear Jeff – thanks man! Enjoy your workouts – that’s what I’m here for.