Squat Thrust
quadriceps
What moves the load, and what it costs
8.0MET
Quadriceps is the prime mover, with the abs, front deltoid assisting. The regression that makes burpees available to almost anyone. Also the version to switch to when form breaks down mid-set.
Cue: Same as a burpee but with no push-up and no jump at the top.
Written on other cards as: Half burpee
ਸਰੋਤ·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·ਕੈਲੀਸਥੈਨਿਕਸ, ਤੇਜ਼ ਦੇ ਹੇਠ ਦਰਜ·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
SHARED AXIS · SEVEN VALUES FROM ONE TABLE · HIGHLIGHTED ROW IS THIS MOVEMENT
The compendium files squat thrust under a category, not a lift. Read the ladder as position, not precision: this is heavier work than sitting quietly by a factor of 8.0, and at the top end of what a gym floor produces.
Turning that MET value into a real energy cost
- Map the movement to a published category. The compendium measures categories of conditioning work, never individual lifts, so squat thrust is filed under ਕੈਲੀਸਥੈਨਿਕਸ (ਜਿਵੇਂ ਪੁਸ਼-ਅੱਪ, ਸਿਟ-ਅੱਪ, ਪੁੱਲ-ਅੱਪ), ਤੇਜ਼ ਮਿਹਨਤ.
- Take the category's MET value — 8.0. One MET is the cost of sitting quietly, so this is 8.0 times resting metabolism.
- Multiply by 3.5 to get millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute, the unit the MET is actually defined in.
- Multiply by your bodyweight in kilograms and divide by 200. The result is kilocalories per minute of work.
- Count working minutes only. Under load, not under the roof — a set of eight is about 25 seconds of the hour you were there.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × body mass (kg) ÷ 200 Squat Thrust: 8.0 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 9.80 kcal/min
ਸਰੋਤ·ACSM metabolic equation + 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REFERENCE BODY MASS 70 KG·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
What is actually doing the work
| Muscle | Role | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Quadricepsਰੈਕਟਸ ਫੈਮੋਰਿਸ ਤੇ ਤਿੰਨੇ ਵੈਸਟਾਈ | Prime mover | ਗੋਡੇ ਨੂੰ ਸਿੱਧਾ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਰੈਕਟਸ ਫੈਮੋਰਿਸ ਕੁੱਲ੍ਹੇ ਦੇ ਜੋੜ ਨੂੰ ਵੀ ਪਾਰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ ਤੇ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਮੋੜਦਾ ਹੈ, ਇਸ ਲਈ ਸਕੁਐਟ ਵਿੱਚ ਇਸ ਉੱਤੇ ਲੈੱਗ ਐਕਸਟੈਂਸ਼ਨ ਨਾਲੋਂ ਵੱਖਰਾ ਭਾਰ ਪੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ। |
| Absਰੈਕਟਸ ਐਬਡੋਮਿਨਿਸ | Synergist / stabiliser | ਧੜ ਨੂੰ ਅੱਗੇ ਝੁਕਾਉਂਦਾ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ, ਇਸ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਧ ਕੰਮ ਦੀ ਗੱਲ, ਇਸਨੂੰ ਪਿੱਛੇ ਵੱਲ ਖਿੱਚੇ ਜਾਣ ਦਾ ਵਿਰੋਧ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ। ਕਰੰਚ ਅਤੇ ਪਲੈਂਕ ਦੋਵੇਂ ਇਸ ਉੱਤੇ ਭਾਰ ਪਾਉਂਦੇ ਹਨ — ਵੱਖ-ਵੱਖ ਢੰਗ ਨਾਲ। |
| Front deltoidAnterior deltoid | Synergist / stabiliser | Raises the arm to the front (shoulder flexion) and assists horizontal adduction. Prime mover in overhead pressing, heavy synergist in every bench press. |
The prime mover produces the movement against the resistance; synergists assist and stabilisers hold a joint still without moving it. An exercise trains the whole muscle it loads — there is no way to work only part of a muscle, and no exercise removes fat from the area around it.
Set up, then earn the rep
Bodyweight. Every rep should look like the first one. The moment it stops looking like the first one, the set is finished.
ਪੈਟਰਨ · ਸਕੁਐਟ
- Start standing with the feet hip width.
- Squat down and place the hands on the floor just outside the feet.
- Same as a burpee but with no push-up and no jump at the top.
- Jump or step the feet back into a plank, keeping the hips level, and take the chest to the floor if the version calls for it.
- Drive back up, jump or step the feet forward under the hips.
- Stand and jump, then land softly with bent knees and go straight into the next rep.
Where this one breaks down
Not theory. These are the faults you correct on a gym floor, and the correction that actually works.
Sagging through the middle in the plank.
Squeeze the glutes so the lower back is not carrying the rep.
Landing stiff-legged.
Land on the whole foot with the knees and hips absorbing the impact.
Going for a huge number on day one.
Burpees are hard on the wrists, shoulders and lower back when done exhausted. Build volume over weeks and step rather than jump if the form breaks.
Regress it, or progress it
Prescription: load, reps, rest
Read off the goal, then hold the technique constant as the load climbs. Derived from the movement's mechanics, not invented for this page: a explosive movement is destroyed by fatigue, so reps stay low and rest stays long.
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 4–6 | 2–5 | 2–3 min | Every rep is fast or the set is over. Fatigue kills the quality this trains. |
| Athleticism | 3–5 | 3–6 | 90–120 sec | Quality of landing matters as much as height or distance. |
| Conditioning | 4–8 | 8–12 | 45–60 sec | Used this way it is cardio, not power work — pick one intent per session. |
| Beginner | 2–3 | 3–5 | 2 ਮਿੰਟ | Learn to land softly before you try to go higher or heavier. |
Time under load, in kilocalories
Read these as minutes of work, not minutes in the building. A set of eight takes about twenty-five seconds; the rest of the hour is rest, chalk and queueing.
Mapped category: ਕੈਲੀਸਥੈਨਿਕਸ (ਜਿਵੇਂ ਪੁਸ਼-ਅੱਪ, ਸਿਟ-ਅੱਪ, ਪੁੱਲ-ਅੱਪ), ਤੇਜ਼ ਮਿਹਨਤ — 8.0 MET. That is the published category this movement is filed under, not a measurement of this specific lift.
Worked at 8.0 MET × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 9.80 kcal per working minute for a 70 kg adult. Scale it by your own bodyweight; the equation is linear. The full activity dataset lives at BurnLab.
ਸਰੋਤ·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·CATEGORY VALUE, NOT A PER-EXERCISE MEASUREMENT·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
If the rack is taken
Substitutes train the same prime mover through the same pattern with different kit. Computed from the muscle and pattern data on this card, not hand-picked to fill a grid.
ਇਸ ਲਈ ਕਿਸੇ ਸਾਮਾਨ ਦੀ ਲੋੜ ਹੀ ਨਹੀਂ, ਇਸੇ ਕਰਕੇ ਇਹ ਹਰ ਸਫ਼ਰੀ ਤੇ ਘਰੇਲੂ ਪ੍ਰੋਗਰਾਮ ਵਿੱਚ ਆਉਂਦੀ ਹੈ। ਹਰ ਬਿਨਾਂ ਸਾਮਾਨ ਵਾਲੀ ਕਸਰਤ ਇਕੱਠੀ ਦਰਜ ਹੈ।
Where it sits in a week
One movement is not a programme. The twelve templates put these in order, including 6 that need no gym at all.
The questions that come up on the floor
What muscles does the squat thrust work?
Squat Thrust is an explosive movement in which the quadriceps is the prime mover, assisted by the abs, front deltoid. Straightens the knee. Rectus femoris also crosses the hip and flexes it, so it is loaded differently in a squat than in a leg extension.
Is the squat thrust good for beginners?
ਹਾਂ। ਇਸ ਸਾਈਟ ਉੱਤੇ ਤਕਨੀਕੀ ਔਖਿਆਈ ਵਿੱਚ ਇਸਨੂੰ 5 ਵਿੱਚੋਂ 2 ਦਰਜਾ ਮਿਲਿਆ ਹੈ — ਇੱਕ ਜਾਂ ਦੋ ਸੈਸ਼ਨਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਸਿੱਖਣਯੋਗ; ਗ਼ਲਤ ਹੋ ਜਾਵੇ ਤਾਂ ਸੱਟ ਦਾ ਖ਼ਤਰਾ ਘੱਟ। ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਹਲਕੇ ਸਮਝਦਾਰ ਭਾਰ ਅਤੇ 3–5 ਦੇ ਦੋ ਜਾਂ ਤਿੰਨ ਸੈੱਟਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਸ਼ੁਰੂ ਕਰੋ।
What can I do instead of the squat thrust at home?
Nothing is needed — the squat thrust already requires no equipment at all, which is why it belongs in any home programme.
How many sets and reps of the squat thrust should I do?
For muscle size, 3–5 sets of 3–6 with 90–120 sec rest. For strength, 4–6 sets of 2–5 with 2–3 min rest. In your first month, 2–3 sets of 3–5, stopping well short of failure. Total weekly hard sets per muscle group matters more than the exact rep number in any of these ranges.
Does the squat thrust burn fat from the quadriceps?
No. No exercise removes fat from the area it trains — spot reduction has been tested repeatedly and does not happen. Training the quadriceps builds the muscle underneath; where body fat is lost from is decided by an overall calorie deficit and by your genetics, not by which exercise you chose.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
ਸਰੋਤ·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
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