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Paige Waehner
Exercise Blog

By Paige Waehner, About.com Guide to Exercise

Exercise of the Week - Squat Thrusts

Wednesday February 23, 2005
Squat Thrust.  This is one of those killer moves you might remember from P.E. back in the day.  It's great for working your entire body while getting your heart rate nice and high.  Work this into your usual cardio workout by doing 10 squat-thrusts every 15 minutes, or add some at the end of your workout.  Do it right:  Stand with feet together. Squat down and place your hands on the floor next to your feet. In an explosive movement, jump feet backwards into a push-up position, jump feet back between hands and stand up. Add intensity by adding a jump after you stand up.  More intense cardio moves.

Comments

February 25, 2007 at 10:50 pm
(1) jim hodgell says:

gadzooks—I just wish i could do one

March 6, 2007 at 3:36 pm
(2) andy says:

hi, does this exercise burn fat?

July 8, 2007 at 5:40 pm
(3) cress says:

a lot of good information. Can squat thrusts help to improve your swimming?

September 19, 2007 at 12:06 am
(4) Gary says:

also known as burpees

October 13, 2007 at 6:52 am
(5) seraph says:

squat thrusts are just the leg extention and retraction, the standing up afterwards makes it a burpee and adding a jump (usualy a starjump) makes it a bastard (this is the actual name rather than a adjective).

October 20, 2007 at 10:23 pm
(6) Patty says:

These are awful! My knees are a mess from all of the squat thrust I did through school!

October 22, 2007 at 2:55 pm
(7) Eric says:

This is a killer exercise. They made us do these at basic training all day long as a ‘motivational punishment’. I lost 20lbs off of an already skinny body. My abs look crazy. All the time in basic we never used weights… all calisthenics.

(Air Force)

October 26, 2007 at 2:31 pm
(8) sierra says:

I thought this was a contraindicated exercise.

November 25, 2007 at 9:03 pm
(9) Norah says:

Uh, guys, i’ve done these things and i’ve lost, hmmmm, lets see, half of the fat on my ass, that’s what.

November 25, 2007 at 9:05 pm
(10) Michelle says:

yeah, ignore Norah, she thinks shes a supermodel already. Hah. THat’s a joke. But seriously. These things work.

January 12, 2008 at 11:08 pm
(11) rich says:

I developed a routine; I do them every day for thirty minutes or hopefully under that’…start out with ten and work your way up to 20 in multiples of two’…10,12,….20…18…14…10…grand total 180 squat thrusts’…it will burn the fat and them some’…guaranteed

February 7, 2008 at 11:54 am
(12) Chelsea says:

Hate these. School Teachers Made Me Do Them. Nearly Died Each Time!!! HAHA

March 30, 2008 at 8:50 pm
(13) kara says:

i am a swimmer so i understand knee problems considering i used to never do joint exorcises. if doing both legs at the same time gets you off balance and your coming down to hard on your knees, try doing one leg at a time- you get the same work out and are able to do more reps without the harsh aftershock

April 22, 2008 at 7:45 pm
(14) Leba says:

Man i’m doing these now, and its killing me!
But, no pain no gain so, they must be working for me. :D
so like, yes.

Frogs do meow.

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