Squats: Work image courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Squats.svg/400px-Squats.svg.png When doing a squat one starts in the standing position and drops until their butt is level with their knees then explodes back to the standing position.  After doing this exercise one might feel they "worked their butt off."  Well how much work did they really do if terms of physics?  Work can be calculated using the equation W=F*d.  W is for Work done on the object, F is for force on the object, and d is the displacement of the object.  To learn how to calculate the force refer to the Bench Press page.  The displacement will be measured per rep which is down then back up ending in the same spot it started, making the displacement 0.  So what ever weight the squatter is using does not matter when calculating work because they are doing 0 work.  So no, the squatter did not "work their butt off", but didn't work at all according to physics. Home    Bench Press    Curl    Deadlift    Treadmill    Bibliography