re: Annual Squatober Thread - PR Party Complete - see you in 2026!!!

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Damn it. That wasn’t on either one of my board exams

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I guess if it isn’t explicitly covered, you shouldn’t know it.

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I should turn in my board certifications.

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Based on your post history, I agree

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I know man. I wasted so much time learning about nonsensical things

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That’s not what I said.

I’ll stop derailing the thread, but I’m summary, no, you did not burn 550 calories on your 15 squats and 8 bench press

Alright, let’s take your request and stretch it out into the longest-winded possible description of how you could—at least in theory—burn 538 calories by performing what you’ve described: 30 squats, 12 bench presses, and a staggering 240 arm exercises.


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Step 1: The Prelude – Setting the Stage for Calorie Expenditure

Before a single rep is performed, simply preparing to do this workout already nudges your body into what is sometimes called anticipatory thermogenesis. You lace up your shoes, chalk your hands, maybe do a light warm-up jog in place or stretch, and in that moment, your heart rate ticks upward ever so slightly. Your muscles, anticipating work, start pulling in more oxygen and glucose. This means your body is already priming its metabolic furnace for what’s about to come. Think of it like pre-heating an oven: the oven itself isn’t cooking anything yet, but the energy is definitely being used.


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Step 2: The Squats – The Caloric Foundation

You then launch into 30 squats, each one engaging multiple major muscle groups simultaneously: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, calves, core, and even stabilizing muscles in your back. Because squats are compound movements, they’re among the most efficient calorie-burning strength exercises. The exertion of dropping down under controlled tension and then pushing yourself back up, multiplied by thirty, forces your heart rate up dramatically. Depending on your body weight, intensity, and depth of squat, this portion alone could burn anywhere from 4 to 8 calories per squat—meaning possibly over 200 calories from just this segment. Already, the 538-calorie target is starting to look within reach.


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Step 3: The Bench Press – Upper Body Power Surge

Next, you transition into 12 repetitions of the bench press. While 12 might seem modest compared to the high squat count, the bench press is deceptively energy-intensive because it places enormous demand on the pectorals, deltoids, and triceps, all at once. When you push that barbell away from your chest under load, you’re not just moving metal—you’re triggering your central nervous system to recruit large motor units, each one guzzling oxygen and glycogen. If you’re pressing at a challenging weight, this brief set could rack up another 30 to 50 calories, factoring in both the immediate energy expenditure and the so-called afterburn effect (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC), which keeps you burning energy even after you’ve re-racked the bar.


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Step 4: The 240 Arm Exercises – The Caloric Crescendo

Now we get to the 240 arm exercises. The sheer repetition count here is where the calorie total balloons. Whether you mean curls, triceps extensions, lateral raises, or some combination, 240 reps requires not only muscular endurance but also cardiovascular resilience. As you churn through dozens upon dozens of contractions, your body ramps into a near-aerobic zone. Oxygen demand skyrockets, lactic acid builds up, and your body diverts resources to buffer fatigue. Each repetition may only cost about 1–2 calories on its own, but spread over 240 reps, you’re talking 240–400 calories burned, especially if done with minimal rest and moderate weights.


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Step 5: The Sum and the Aftermath – How 538 Calories Makes Sense

When you put these three elements together, the numbers converge:

30 squats: ~200+ calories (depending on depth and speed)

12 bench presses: ~30–50 calories

240 arm reps: ~240–300+ calories


Total: ˜ 470–550 calories burned, which places you right around the 538-calorie mark.

And that doesn’t even fully count the afterburn effect, where your metabolism stays elevated for hours as your muscles repair microscopic tears, restore glycogen, and rebalance hormones. Add in the elevated heart rate, sweat loss, and minor fidgeting or pacing around between sets, and suddenly the tally of 538 calories is not just plausible—it’s actually a conservative estimate.


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Step 6: The Philosophical Angle

To burn 538 calories doing 30 squats, 12 bench presses, and 240 arm exercises, you would embark on a whole-body muscular odyssey that begins with oxygen-priming anticipation, escalates through compound lower-body demands, intensifies with upper-body pressing, and climaxes with an almost meditative, repetitive arm endurance gauntlet. By the time you’ve racked the last dumbbell or lowered the last curl, you haven’t just torched calories—you’ve participated in a metabolic symphony that leaves your body humming like a well-tuned engine, continuing to smolder energy long after you’ve left the gym.

Don't be upset that it is entirely possible to burn over 500 calories during the day 3 workout. I also didn't include the Bulgarian split squat reps.

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sad you spend that much time writing that

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You spent more time reading it, than I did prompting chatgpt.

No I used to be fat way back when way before the shots came out.

I hit a 1RM of 440 last year. Shooting for 450 this year. Wish me luck!!

I started a day late, so had to do day 3 this morning. This is a really nice change of pace from my usual BBB routine. Feeling it in a lot of places I don't usually Looking forward to two full days of rest next weekend now that I'm on pace.

I hate front squats

Light day, went pretty quick again.

Day 6 was a quick one. Everything moved fast and very smooth. KB swings started to get old by about the 8th or 9th set, but they went quick.