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Exercise library · Full body

Backpack thruster

Explosive lift for the whole body with other equipment.

How to do it

1 of 4

Backpack in front of your chest

  1. Starting position

    Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold a closed backpack with both hands in front of your chest.

  2. The movement

    Squat down, stand up powerfully and press the backpack overhead, then lower it to your chest.

Most common mistake

Don't press the backpack before standing, use your legs and continue directly into the overhead press.

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Muscle group
Full body
Equipment
Other
Where
Home or gym
Logged as
Reps

Muscles worked

The backpack thruster is the thruster for training at home. Your quads and glutes drive you up out of the squat, and your shoulders and triceps press the backpack overhead. Because you hold a single load in front of your chest, your arms and upper back have to work to keep it close at the bottom. A backpack rarely gets very heavy, so the exercise mostly builds endurance and fitness. The more you pack into it, the closer it gets to a normal thruster.

Common mistakes

  • The backpack drifts away from your chest. At the bottom of the squat it then pulls you forwards. Hug it to your chest with your elbows underneath until you are on the way up.
  • Heels lifting at the bottom. The load in front of your chest pulls your weight towards your toes. Press your whole foot into the floor, and only go as deep as you can with your heels down.
  • Dropping into the squat. With a light load it is tempting to drop and bounce. Lower yourself under control and turn round without a bounce, so your legs lift you rather than momentum.

Variations and alternatives

  • The dumbbell thruster is the same movement with two dumbbells, when you have heavier weights to hand.
  • The backpack squat puts all the focus on your legs and lets your shoulders rest.
  • The backpack shoulder press isolates the press, useful if your shoulders are what tire first.

Sets and reps

With a backpack as the load, the reps run high: 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 20 reps suit most people, or intervals of 30 to 40 seconds. Pack it tightly so nothing shifts as it goes overhead. The guide to sets and reps goes through how reps and rest shape what you train.

Once you can do 20 reps in every set, pack it heavier, or keep the load and cut the rest. A third option is a two-second pause at the bottom of the squat, which takes away the momentum. All three are progressive overload, as long as you change one thing at a time. If your shoulders, knees or back hurt, stop the exercise and have it looked at by a doctor or physiotherapist.

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

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