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Exercise library · Full body

Thruster

Explosive lift for the whole body with a barbell.

How to do it

1 of 4

Bar on the front of your shoulders

  1. Starting position

    Stand shoulder-width apart with the bar on the front of your shoulders, hands just outside them and elbows forward.

  2. The movement

    Squat down, stand up powerfully and press the bar overhead, then lower it back to your shoulders.

Most common mistake

Don't pause between standing and pressing, use your leg drive and move the bar up in one smooth motion.

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Muscle group
Full body
Equipment
Barbell
Where
Gym
Logged as
Weight × reps

Muscles worked

The thruster is a front squat and an overhead press in one movement. Your quads and glutes drive the squat and give the bar speed; your shoulders and triceps finish the press. Your upper back and abs keep your torso upright, and in long sets that is often where your form gives way first. The press caps the weight, so the thruster is mostly for heart rate and whole-body power, less for maximal strength.

Common mistakes

  • Your elbows drop at the bottom. Your chest tips and the bar tries to roll forward. Keep your elbows high and only squat as deep as you can with your chest up.
  • The bar loops around your face. Tuck your chin slightly so the bar can travel straight up, then bring your head through between your arms once it has passed.
  • Your lower back arches at the top. Brace your abs and glutes, keep your ribs down and lock out over the middle of your feet. If you cannot, the weight is too heavy for the press.

Variations and alternatives

  • The dumbbell thruster is the same movement with dumbbells, easier on the wrists.
  • The front squat is the squat on its own, for when your legs need more load than the press allows.
  • The push press starts standing with a short dip and puts more of the work overhead.
  • The wall ball has the same rhythm with a ball you throw, good for long sets.

Sets and reps

Start with an empty bar after a proper warm-up. For power, do 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 6 reps with two to three minutes' rest between sets. As a conditioning exercise, take a lighter bar and do 8 to 15 reps or short intervals, ending the set when your elbows start to drop. The guide to sets and reps explains how to choose.

Add weight in small steps, and only once every rep goes up in one smooth drive. In conditioning work, add reps or cut the rest instead, one at a time. That is progressive overload in an exercise that trains both power and fitness. If your shoulders or lower back hurt, rather than just feeling heavy, stop and have a doctor or physiotherapist look at it.

Swap for

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

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