Thruster
Muscles worked: Quads, Glutes, Front delts (assisted by triceps).
How to do it
- Clean two kettlebells to your shoulders.
- Begin to squat by flexing your hips and knees, lowering your hips between your legs.
- At the bottom, reverse direction and squat by extending your knees and hips, driving through your heels.
- As you begin the next repetition, return the weights to the shoulders.
Coaching cues
The two cues IronPack shows on this exercise's card mid-workout:
- Front squat straight into a press
- One fluid drive - the legs do the pressing
Logging it
IronPack suggests working in the 5 to 10 rep range, progressing in 2.5 kg jumps when you own the top of the range. Records are tracked automatically at every rep count from 1 to 12. Check your estimated 1RM from any hard set.
Related exercises
- Overhead Press - front delts
- Seated DB Shoulder Press - front delts
- Machine Shoulder Press - front delts
- Smith Machine Shoulder Press - front delts
Track the thruster properly
IronPack logs every set, tracks your records at every rep count, shows these form photos mid-workout, and turns the training into a card game you play with your mates.
Get IronPack free on the App StoreFree download, iPhone. Currently on the New Zealand App Store, wider rollout to follow.
Photos and steps: free-exercise-db (public domain). Cues, muscle weighting and logging guidance are IronPack's own app data. Last generated 2026-07-17.