Thrusters with weights - an exercise for working the muscles of the whole body in any conditions

If there's one exercise whose name is synonymous with CrossFit, it's definitely the thruster. Heck, the term “thrust” was created by CrossFit. Ask three-time CrossFit Games champion Rich Froning what he considers the best exercise, and he'll definitely say the thruster.

So what makes the thruster such a valuable exercise? Below we will discuss all the benefits of the thruster, as well as some tricks that will help you perform this exercise more effectively. But before that, let's figure out exactly how to do this.

Benefits of exercise

Thrusters are considered one of the key movements in CrossFit. They can also be used in preparation for any strength sports, used to strengthen the muscle corset, ligaments, and prevent problems with the musculoskeletal system.

Main advantages:

• Working almost all the muscles of the body in one movement.
• Development of coordination and balance.
• Improved explosive strength.
• Increased strength endurance.
• Increased muscle volume and muscle definition.
• A pronounced increase in strength indicators and the general level of fitness of athletes.

The only drawback of thrusters is the presence of axial load. Therefore, people who have problems with the spine are recommended to use light weights or perform the movement only under the supervision of a specialist.

Common mistakes

Let's look at the most common mistakes that many CrossFit athletes make:

• It is necessary to keep your back straight throughout the movement. If you are hunched over, the weight of the barbell is too heavy for you. To avoid injury, you should reduce weight; believe me, this will only benefit the development of endurance.
• Watch your elbows and knees. Proper front squat technique means that your knees should move at the same angle as your toes. Elbows should also not be “turned” inward - this can lead to injury.
• Throwing the barbell onto the chest is carried out by simultaneous squatting and the force of the deltoid muscles. You should not include biceps and forearms in the work.

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What muscles work

Thrusters involve almost all the muscles of the body. Some work as stabilizers to maintain balance and body position. The main burden falls on:

• Shoulders.
• Legs.
• Hands.
• Back.
• Core muscles.

The pectorals work minimally in thrusters, although they still receive a certain share of the load. Kettlebell throws have a particularly powerful effect on the core muscles. They are put to work to maintain body position, so that the abs will grow and strengthen even without performing targeted movements in this area.

Week schedule

Thrusters with weights, unlike exercises with a barbell, can be performed in any convenient place. So, for example, if you can’t visit the gym, then you can go for a run in the morning - this is an ideal cardio workout, and then work out all the muscles by doing several approaches with weights.

But it is better to first develop a training program in order to ideally pump up all muscle groups and make the body more sculpted and beautiful. For beginners, it’s better to turn to a professional who can choose the optimal load, for example, buy a gym membership and take a few lessons from an experienced trainer.

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When creating a program, you need to consider several important factors:

• amount of time spent on classes;
• the tasks that the athlete sets for himself;
• experience.

Beginners should work with light weights, gradually increasing them as their muscles strengthen. So, you should definitely start training in the gym or at home with just a warm-up; you need to let the muscles warm up so that sudden loads do not cause injury.

After warming up, you can move on to performing thrusters:

• perform a thruster, where 1 weight is held by 2 hands 10 times, then you need to rest for a minute and perform 1 more approach;
• Perform the exercise 10 times with 1 hand, change hands and 10 more times;
• thruster with 2 kettlebells – 10 times, break and 1 more approach.

After training, be sure to do stretching, which will help the muscles recover after training.

It is better to train 3-4 times a week, taking days off to allow the muscles to recover. With each new day of training, you need to add load, but not reduce it - the muscles should work actively, and the load should increase. You can add repetitions or approaches.

Technique with one kettlebell

If you have one weight, then the projectile should be fixed with both hands (you can hold it by the lower part or along the edges of the handle). This is a fairly convenient option, but you should make sure that the weight does not slip out of your hands.

Technique:

1. Stand straight, feet shoulder-width apart, holding a weight at chest level with bent arms.
2. Do a deep squat while keeping your back straight. The arms do not change position, the weight is pressed to the chest for fixation.
3. After rising from a squat, without fixation or pause, raise your arms up.
4. Then return your arms to the starting position, placing the kettlebell at chest level, and then squat again.

It is important to ensure that one phase of the movement does not begin before the previous one is completed. Athletes often make the mistake of trying to extend their arms while still rising from the bottom point. This not only increases the risk of injury, but also reduces the efficiency of the movement, especially when working with heavy weights. Try to feel the momentum that starts from the squat and then moves into the overhead press. The core muscles play an important role in this, since they are the ones who transmit this impulse from the lower to the upper part of the body.

Also, you should not sit down before the weight is lowered to your chest; this is the same mistake that leads to loss of balance and other negative consequences.

Common Mistakes

• The palms are too wide. When lifting the barbell to the chest, you must immediately determine the correct grip - your palms should be shoulder-width apart. When throwing the bar over your shoulders, your palms should be positioned above your shoulder joints.
• Elbows are too low. When performing thrusters with your elbows down, there is a risk of losing the bar and causing injury to your shoulder joints. Of course, this further complicates the technique, not in a positive way. Therefore, in each phase of the exercise, the elbows should be high relative to the chest.
• Collapse of the torso in a squat. Too low a tilt of the torso will shift the center of gravity, which can lead not only to a fall, but also injure the spine, since it is subject to heavy load. At the same time, the back is often rounded, which is unacceptable in any squats.

Technique with two kettlebells

This is a more complex implementation. The main difference is that you need to hold a kettlebell in each hand. This greatly increases the demands on balance, and also puts significantly more stress on the core and shoulder muscles.

In addition to performing the push press, it is extremely important to return the weights correctly to the starting position. To do this, make a swing, and then fix the projectiles at shoulder level.

The correct position looks like this:

• The handle of the kettlebell is parallel to the floor, the body looks to the side.
• The forearms are at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the center of the body (a conventional line at the level of the nose and navel).
• Hands with handles are brought together.
• The hand is in a neutral position (you should not “lighten” the load by trying to slightly straighten the hand, this is a sure way to get injured).

It is important not to throw the weights over your shoulders, which athletes often do to fix the weight. This habit can lead to hand problems, injuries, and balance problems when lifting heavy weights.

How to create a workout program

Barbell exercises at home cannot be compared to going to the gym. To effectively pump up all muscle groups, you need a specific training program. Therefore, to achieve better results, it is advisable to purchase a subscription to the fitness center.

To create a training program with a barbell, it is necessary to take into account factors such as the amount of time for training, goals (gain mass, relief or increase strength), and experience. For example, exercises with a barbell for beginners are recommended to be done with light weight and with a minimum number of approaches.

Basic exercises with a barbell are necessary to begin pumping up a muscle group. To do this efficiently, it is necessary to additionally include exercises with dumbbells in the scheme. Before each workout, you need to tone your body - do, for example, abdominal exercises.

The first day is devoted to pumping the chest and shoulders, the second - the back and biceps, the third - the legs and triceps. This combination of muscle groups is due to the fact that when working on the chest, the shoulder muscles are involved, and when pumping the back, the biceps are included in the work. There is no point in copying all the exercises every day. You can work on each muscle group with a barbell and dumbbells. For example, your next chest workout could start with incline bench presses, your back workout with straight-legged deadlifts, and so on.

Implementation recommendations

• When used in CrossFit, thrusters are usually used in two versions: in training complexes (WODs) or as a separate element for developing strength and endurance. However, the exercise can be used in any program, including classical bodybuilding and fitness.
• Thrusters are best used in a split if you need to work your legs and shoulders in 1 day. In other programs, it is better to add the exercise to leg day, replacing regular squats. But in this case, it is worth taking into account the additional load on the shoulders and monitoring the volume of training in cycles to prevent overtraining.
• If the movement is used in standard kettlebell training, then it can be done either separately or in combination with other elements, for example, kettlebell swings.

And also read: Exercises for developing explosive strength → Program for training strength → How to improve balance → Complex for developing coordination → How to develop endurance →

Why are thrusters good?

This exercise has R. Snarr. Exercise Technique: Kettlebell Thruster / Strength and conditioning journal several benefits:

• Pumps up the upper and lower body. The hips and buttocks, abs and back, arms, chest and shoulders will receive the load.
• Develops power . Trains the ability not only to make an effort, but also to do it quickly.
• Increases strength endurance . Performing thrusters many times per set teaches the body to resist fatigue longer.
• Spends a lot of calories . Since thrusters use many muscle groups and quickly raise your heart rate, they can be considered a good exercise for losing weight. At least if you perform them in combination with other movements.
• Trains well-coordinated muscle function . In thrusters, you learn to transfer forces from the lower extremities to the upper ones through the body, which is useful both in various sports and in everyday life.

Thus, thrusters will be useful to anyone who wants not only to lose weight or build muscle, but also to get a strong, functional and comprehensively developed body.

Tips for maximum efficiency

• Before performing thrusters, you should do a set of WARM-UP exercises. We pay special attention to the knee, hip and shoulder joints.
• Beginning athletes should first work on exercise technique and joint flexibility. Therefore, at the end of the workout we perform a COOL-DOWN and stretch the muscles of the hips, lower legs and shoulders.
• If you feel pain in the wrist joints, then you can use special elastic bandages.
• There is also one more simplified version of thrusters that is performed in the landmine simulator. When working in it, you don’t need to worry about not being able to hold the projectile, since one edge of the bar will be fixed. Plus, the movement occurs along the trajectory specified by the simulator, which will allow you to focus all your attention on the work of the muscles.
• Before you start performing thrusters, it’s worth mastering simpler elements. Goblet Squats and DUMBBELL OVERHEAD PRESSES are great alternatives for beginners.

As you can see, the exercise thrusters can be most effective with the right approach. You should not try to immediately set a strength record; a much more effective solution would be to master the technique of the exercise, and then increase the weight of the barbell. If you want to increase your muscle mass, then break the thrusters into two separate movements using the drop set principle and perform them alternately without resting in between.

Good luck to everyone in your training!

Why do metcons?

By completing metcons, you:

• push your body to the limit without using maximum weights and without risking injury;
• build up your endurance without risking muscle loss;
• You'll lose more fat than you would with the same amount of cardio or strength training.

The 2011 High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise and Fat Loss study found that high-intensity training is very effective for losing excess weight, especially visceral fat. Effects of high-intensity exercise training on body composition, abdominal fat loss, and cardiorespiratory fitness in middle-aged Korean females fat growing on internal organs.

Additionally, after a very intense workout, you release growth hormones. Therefore, if you give it your all, you can lose several times more fat than in the same amount of time spent on the elliptical trainer.

When to expect the effect

Thrusters are an effective exercise, but you shouldn’t expect quick results. The muscles need to be given time to get used to the load. That is why the first results can be noticed only a month after the start of training. And then only in that case. If the training is regular and the load increases with each training day.

Don’t forget that muscles need to rest, so it’s better not to train every day, but every other day: a day of exercise, a day of rest. If you overload the muscles, they will not provide any benefit; the body will resist and turn on a defensive reaction.

Thrusters are an excellent complex exercise that can be performed with kettlebells or a barbell, depending on the athlete’s choice. But for beginners, it’s better to start training with light weights, and then move on to a barbell. It is better to select a program and load with a trainer who will not only show how to perform the exercise correctly, but will also point out the most common mistakes.