Squat Clean Thruster

Body region

• Legs
• Glutes
• Shoulders
• Arms

Muscles

Main

• Deltoid
• Gluteus Maximus
• Vastus Lateralis
• Vastus Medialis
• Triceps

Helps

• Serratus Anterior
• Trapezius
• Erector Spinae
• Rectus Femoris
• Biceps Femoris
• Semitendinosus

Holds

• Rectus Abdominis
• External Oblique
• Transversus Abdominis
• Flexor Digitorum Superficialis

Equipment

• Barbell

Technique

1. Stand over a barbell on the floor, feet hip-width, with a shoulder-width grip and a flat back.
2. Pull the bar from the floor and drop into a full front squat as you catch it on the shoulders.
3. Without standing up in between, drive out of the bottom of the squat and use that momentum to press the bar overhead in one motion.
4. Lower the bar back to the shoulders and then to the floor, resetting for the next rep.

Cues

• Keep the elbows high in the rack and the chest tall.
• Use the legs to launch the bar; the arms finish the press.
• Reset your breathing at the top of each rep.
• Use bumper plates and a clear area so you can drop the bar safely if a rep goes wrong.

Common mistakes

• Rounding the lower back on the pull from the floor.
• Letting the elbows drop and the bar roll forward in the squat.
• Starting the press before the legs have driven.
• Letting fatigue wreck your form; drop the weight on high-rep sets.

Alternatives

• Barbell Thruster
• Clean and Press
• Hang Power Clean to Front Squat