Quite personally, I love to loathe it… But, the fact remains that the Thruster is one of the best exercises that you can do for your body! This movement is key if you want to:
1. Lose Body-Fat
2. Increase your Cardiovascular Fitness
3. Increase your Core Stability
4. Increase Total Body Strength
5. Improve your Agility and Co-ordination
The Thruster is a total-body, compound exercise. Designed as a combination of a Front Squat and an Overhead or Push Press, the Thruster has surprised many experts in the fitness and personal training world. Especially when used as part of a high intensity interval training, or Tabata workout, the Thruster produces results unlike any other exercise.
The thruster is one of the greatest lifts no one has ever heard of in the Globo-Gym. And here’s how to do it:
Start from a standing position, with the bar ‘racked’ on your shoulders. (This means you should have the bar resting on your chest/shoulders with a loose grip.)
Lower to a full front squat
Begin by coming up and out of your squat, driving through the heels with the chest up.
Rise to full hip and leg extension
Continue the bar’s acceleration upward with a powerful press to lockout.
Lower bar to ‘racked’ position again
Repeat
Ideally, you want to use the momentum of the rise from the squat to help rocket the weight overhead. Dynamic leg and hip extension is key here!
A long line of action against the normal force of gravity with a load plus bodyweight, the Thruster is one of the most profound accelerations possible. The movement works from full flexion to full extension at the ankle, knee, hip, shoulder and arm. And it’s awesome.
So learn, practice, and perfect it!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TURTS!!!!!!
Today’s Workout
Buy-in: 3 rounds of: 3 snatch grip deadlifts, 3 hang power snatches, overhead squats with BAR ONLY.
WOD: “Rowly Powly”
This is a two part workout!
Part 1 – Snatch sequence – 10 minutes to get a max weight in the following sequence:
- 1 snatch grip deadlift
- 1 hang power snatch
- 1 overhead squat
- you cannot let go of the bar or let it rest during the sequence of movements
- you must stand up fully from the hang snatch to begin your overhead squat
- unlimited attempts, just get them in safely!
Part 2 – 12 intervals of 20 seconds work, 40 seconds rest of rowing (for calories) alternated with double crunch – perform 20 seconds of rowing, rest 40 seconds, perform 20 seconds of double crunch, rest 40 seconds, repeat five more times. (i.e. 6 intervals of 20 seconds rowing and 6 intervals of double crunch in total). Total calories rowed and double crunch reps give you your score.
Add both up for your daily total!
Cash-out: rehydrate, relax, renew 😉
