One of the most popular exercises in crossfit They are the Thrusters, since it is one of the most complete exercises because it works, among others, the shoulders, arms, legs and abdomen. This exercise, also known as Seajilla with envy, combines basic halthrous movements. In this post we tell you how to do thrusters with bar and dumbbells in your training crossfit To avoid any bad movement that can cause you an injury.

What is a Thruster?

A thruster is a compound exercise that combines one Front seadilla With a Military Press. It consists of placing the bar at shoulder height and making a squat. Then, you return to the starting position and extend your arms upwards pushing the bar to be above the head, that is, a shoulder press. Finally, you return to the initial position by placing the bar at shoulder height. As you could see, this movement It implies several muscle groups such as triceps, quadriceps and hamstrings, in addition to power, coordination and flexibility, so you must master strength and technique to avoid injuries. To perform a Thruster correctly during your training crossfit Check your coach, who will guide you at all times.

It has two different phases:

1. Front seadilla: This is the first phase. Once the bar or dumbbells is placed at shoulder height we perform the squat. To do this, we flex the knees trying not to exceed the tip of the foot and descend the straight trunk until our hip is below the parallel. Subsequently, we return to the initial position by extending the knees and hip completely.
2. Military Press : Once we have returned to the starting point, we will be prepared for the second phase of this exercise. To perform the military press we must extend the arms upwards by pushing the bar so that it is above our head.

In this video you can see in a detailed way how a thruster is made with bar:

How to make a step by step

Now that you know how each of the phases of a Thruster are, we explain how to execute this exercise in a simple step step by step: Steps to follow:

1. To start with this exercise we must grab the bar with both hands and Place it at shoulder height, letting it rest on these. The feet should be up to the shoulders, the hands separated a few centimeters beyond the width of the shoulders and the arms have to form an angle of 45º.
2. From this position, start performing the squat by descending the hip until he overcomes the knees. Remember that The knees must follow the line of your feet, in addition to maintaining the curvature of the lower back.
3. Extend the knees and hip. Once this movement is completed, extend your arms up for Perform military press.
4. The movement ends by placing the bar in the initial position and repeats.

One of the variants of this exercise is to replace the bar or weights with a disc. Here you can watch a video of this modality:

What muscles are working when you run a Thruster?

As you may have observed throughout this post, when you run a Thruster, a large number of muscles, among them:

• Triceps
• Biceps.
• Quadriceps.
• Ischiotibial.
• Buttocks
• Shoulders.
• Lumbar.
• Pectoral.
• Scapula.
• Middle and upper trapeze.

Undoubted crossfit due to the large number of muscles involved in its execution.

How to run a Thruster

While it is true that a thruster is one of the most complete movements you can find in the world of crossfit, Its execution is recommended only for athletes and fans Have a certain level and experience. As it is the combination of two exercises, front squat and military press, we recommend that you start performing both exercises separately and, little by little, improve the technique until dominated and, thus, to be able to make a thruster without running the danger of suffering An injury.

Thruster with dumbbells

If you prefer to use the dumbbells, either by ease or comfort, until you are prepared to use the bar, the technique of the Thruster with dumbbells or Dumbbell Thruster It is practically the same. The only difference is that dumbbells must stand on the shoulders and hands must position themselves at shoulders.