Power Clean Thruster
The Power Clean Thruster is a high-intensity, compound barbell exercise that combines a power clean, a front squat, and an overhead press into one fluid movement. This advanced exercise builds full-body strength, explosive power, and significant cardiovascular endurance.
Because the Power Clean Thruster places extreme demand on both your metabolic and central nervous systems, fatigue can quickly compromise form. The AI analyzes your heart rate variability (HRV) and sleep data to ensure your recovery status supports this high-intensity effort, while real-time set analysis detects drop-offs in power output to suggest weight adjustments before technique breaks down.
Form Cues
- Keep the barbell close to your shins and thighs during the pull
- Explode your hips forward to propel the bar upward
- Catch the bar on your shoulders with elbows high and pointing forward
- Drop immediately into a squat and drive up through your heels
- Use the momentum from your legs to launch the bar overhead
- Don't pull with your arms before extending your hips
- Don't let your elbows drop during the squat or drive phase
- Don't pause between the clean and the thruster movement
- Don't round your lower back during the setup or catch
- Don't press the bar early; wait until your hips are fully extended
Common Mistakes
- Pulling with bent arms too early
- Catching with low elbows
- Landing with feet too wide
- Pressing before legs are fully locked
- Disconnecting the clean from the thruster
Muscles Worked
This exercise is a total-body powerhouse that primarily relies on the quadriceps and glutes to generate vertical force during both the clean and the thruster. The anterior deltoids and triceps engage to finish the movement overhead, while the entire posterior chain and core work tirelessly to stabilize the spine under dynamic load.
Primary
Secondary
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