Legs · Bodyweight
Power Clean Thruster
How to do the power clean thruster, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Logged as
- Weighted reps
- Movement
- VerticalPush
- Mechanic
- Compound
How to do it
Stand over the bar with feet hip-width apart. Explosively pull and clean the bar to your shoulders in the front rack, then immediately drop into a front squat and drive up, pressing the bar overhead in one continuous motion. Lower and reset for the next rep.
- 1Explosive hip drive moving the bar from floor to rack
- 2Your legs and shoulders working together through the squat and overhead press
- 3A braced core linking the squat and the press into one smooth motion
Common mistakes
- Pressing overhead before your hips finish extending out of the squat
- Letting your knees cave or heels lift in the squat
- Rounding your back as you pull the bar from the floor
Muscles worked
The power clean thruster mainly works the quads, glutes, and front delts, with the triceps, upper traps, hamstrings, side delts, forearms, lower back, upper abs, lower abs, and calves assisting.
- QuadsPrimary
- GlutesPrimary
- Front DeltsPrimary
- TricepsSupport
- Upper TrapsSupport
- HamstringsSupport
- Side DeltsSupport
- ForearmsSupport
- Lower BackSupport
- Upper AbsSupport
- Lower AbsSupport
- CalvesSupport
- Upper ChestMinor
- LatsMinor
- Mid TrapsMinor
- Lower TrapsMinor
- ObliquesMinor
Kovo programs the power clean thruster for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More quads exercises
- How to do the resistance band squat
- How to do the resistance band squat to press
- How to do the resistance band thruster
- How to do the resistance band squat walk
- How to do the barbell squat
- How to do the barbell bulgarian split squat
Last reviewed June 2026.