If you haven’t been around CrossFit much you might not know what a thruster is, even if you exercise regularly.
A Thruster is basically a front squat and a shoulder press combined into one movement.
Thrusters are a great whole-body exercise, but they are brutal. Many crossfitters put them in the same category as burpees as far as how much they suck to do. Not only are thrusters a good muscle-building exercise, they are also good cardio.
Instead of just going by a picture of someone doing a thruster or the description, below is a video of how to do a thruster which will show you exactly how to do a thruster.
25 CrossFit Workouts With Thrusters
Let the pain begin, here are 25 brutal CrossFit Thruster workouts that will have you on your knees.
#1 The Seven
7 Rounds for time of:
7 Handstand Push-Ups
7 Thrusters (135/95 lb)
7 Knees-to-Elbows
7 Deadlifts (245/165 lb)
7 Burpees
7 Kettlebell Swings (2/1.5 pood)
7 Pull-Ups
We are going to kick this list off with one of my favorite CrossFit workouts. The Seven is no joke. Heavy thrusters, heavy deadlifts, heavy kettlebell swing and burpees make this workout just brutal. This WOD is hell to go through but you will feel like a god when it is over.
#2 Dumbbell Run
For time
Run 400 Meters
20 Dumbbell Burpees and Presses (2×50/35 lb)
Run 400 Meters
20 Dumbbell Thrusters (2×50/35 lb)
Run 400 Meters
20 Dumbbell Clean-and-Presses (2×50/35 lb)
Run 400 Meters
This workout isn’t as heavy-duty as The Seven but it is some nice cardio to help you build a better engine.
#3 Omar
For Time
10 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
15 Bar-Facing Burpees
20 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
25 Bar-Facing Burpees
30 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
35 Bar-Facing Burpees
Omar is a Hero WOD done to honor U.S. Army First Lieutenant Omar Vazquez, 25, he died from injuries suffered April 22, 2011, when insurgents in Numaniyah, Iraq, attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
Thrusters and burpees together, you know this one is going to be brutal. Don’t forget to have a barf bucket nearby.
There is no way we could do this list and not include Fran. Fran is likely the most well known WOD there is in CrossFit. It is a shorter WOD, many advanced crosffitters can do this workout in 3 minutes or less, That doesn’t mean it is any less brutal though. Fran is one of those workouts that will have you thinking “why in the hell am I doing this?”
#5 Ultimate Warrior
21-15-9 Reps For Time
Thrusters (135/95 lb)
Bar Muscle-Ups
Obviously, this workout featuring heavy thrusters and bar muscle-ups is for more advanced lifters. It is a benchmark WOD at CtossFit New England, it’s a box that has been a training ground for many CrossFit champs.
If you don’t think you can do this then you probably can’t, no shame.
This Hero WOD is named after Andrew Desperito, a New York City firefighter who was killed on September 11, 2001.
Here is another thruster WOD that looks totally brutal. 50 heavy thrusters and 4ooo meters of rowing. Scale back on the weight for the thrusters if necessary.
#7 Coe
10 Rounds For Time
10 Thrusters (95 lbs)
10 Ring Push-Ups
This Hero WOD is done in honor of US Army Sgt. Keith Adam Coe, 30, of Auburndale, FL, who died April 27th, 2010, in Khalis, Iraq, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an explosive device.
This is another more for intermediate to advanced lifters. Many people out there can’t do ring push-ups, let alone 10 reps for 10 rounds. Substitute regular push-ups if needed.
#8 Jackie
For time:
1,000 Meter Row
50 Thrusters (45/35 lb bar)
30 Pull-Ups
Jackie is another one of the girls” workouts that are so infamous in CrossFit.
The thrusters are light with this workout, the most difficult part of this workout for some may be the pull-ups.
#9 Dae Han
3 Rounds for time
800 meter Weighted Run (45/35 lb barbell)
3 Rope Climbs (15 ft)
12 Thrusters (135/95 lb
This Hero WOD is done to honor U.S. Army Sergeant Dae Han Park, 36, of Watertown, CT, who died on March 12, 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, from injuries suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.
The thrusters on this one are pretty heavy, especially after 3 rope climbs. Don’t let the fact that this WOD is only 3 rounds trick you into thinking it is easy, it’s not.
#10 Brian McAleese
For time
75 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
At the top of each minute perform:
20 Double-Unders
This Hero WOD is done to honor Brian McAleesewho worked for FDNY who was killed on September 11, 2001.
This workout is another tough one, as is every Hero WOD. If you can’t do double under just go with 50 regular rope jumps also scale back the weight if necessary.
This Hero WOD is done to honor Senior Chief Petty Officer Thomas J. Valentine who was killed in a training accident in Arizona.
Moderately heavy thrusters and some serious rope climbing make this workout pretty challenging. Elite crossfitters can do this workout in about 8 minutes or so, Beginners are looking at about 20 minutes or more, everyone else should finish somewhere in between.
#16 Stephen Harrell
7 Rounds for Time
5 Overhead Squats (95/65 lb)
Max Thrusters (95/65 lb)
2-minute Rest
This Hero WOD is done to honor Stephen Harrell, FDNY who was killed in the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001.
If you are looking for a workout that will absolutely crush your legs and shoulders then this would be the one for you.
#17 Top Gun
20 Thrusters (135/95 lb)
20 Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls (135/95 lb)
20 Push Jerks (135/95 lb)
20 Overhead Squats (135/95 lb)
20 Front Squats (135/95 lb)
Perform 4 Burpees to start, and every minute on the minute.
Top Gun is easily one of the most brutal WODs on the list. It reminds me a bit of Kaslu, which will be talking about at number 25.
#18 Thomas W Kelly
15-12-9 Reps for Time
Thrusters (155/105 lb)
Weighted Strict Pull-Ups (45/25 lb)
This Hero WOD is done to honor Thomas Kelly, FDNY, Ladder 105, who was killed on September 11, 2001.
If you like heavy thrusters then this is the workout for you, this WOD features the heaviest thrusters on the list.
#19 Daniel
For Time
50 Pull-Ups
400 meter Run
21 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
800 meter Run
21 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
400 meter Run
50 Pull-Ups
This Hero WOD is done to honor Army Sgt 1st Class Daniel Crabtree who was killed in Al Kut, Iraq on Thursday, June 8th, 2006.
Wnat a better engine? this WOD will help to build it.
#20 Holbrook
10 Rounds For Time
5 Thrusters (115/85 lb)
10 Pull-Ups
100-meter Sprint
1-minute Rest
This Hero WOD is done to honor US Army Captain Jason Holbrook, who was killed on July 29th, 2010 in Tsagay, Afghanistan when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
It’s always nice to see a wood that has a 1-minute rest at the end of the round. Too bad the minute feels more like 15 seconds but it’s still nice,
#21 Legion of Doom
10-minute AMRAP
2 Thrusters (95/65 lb)
4 Burpees
Add two reps after each round.
Be happy that this one is only 10 minutes long because it is brutal, as all workouts that feature burpees and thrusters generally do.
#22 Tom
25-minute AMRAP
7 Muscle-Ups
11 Thrusters (155/105 lb)
14 Toes-to-Bar
This Hero WOD is done to honor U.S. Army First Lieutenant Thomas M. Martin who was killed on October 14, 2007 in Al Busayifi, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire.
155 lb thrusters, muscle-ups and toes-to-bar for 25 minutes. OUCH!
#23 Fast and Heavy
For time
21 Dumbbell Thrusters
400 meter Run
18 Dumbbell Thrusters
400 meter Run
15 Dumbbell Thrusters
400 meter Run
For this workout, you should choose dumbbells that are heavy but that you can still move fast, as the name of the workout implies.
#24 Swink
For Time
1 mile Run
27 Bench Presses (70%)
27 Handstand Push-Ups
27 Dumbbell Thrusters (2 x 50/35 lb)
27 Knees-to-Elbows
27 Deadlift (155/105 lb)
1 mile Run
This Hero WOD is done to honor Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James M. Swink Died who died August 27, 2010, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom 20, of Yucca Valley, California.
This WOD has some nice variety to it to keep it from getting monotonous, your upper body should be pretty fried once you finish this bad boy, especially your shoulders.
#25 Kalsu
Every minute on the minute
5 burpees
Max rep thrusters 135/95 lbs
Continue until you reach 100 thrusters.
This Hero WOD is done to honor 1st Lt. James Robert Kalsu, U.S. Army, who was killed in action on July 21, 1970 in the A Shau Valley, Vietnam.
Kalsu was originally a CrossFit Football workout. CrossFit Football doesn’t exist anymore but the workout lives on.
This is easily one of the hardest if not the hardest WOD in all of CrossFit.
The best way to tackle this beast is to have a set number of thrusters you want to complete each round and stick to it. If you do just 5 thrusters per minute you can finish in 20 minutes. That’s easier said than done though, it will be easy to get 5 thrusters for the 5 minutes or so, after that it’s gonna be tough.
Scale back this one if you need to which many of you will. Scale back option:
EMOM
5 burpees
Max rep thrusters 95/65 lbs
Continue until you reach 100 thrusters
Still too hard? Scale back to 3 burpees per minute or drop the weight even further.
Ryan is a former college wrestler and lifelong fitness fanatic. He has run half marathons, done mud runs, placed in body transformation contests, coached wrestling, and now coaches girls’ soccer. Not to mention he has also tried literally hundreds of supplements over the years and has a vast and thorough supplement knowledge. He has written for Muscle & Strength, Testosterone Junkie, The Sport Review and other publications. He is also the editor-in-chief of this website and has over 25 years of experience in the fitness industry. Feel free to connect with him on his LinkedIn page below.
