How to do it
- Hold dumbbells at your shoulders and squat down to at least parallel.
- Drive up explosively out of the squat and use that momentum to press the weights overhead.
- Lower them back to the shoulders and flow straight into the next rep.
Cues that matter
- One continuous movement — the squat and press should not be separate.
- Keep the core braced so the overhead position stays stable.
Common mistakes
- Pausing at the top of the squat and losing the drive.
- Pressing with a soft, unbraced midsection.
Muscles worked
Primary
- Full Body
- Anterior chain
- Conditioning
Also works
- Quads
- Glutes
- Shoulders
- Triceps
Sets and reps
What to do with it depends on what you are training for. These are the ranges MuscleMap uses when it puts Dumbbell Thruster in a session, with 150 seconds between sets.
- Strength
- 4–6 reps
- Build muscle
- 6–10 reps
- Endurance
- 12–20 reps
Same muscle, different kit
Movements that train the same part of the full body with different equipment — for a day the dumbbell is taken, or a gym that does not have one.