Functional Fitness Clusters: Technique, Benefits & Common Mistakes

There are few exercises that scream functional fitness like clusters, and you’ve probably heard about it if you’ve been anywhere near functional fitness circles. It’s normal to hear terms like this and know nothing about it. So what is a functional fitness cluster? How can you get into it? We’ll discuss these and more in this article.

First, the short answer.

Now for the long answer. We’ll talk about functional fitness clusters, including why and how to do them, but let’s start at the beginning.

What is a Functional Fitness Cluster?

What is a cluster in functional fitness? It’s a combination of two popular functional fitness movements, the clean and the thruster, to create one full body exercise, hence the name cluster. It can benefit everyone, but it’s a particularly good way to prepare athletes for various sports.

A clean involves you lifting a barbell from the floor to your shoulders in one fluid motion, you pull from the floor, reach power position, then after exploding upwards you drop into a squat and catch barbell on your shoulders. This is called the catch position. With regular clean you would “just” get up from that position like it would be a front squat.

A thruster, on the other hand, starts with you holding the barbell on your shoulders just like in case of the front squat.

You perform the front squat but you don’t just go up.

You must then explode, or thrust, upwards use the momentum you generated with your legs to perform an overhead press until you are holding the barbell up as high as you can with your arms locked. 

When you combine a clean and a thruster, you get a brand new cluster exercise. Instead of going up after successful the catch with the clean, just go straight into a thruster performing front squat combined with push press.

You can also use kettlebells and dumbbells to do a cluster. Start by lifting your kettlebell or dumbbell from the floor and doing a clean. Unlike the barbell clean, where you catch the barbell in a squat, the kettlebell or dumbbell clean often involves lifting the weight directly to your shoulder while standing up.

Once you have the weight at shoulder level, do a thruster by executing a front squat followed immediately by an overhead push press.

Muscles Worked

By combining the clean and the thruster, you put a wider range of muscles to work. At each point during your movement, a different set of muscles is put to work. Let’s have a look.

In your starting position, your arms, back, glutes, quads, and hamstring all work to get the barbell off the floor. As you get to your hips and explode upwards, your arms, back, and glutes are fired up again, then nearly all the muscles in your legs kick into gear as you settle into the catch position and drop into a squat.

During the thruster portion, the front squat involves your quads, hamstrings, and glutes as you lower and lift  your body. As you push up from the squat into the overhead push press, your shoulders, triceps, and upper chest come into play. Your core stays engaged throughout the entire movement to provide you with stability and support..

It’s indeed a full body exercise that works almost all your muscles at least once during the entire movement. Let’s make a list of them.

• Back
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Quads
• Core
• Shoulders
• Triceps

3 Benefits: Why Do Cluster?

You might still be wondering why you should bother adding the cluster exercise to your gym routine. Here are some benefits that might push you off the fence.

✅ Improved performance

By combining two effective workouts, you’re basically getting a two for one kind of impact. The cluster workout targets muscles all over your body and helps build up your gym performance. It increases your endurance and power with several sets of explosive movements involving heavy weights.

The clean and thruster exercises are both compound movements. By mastering the cluster, you automatically increase your skill in each of the individual workouts. You also complete more work in less time by combining the two instead of taking them separately, becoming more efficient in the process.

✅ Improved technique

Technique is what makes your exercises effective, so it’s always a priority. Functional fitness clusters involve several sub-movements in one round of the exercise. You can easily focus on each subset and master the form and technique involved. By the time you master the form and technique for a cluster, it’s like you’re now a master at 3 different exercises.

✅ Faster results

Functional fitness clusters combine the movements of two compound exercises into one full body exercise. This combination means you’re doing the work of two exercises at a time and means each rep involves much more effort than usual. This makes the cluster potentially more efficient in attaining some of your fitness goals.

3 Functional Fitness Cluster Workouts

Now that you know why you should do clusters, you might be wondering how to add it to your workout routines. There are some workouts featuring functional fitness clusters that have already been designed for you. Let’s have a look at some.

1. Functional Fitness Novem Conditioning WOD

This workout is designed to be as straightforward as possible. It involves only two movements:

10 Rounds for Time

• Clusters × 10 (135/95 lb)
• Hand release push-ups × 15

*The first weight is always for men, and the second for women.

It’s simple enough to understand but quite effective in practice. It helps build endurance and agility.

2. Functional Fitness Midtown WOD

This workout is a bit more intense than the last one. It involves:

1. Thrusters (from the rack)

     2-2-2-2-2

2.  5 Rounds

• Clusters × 3 (185/125 lb)
• Toes to Bar × 15
• Double Unders × 30

3. Functional Fitness Monrovia OTM WOD

This workout starts with 10 minutes of clusters, then moves into DB power cleans, push-ups, and lateral plate jumps.

EMOM for 10 minutes

• Clusters x 2 (Moderate)

Immediately into: 

AMRAP for 10 minutes

• DB hang power cleans ×10 (35/20lb)
• Push-ups × 10
• Lateral plate jumps × 20

*EMOM means “every minute on the minute”.

*AMRAP means “as many reps as possible”.

It’s only 20 minutes long but carries a huge potential for muscle development.

How to Prevent Injury While Performing a Functional Fitness Cluster?

Clusters for functional fitness involve two compound movement exercises. This makes them quite complex and could lead to injury if you’re not careful. Here are some tips to help you stay safe as you perform clusters.

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1. Start slow

As eager as you may be to start lifting heavy and get that shredded body, it’s better to start slow with a workout like a functional fitness cluster. Remember that it is not only a compound movement exercise but a combination of two!

Lifting too heavy or going straight into the full movements could result in injury simply because you are not ready for that level. You must have mastered the form and technique by breaking it down into the sub-movements. You also want to make sure you’re not lifting weights you can’t handle. Safety is the most important thing in any exercise, so please take it easy.

This is the combination of 2 or 3 ( clean, thruster or clean, front squat, push press) movements depending how you look at it. Break it down into these components and check which exercise allows you to lift the least weight.

Be sure to not use more weight with that cluster than you would with the weakest component separately. Otherwise it would be seriously unwise and a potential recipe for injury.

2. Stick to proper form and technique

As with any workout, form and technique are at the heart of the safety and effectiveness of your movements. The best way to master the proper form and technique of the cluster is to break it into several component movements and master those first.

You can then proceed into the complete movements with lighter weights, then reach for the stars once you have it nailed down.

3. Use a weightlifting belt When Needed

If you’ve mastered the right form and technique for your exercise, you can also use weightlifting belts. They’re a piece of gym equipment used by lifters to support the lower back during exercises.

Weightlifting belts help strengthen your core by providing a wall for your abs to push into, hence building up intra-abdominal pressure. This increases your ability to support more weight and reduces the stress on your spine. Lifting belts also lock your back in perfect form and prevent it from hyperextending as you work out.

Make sure you don’t get too dependent on the belts, though. It’s important that you learn to build up your core muscles to advance your development.

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FAQ

What’s the difference between a cluster and a thruster?

A thruster starts with you holding the barbell about on your shoulders in a front rack position – just like in the front squat. You then perform a front squat and when you go up combine it with a push press, lifting the barbell overhead. 

A cluster is the combination of a clean and thruster. You start just like you’d do clean and after turnover and catching the barbell you perform a thruster.

What’s the use of clusters?

Clusters combine two exercises into one offering increased volume and challenging your muscles with more time under tension. This approach allows you to do more work in a single rep. When you integrate more movements, your workouts can become more efficient and effective depending what kind of adaptation you are looking to get.

Can test how you produce and absorb force. How well your body can move, and can be challenging for your conditioning depending how you structure the exercise.

Conclusion

The functional fitness cluster is a hybrid exercise/movement that combines two compound exercises – the thruster and the clean to form one super effective exercise. It lets you do more work in less time so it will be challenging.

Now I’d like to hear from you. Have you seen the cluster being performed before? Does it sound like something you’d want to try? Have I skipped anything? Let’s talk in the comments!

Also Read:

• Military Vs Overhead Vs Shoulder Press
• Clusters Functional Fitness
• Weighted Dips
• When To Start Using A Lifting Belt
• How To Wear Weight Lifting Belt
• Best Lever Belt
• Barbell Sumo Squat
• Gymreapers Lever Belt Review
• Best Weightlifting Belt

References:

1. Elizabeth Quinn “Should You Use a Weight Belt for Lifting?” Very Well Fit, https://www.verywellfit.com/the-proper-use-of-belts-during-weight-training-3119447 (accessed July 22nd, 2024)
2. Guy Haff, S.J. Burgess, Michael Stone, “Cluster training: theoretical and practical applications for the strength and conditioning professional,” Professional Strength and Conditioning 12 (2008): 12-17.
3. Jane Chertoff “How to Add Compound Exercises to Your Workout Routine,” Healthline, https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/compound-exercises (accessed July 22nd, 2024)
4. Kirsten Nunez “The Best Core Exercises for All Fitness Levels,” Healthline, https://www.healthline.com/health/best-core-exercises (accessed July 22nd, 2024)
5. Mayo Clinic Staff, “Weight training: Do’s and don’ts of proper technique,” Mayo Clinic, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/weight-training/art-20045842 (accessed July 22nd 2024)
6. Photos are made by Torokhtiy Media Team