Kipping comes in a myriad of styles, and each athlete has a signature kip, but in its most elegant form the kip is a transference of movement first generated in the horizontal plane, where it comes cheap and easy, to the vertical plane, where momentum and a perfectly timed pull from the back launch the athlete forcefully upward.

The long line of action of the thruster coupled with the difficulty of controlling two dumbbells creates a robust training stimulus. Any technical inefficiencies or positional weaknesses are immediately highlighted by the dumbbells. Start with a light set of dumbbells and refine your technique before challenging yourself with greater load.