For functional fitness
For functional fitness, hang power clean and thruster score the same on every criterion.
Both are good choices that build different things for functional fitness, so a plan can use both.
The research score comes from these, scored by hand from the studies. Lifter scores appear once an exercise has 10 ratings. How scores work
Hang Power Clean. The explosive pull of Olympic lifting, quicker to learn than the full clean.
Thruster. A competition staple that joins a front squat and a press.
For functional fitness, hang power clean and thruster score the same on every criterion. Both are good choices that build different things for functional fitness, so a plan can use both.
Thruster is easier: it takes some practice, while hang power clean needs coaching.
Hang power clean needs a barbell, so for most people it’s a gym exercise. Thruster needs a barbell and a squat rack, so for most people it’s a gym exercise.
About the same: both rate Fair for injury protection in our research rubric.