The Turkish Get-up appreciation thread

meshashesha2012

Anyone else love these as much as me?

I see tons of posts (rightfully so) on the awesomeness of squats, deadlifts and other compound lifts but barely nothing on the extremely awesome Turkish get up.

Benefits:
- it works your entire body
- Work on your balance
- Hand-eye coordination
- helps with shoulder stabilization
- you look like a bad *kitten* while doing it, not that you'd be watching yourself because of the form requirements, but trust me you do.
- can be done with kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, canned goods, little babies, grown adults

Cons:
- do these in a gym and you'll have people asking you what the hell it is


So for those of you who have never done them or have seen them but were too shy to introduce yourself, here's an introduction to your new best Turkish friend :happy:


http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Kettlebell/KBTurkishGetup.html
http://kettlebellsworkouts.com/7-steps-of-the-kettlebell-turkish-get-up/

tl;dr version :

do these

singingflutelady

love.them

Railr0aderTony

I could only get one link to work. I will have to try this.

jenilla1

Too complicated for my simple mind. If a physical activity has more than 3 steps my eyes are glazing over. Honestly, I have terrible coordination (I can't dance either) and zero attention span for this kind of stuff. Anyone who can master this move is far, far cooler than me. I will cheer for you on the sidelines! :drinker:

walterm852

i like functional training so I love Turkish Get ups.

My workout groups has one workout with 8 min stations and one of the stations is getups - 21 each arm, 42lbs kb. Iits a good test for me :-)

meshashesha2012

Too complicated for my simple mind. If a physical activity has more than 3 steps my eyes are glazing over. Honestly, I have terrible coordination (I can't dance either) and zero attention span for this kind of stuff. Anyone who can master this move is far, far cooler than me. I will cheer for you on the sidelines! :drinker:

you should try it. i also used to think it was too complicated, but once you get the movements down, it's pretty cool.

i also sometimes imagine 80+ year old self haven fallen from my walker remembering the trkish get up and then able to use it to get up and back more cookies for the neighborhood kids

ssaraj43

I plan on taking this week off of lifting. Mastering the Turkish Get Up( body weight ) is on my list for mobility work this week. :drinker:

meshashesha2012

i like functional training so I love Turkish Get ups.

My workout groups has one workout with 8 min stations and one of the stations is getups - 21 each arm, 42lbs kb. Iits a good test for me :-)

working my way up to 42 pounds. i have a left shoulder issue that i'm working my way out of and between the turkish get up and overhead press, i can tell my shoulder is regaining strength and mobility

CivicSi71

This is an awesome exercise. I'm glad I'm not the only person with appreciation for full body functional exercises. What is a good routine? I usually try for 2 - 3 sets of 2 -3 reps per side. That is challenging. What is 42 reps like.

Cherimoose

I do them without putting the hand on the floor. It makes it much more of a core exercise, and more difficult overall.
With this method, get up however feels comfortable. Foot positioning is not so crucial.
I usually aim for 3-5 pairs on each side.

meshashesha2012

I do them without putting the hand on the floor. It makes it much more of a core exercise, and more difficult overall.
With this method, get up however feels comfortable. Foot positioning is not so crucial.
I usually aim for 3-5 pairs on each side.

how does that work? where do you keep your arm/hand? does that mean you just leave the shoulder in contact with the floor?

that reminds me that the first time i saw someone doing his in person was a guy with one arm

Flyersteve18

Anyone else love these as much as me?

I see tons of posts (rightfully so) on the awesomeness of squats, deadlifts and other compound lifts but barely nothing on the extremely awesome Turkish get up.

Benefits:
- it works your entire body
- Work on your balance
- Hand-eye coordination
- helps with shoulder stabilization
- you look like a bad *kitten* while doing it, not that you'd be watching yourself because of the form requirements, but trust me you do.
- can be done with kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, canned goods, little babies, grown adults

Cons:
- do these in a gym and you'll have people asking you what the hell it is


So for those of you who have never done them or have seen them but were too shy to introduce yourself, here's an introduction to your new best Turkish friend :happy:


http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Kettlebell/KBTurkishGetup.html
http://kettlebellsworkouts.com/7-steps-of-the-kettlebell-turkish-get-up/

tl;dr version :

do these

OP is awesome.


Also, do these.

Cherimoose

I do them without putting the hand on the floor. It makes it much more of a core exercise, and more difficult overall.
With this method, get up however feels comfortable. Foot positioning is not so crucial.
I usually aim for 3-5 pairs on each side.

how does that work? where do you keep your arm/hand? does that mean you just leave the shoulder in contact with the floor?

Yes, shoulders touch the floor, but the hand that isn't holding the kettlebell never touches the ground nor your body at any point during the exercise.
Once you're down on the floor, sit up.. then stand up any way you choose (1 knee to ground, 2 knees, cross-legged). It requires more shoulder flexibility than a standard Turkish to keep your arm from dropping forward. If you can't keep your arm vertical while you stand up, try this stretch for 30 seconds right before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcaaHHhZJD4

Start with 5 to 10 pounds until you get the hang of it. You won't be able to lift as much as a regular Turkish, because it's a more challenging exercise. They really kick butt. I call them Turkish Get-Downs, because i start at the standing position.

Trainers at the gym may try to correct your form. Tell them to try it this way!

meshashesha2012

bumping

because TGU's rock!

Huffdogg

Try doing them with a regular olympic bar, and enter a whole new world of stabilizing difficulty.

meshashesha2012

I do them without putting the hand on the floor. It makes it much more of a core exercise, and more difficult overall.
With this method, get up however feels comfortable. Foot positioning is not so crucial.
I usually aim for 3-5 pairs on each side.

how does that work? where do you keep your arm/hand? does that mean you just leave the shoulder in contact with the floor?

Yes, shoulders touch the floor, but the hand that isn't holding the kettlebell never touches the ground nor your body at any point during the exercise.
Once you're down on the floor, sit up.. then stand up any way you choose (1 knee to ground, 2 knees, cross-legged). It requires more shoulder flexibility than a standard Turkish to keep your arm from dropping forward. If you can't keep your arm vertical while you stand up, try this stretch for 30 seconds right before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcaaHHhZJD4

Start with 5 to 10 pounds until you get the hang of it. You won't be able to lift as much as a regular Turkish, because it's a more challenging exercise. They really kick butt. I call them Turkish Get-Downs, because i start at the standing position.

Trainers at the gym may try to correct your form. Tell them to try it this way!

are you kidding? the trainers at my gym dont know TGU and i've had to show them :laugh: . im doing TGU again on wednesday so i'm going to try a weighless set with no hands. if i'm stuck on the floor trying to get up like a turtle on its back, i'm coming to get you! :explode:

Cherimoose

I do them without putting the hand on the floor. It makes it much more of a core exercise, and more difficult overall.
With this method, get up however feels comfortable. Foot positioning is not so crucial.
I usually aim for 3-5 pairs on each side.

how does that work? where do you keep your arm/hand? does that mean you just leave the shoulder in contact with the floor?

Yes, shoulders touch the floor, but the hand that isn't holding the kettlebell never touches the ground nor your body at any point during the exercise.
Once you're down on the floor, sit up.. then stand up any way you choose (1 knee to ground, 2 knees, cross-legged). It requires more shoulder flexibility than a standard Turkish to keep your arm from dropping forward. If you can't keep your arm vertical while you stand up, try this stretch for 30 seconds right before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcaaHHhZJD4

Start with 5 to 10 pounds until you get the hang of it. You won't be able to lift as much as a regular Turkish, because it's a more challenging exercise. They really kick butt. I call them Turkish Get-Downs, because i start at the standing position.

Trainers at the gym may try to correct your form. Tell them to try it this way!

are you kidding? the trainers at my gym dont know TGU and i've had to show them :laugh: . im doing TGU again on wednesday so i'm going to try a weighless set with no hands. if i'm stuck on the floor trying to get up like a turtle on its back, i'm coming to get you! :explode:

How are you gonna do that if you're stuck on the floor on your back? :laugh:

I just did some no-hand TGUs with a sandbag. The sandbag flops around all over, which makes it a lot harder.

I always feel good about myself after doing them.

millerll

Try doing them with a regular olympic bar, and enter a whole new world of stabilizing difficulty.

QFT. This is how I do them, and ti makes it a much more challenging exercise. Not only do you have to handle the weight itself, but you also get the added workout from balancing the horizontal bar as you get up and then back down. Awesome exercise!