[mc-]

I've had a few questions about the TGU, and seen a few posts on same, so thought i might share a reply:

The Turkish Get Up is a great full body move that asks a person to go from a prone position to a standing position and back down again with a weight held in a fully extended arm. To achieve this work, just about everything is involved at some point in the move. It's been adopted into a suite of core kettlebell moves.

There are numerous variations of this form with kettlebells, but over the past year or so, it has settled into a crisp clear execution of form designed to work the full body very well. The video included below is by Dr. Mark Cheng, the person who wrote the RKC certification manual section on the Turkish Get Up. In this clip he's doing what's called a bottom up style, where he's crushing the kettlebell handle to keep the bell upright, rather than letting it balance against the arm - this is an advanced move, so wait till the form is in place to attempt it, but it's a great way to make a kettlebell that starts to feel light feel much more challenging again.

If you're doing TGU's i'd strongly encourage anyone to model their work on this crisp form approach.

It is also strongly recommended that TGU's are practiced naked to start with (ie nothing in your hands), then work up to balancing a shoe on the flat of the palm to ensure excellent arm positioning and body awareness,THEN think about weight.

Get the form perfect first is the message: there's a LOT of neuro-muscular adaptation in this move that will work you out without anything in your hand, fear not.

The precise set of moves that can be tricky to get from the DVD, so just to review:

• you start rolled full length on the side to grasp the bell
• then you're rolled flat on back with KB to chest
• press up the bell with both hands straight up
• if the bell is going to be held with the left, bring the right arm down at 45 degrees to your body.
• Roll up so that your left hip is raised, and you're lying on your right side, supported by the right arm
• Go up on your right elbow from that position (keep the KB left arm straight)
• then go up on your right hand
• then PRESS UP YOUR HIPS - you're on your side remember, so you have a line through your nice straight body at this point with the kb straight up, and you balanced on the other hand. Lats are fired on both sides. make sure to feel you lats working
• With your left foot leg on the ground, bring your right leg back through - work to get this pull through as even as possible - so that you get your knee down behind you.
• So now you're kneeling on one knee, with one hand on the ground, arm straight and the other arm up with the imaginary KB.
• Get your hand off the ground so you're now sorta in a genuflecting position
• put your weight on that forward leg (the left leg with the foot firmly planted on the ground) and stand up. Keep your eyes on the KB. The shoulder should be sucked down into the socket, the lats fired holding up that kettlebell
• Now reverse.

The goal in part is to get this to be
1. kb to chest
2. press up bell
3. arm to side
4. roll to side
5. on elbow
6. on hand
7. hips up
8. leg back to kneel
9. body up.
10. stand UP
reverse.
Throughout, stay in a straight line all the way up: so the direction you start the TGU in is the direction you end in.



Of course no one has to do any move a particular way, but you may find if you try this approach with care on each part, focusing on muscle control at each step, you get more benefit.

Also, if someone has difficulty completing the full TGU, just work on it a phase at a time: up to the hand, back down; up to the kneeling position, back down, and so on.

Hope this helps,

best
mc

[Roland Fisher]

I was hoping I could do them without cloths on... naked means no weight, check. Nice vid BTW!

[mc-]

Roland, plainly you have hit on the true form of kettlebell practice and why it's so nice to be able to workout at home.

mc

[Alex Gold]

I love TGUs! One of my goals is a bodyweight TGU....I'm halfway there

[mc-]

Way to go, Alex!
mc

[Mike T Nelson]

TGUs are a great exercise! I also like to think about "tall spine" the entire time and personally I prefer to not look at the KB as it add too much tension in my neck. Just make sure you don't drop the KB on yourself though!
Good stuff and thanks for posting!
Mike N

[Carolrs]

These have become my favorite kettlebell move!! They work everything - they're quite amazing!!

Carol
:)

[mc-]

There's definitely an adaptation phase for many of us in getting used to doing TGU's - namely, the bell on the forearm can be bloody uncomfortable for the first period. Makes breaking in sound like it's really breaking in.

The mechanical strategies i and others have used have included wrist sweat bands, the insertion of a hand cloth between forearm and bell, or the placement of some other soft breaker between bell and bone.

Recently, Steve Freides of the Tactical Strength Challenge proposed that a technique he uses with his clients is to have them focus on crushing the handle of the bell - and that he has always used that approach rather than any sort of device and has excellent success with it.

If you try that, let me know how it goes.

All the best,
mc

[mc-]

And here's some more tips: this one on the Swing

mc

[mc-]

Here's an even more illustrated version of the TGU, hardstyle, approach.

mc