Turkish Get Ups are a hugely beneficial exercise. We have been talking about building shoulder strength and stability with a number of different exercises, but now we add in a dynamic movement to work on these issues….enter the TGU! If you have done these before, you know how humbling they can be!
Here’s why we should be performing the TGU….
It requires a high level of shoulder stability and control, core strength and leg drive. All of these carry over into lifting heavier weights.
Turkish Get Ups force you to be calm and patient, which develop your breathing, body control and awareness.
TGU also require a lot of rotator cuff control while moving through multiple planes of motion…your shoulders will thank you!
Tips to Performing the TGU:
Breathe: Your breathing on a TGU should be slow, controlled and relaxed…not holding your breathe and screaming like you are hitting a monster deadlift.
Relax: You should be stabilizing the kettlebell with your rotator cuff by keeping your shoulders down. If you stop in the middle of a TGU and you can’t turn your head side to side, you are too tight and shoulders are too high.
Slow down: TGU are a movement that need to be performed for quality. In this case, quality means moving slower and more deliberately and really “feeling” your body and your breathing at each step along the way.
Start light: Use a lighter KB than you think you should to start off. Once you are comfortable you can bump up the weight. Add difficulty by adding weight, or by turning your KB upside down and performing it bottoms up!
Check out the technique from Floor to Standing:
