Turkish get-up happiness!

[rydra_wong]

My gym has a new set of kettlebells, so I rewarded myself for getting back there by testing my TGU max. Got a personal best, and then managed to make it beyond that to a one rep max of one third bodyweight! Though only on my right side; I couldn't quite make it on the left.

But it made me very happy, and was sufficient to get a double-take from the very strong guy who asked me what weight the kettlebell I was using was.

Comments

[resolute]

WOOT! Congrats!

[rydra_wong]

I love TGUs so much. I'm not sure why I find them so satisfying, but I do. Maybe it's the thing of getting up under a weight in a complex and graceful apart from the flailing way.

[pantswarrior]

sufficient to get a double-take from the very strong guy who asked me what weight the kettlebell I was using was

Hahahah, nice! Confirmation that "yes, this is as impressive as it feels" is always fun.

[rydra_wong]

And this was someone who I'd seen doing serious stuff with barbells in the free weights room, so he was not one of the clueless crowd.

(It's made me so much more confident in the free weights room to realize that my limited knowledge actually puts me ahead of half the people in there.)

[lyorn]

Wow.

[rydra_wong]

I love TGUs so much. I've been doing them for years, starting with the smallest weights I had, and it's amazing to feel how much more weight I can wrangle now.

And I think they help stabilize and protect my shoulders (which are under perpetual stress from climbing).

[quartzpebble]

They probably do! I find that as long as I can keep my shoulder blades down, they work muscles similar to ones I was working in PT for a clavicular sprain, which was a *lot* of stabilizer work.

[lyorn]

I still fail at getting my upper body off the floor at all -- even with no weight added. It must be possible if I get the form just right -- guys with no hips and with shoulders like a blacksmith do them. But for now I'm flopping on the ground. With a shoe in my hand ;-).

[rydra_wong]

I've probably said this before, but does it help to think of it more as rolling onto your elbow, rather than trying to do a sit-up? Your abs do need to work to get you a bit of lift (so you can get your elbow underneath you), but it may be less than you think.

Stomping the opposite foot (opposite to the side you're trying to roll onto) can help get you some extra impetus, too.

[weirdquark]

Nice!

I did some TGUs recently because I hadn't done them in a while and tried it at about 25% BW -- managed a rep okay on the left side, managed to get it UP on the right, but coming down my arm decided it was done, so I (safely) rotated and dropped the sucker on the floor. In a controlled sort of way, even, but it wasn't going to stay over my head anymore.

[rydra_wong]

Controlled bail is good! And 25% w00t!

In a way, I find it confidence-boosting whenever I have to bail on something a little scary like a TGU or overhead squat -- it tells me that I really have gone to my limit, and that I can handle and control getting myself out of a dodgy situation (large iron cannonball suspended over face, etc.).

On the left side, I got to kneeling, but couldn't get up from there. Just not happening. But I have high hopes that it will happen in the not-too-distant future.

[mongrelheart]

hot diggity dog! i'm stoked for you! :):)

[rydra_wong]

The smug, I has it! *g*

[commodorified]

WOOO!

(And, also, I can't tell you how helpful stuff like this is to me and my tendency to have trouble knowing what reasonable goals are. So this makes me say "OOh. 1/3 BW is a reasonable VERY LONG-term goal, good to know!)

*goes back to admiring you*

[rydra_wong]

Half bodyweight is looking plausible as a goal for me, in the medium term. By which I mean I can believe it might happen, one day.

And there are people who can TGU full bodyweight -- IIRC, you can see various people do it in Strength Rituals -- but I'm not sure I can imagine myself ever doing that. Yet.

[weirdquark]

I saw this the other day and am still boggling from the awesome of the concept, even though it's clearly not a TGU with of the lifter's full bodyweight.

[rydra_wong]

Oh, that's a great clip!

[amarie24]

Oh, wow!!

Hello, there! My name is Amarie, and I'm pretty new to Dreamwidth! I just wanted to visit someone else's journal/blog, so I decided to say hi! :D

And you have my upmost respect! It's not easy trying out new exercise equipment and routines, so you have some true grit to do so. I kind of envy you; I myself only power walk around my neighborhood. So great going and keep up the good work! :D

--Amarie

[rydra_wong]

I just wanted to visit someone else's journal/blog, so I decided to say hi!

Hi and welcome! If you're exploring and looking for new stuff at Dreamwidth, there's currently a Giant Community Rec-O-Matic and a Friending Meme going on.

If you're interested in exercise stuff in general, you might like exercise_every_day, for starters -- it's got people doing all sorts of exercise.

It's not easy trying out new exercise equipment and routines, so you have some true grit to do so.

I'm actually a shy and anxious person, but thank you! *g*

I wrote a couple of posts for this comm a while back, on how to get started in the free weights room even if you're clueless and terrified:

How To Invade The Free Weights Room, Part I
How To Invade The Free Weights Room, Part II

[amarie24]

Oh, wow! Thank you so much for those links! I really, really want to visit other peoples' journals and for them to visit mine. ^ ^
And even if you *are* a shy and anxious person, you're still brave!! :D
*goes to read your posts*

[rydra_wong]

I really, really want to visit other peoples' journals and for them to visit mine.

It's a pretty welcoming environment over here (and as I said, I'm a shy person ...). Friending memes are great, and comms are obviously a good way of getting to know people, but you can also try surfing the Latest Things or using the Interests search to find people who are into the same things as you.

I've often commented in someone's journal and added "Here via the network page, hope that's okay" or suchlike, and never had anyone bat an eyelid.

By the way, if you're still settling in, getting_started is a great comm specifically designed for Dreamwidth n00b "How do I make it do this/not do that?" type questions. No question is too clueless and people are always happy to help out.