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

[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.