Get Up
The Turkish Get Up, TGU, or just the get up, is a complicated, multistep move that many people can benefit from learning.
Starting on your back with a kettlebell raised up to the ceiling, the get up requires the lifter to get from that supine position to a standing position, and back down while the kettlebell remains stabilized overhead. In doing so, your body moves through many important shapes, demanding mobility, stability, breathing, patience and strength. It exposes you to many foundational shapes and movements like rolling, half kneeling and finding support in various angles. Not to mention, the ability to get up and down from the floor is a critical skill.
It is not a move to be rushed. In fact, slower is better - it requires more control and ownership of the shapes. Heavy weights aren’t necessary either, a light to moderate kettlebell will be plenty. When I first learned the get up in college, the instructor had us first demonstrate we could complete a get up balancing our shoe on a closed fist before graduating to weight.
Here are the steps to nail a perfect get up:
Roll to the elbow - stop here! Pause, don’t rush into the next step.
Reach up to the hand - imagine reaching the KB toward the ceiling.
Hips up - drive your hips up creating a bridge.
Feed the leg through - get that knee back! Much further than you think to be in a wide base of support.
Windshield wiper - turn your lower leg as you lift your torso, ending in a half kneeling position.
Stand up!
Lunge backwards to half kneeling.
Windshield wiper the lower leg and reach towards the floor with the free hand.
Feed the leg through.
Slide to your forearm
Roll to your back.
More often than not, a half get up will suffice to get many of the benefits without being overly complicated. It teaches stability and control, and once you can really master the half get up, the full move becomes less daunting.
It’s three steps up:
Roll to the elbow
Reach to the hand
Bridge up, and practice getting the shoulders aligned, making a “T’ with your arms and torso.
Plus the reverse to get back down.
Here’s a version I played with last year, a pressing get up, where you do a press at each and every step of the get up, forcing you to slow down and make sure you’re in a strong and stable position in order to rep the press.
The half get up is showing up in some of your programs this week or next. Remember, go slow and don’t rush!
Justin Miner
@justinminergain