Getting down with the Turkish Get-Up

[61pwcc]

Getting down with the Turkish Get-Up

[Al Myers]

That is outstanding! A great lift is over 100 pounds with a dumbbell or kettlebell. I agree that keeping your eyes on the implement is key. Al

[jarrod]

i love TGUs, i pushed 80lbs last summer at a body weight of 190lbs, & i aim to get 100lbs by the end of this summer! i’ve been thinking about putting up a tips video on my youtube channel, i’ll be sure to post it when i do.

jf

[jarrod]

pushed 80lbs again today, left side & right. 100lbs, here i come!

[61pwcc]

Got to be getting over 100lbs on these ASAP. How can these NOT work you rotator cuff??
Imagine with a 7 foot Olympic style bar would make for an interesting TGU!!

[Al Myers]

Have you checked out the Half-Gardner and Full-Gardner lifts yet? They use a bar, and are similar to the TGU but start at the top position. The Full-Gardner is really difficult as you first lie down, and then stand back up like a TGU!! Keeping a bar balanced is much harder than holding a kettlebell. Al

[jarrod]

i originally did the TGU as a reverse full-gardner…starting on the ground, standing, then lying back down. i haven’t tackled a true gardner yet though, i will probably pick it up when my TGU plateaus.

jf

[61pwcc]

Did some technique work on Snatches:Rolling under the bar. Followed with Middle finger Deadlifts. Big pr on these. Funny how these feel like a ton, until I hit some sort of groove. For example, 185lbs almost stayed glued to the floor. 225 FLEW right up!! 275 as well. Two tries @ 315= NOPE! Back down to 300(I like pain) pulled 3 times and nailed it on 3rd!! Got it filmed. Now just got to figure out how to put it on youtube.
Figured what the hell, my cousin(who’s filming) is royally enjoying me hurt. Let’s hit some Turkish get-ups. 50lbs(dumbell) was ok,70lbs felt like death eating a cracker takin’ its time. Cousin told me to man up and hit 85lbs-must of hit a groove, they were the easiest of the lot!!. Let’s go for BIG pain 100lbs, YEEHAW I did it. Got those filmed as well. The Get-ups really nail the Serratus Anterior. Never felt ANYTHING I’ve done previously, work the Serratus like these. Low Traps also trashed. Again nothing I’ve done before has made me say,”what the heck did I do to my Low Traps!?!?”
All-Round Weightlifting is the Jeet-Kun-Do of the strength training world!!

[Ben Edwards]

TGUs are pretty cool. When my right shoulder was still very stable (2007 – before a lot of steel bending) I did 115 pounds with an Olympic bar. And I watched a Crossfit guy at a health club here in town do 135 pounds. He probably weighed 185 pounds.

https://goalorientedtraining.wordpress.com/

[61pwcc]

Doing a Turkish get-up with a bar is a 1/2 Gardner correct?? 115 sounds like a lot of weight, never mind 135. I’ll have to give it a try soon.

[jarrod]

hey great work hitting 100lbs, i’ll catch up soon! i believe the half gardner with a barbell is the same, except you start standing up & lie down on the floor. sort of a reverse TGU.

jf

[Al Myers]

The TGU starts on the platform, and a Half-Gardner starts standing. If you get a chance, check out some of the blogs on this website about these lifts. I know I have written several in the past. You can find them by doing a search of article tags. Al

[61pwcc]

Jarrod, you weigh 190ish?? Hitting 100lbs will be much more impressive than me hitting it @230. I’d like to get back down to the 190’s.

[jarrod]

yeah every year bulking up is a little easier & cutting down is a little harder! 80lbs felt fairly easy the other day, but it was at the end of a 5-set pyramid so thought i had better call it a day. i sure hope i can get 100lbs in a couple months but you never know til you get there.

[61pwcc]

Just thought of something. These Turkish Get-ups are probably great for shoulder stability I can use for the Fingal Fingers event I got coming up next month. Interesting

[jarrod]

had to look up fingal fingers to see what it was. looks like fun! i’m sure TGUs will help out.

jf

[61pwcc]

Believe we’re the only amateur strongman group in the US that has ’em. We got 3 to flip over in 60 seconds. Wts go 325,350,375.
What’s odd is that with ANY type of pressing I am horrible. These are actually one of my better events!

[jarrod]

i think that TGUs are more about pressing stability than pressing power or strength. i imagine you have some strong legs that drive the fingers over, it looks like the pressing strength is secondary to that. just armchair strongmaning over here of course.

jf

[61pwcc]

Jarrod: It can be VERY interesting to see what guys excel at vs what stops ’em dead in there tracks. In our strongman group we got one guy in the 105kg class that just can’t hold the Fingal Finger overhead all the way to the end. Yet, he’s one of the best at this event!! He works it overhead as long as he can. When he can’t go further, he lets it drop on his Traps!!Yeoww…we cringe every time he does it but he finishes before everyone else!!
Yeah my legs are strong and my hips are finally starting to catch-up. My shoulders have always been ‘loose’. The best thing I ever did for them was Olympic Lifting. My rotators are bullet proof. My shoulders are solid.
Now I got to hammer my lockout for pressing. That’s going to take some time for sure.

[Al Myers]

The fingal fingers are TOUGH! We also have a set of them at the Dino Gym (300, 350, 400, and 450, and range in hts from 10 feet to 15 feet). 61 -Where do you train at that has a set of fingal fingers? I do know very few strongman clubs have them. Al

[61pwcc]

Holy cow…you got 400 and 450!?!? I’d love to hit it with those bad boys. The Maine state chair for NAS is in the next town over. We have a training group that meets on Saturdays. We train at his house. His brother lives next door. The brother is a self employed Landscaper. To blow off steam, he took up welding. He’s built us some Fingal Fingers, Conan’s Wheel/Viking Press, Car Squat/Car Deadlift. Built 4 ‘baskets’ that go on the bottom of our yoke. The baskets get loaded with kegs partially filled with water. Talk about OSCILLATION!! This guy has got a lot of steam to blow!!
When we first got the Fingers, we cut one down. I thought it was a bad idea. I knew once we got the hang of the Fingers we’d be able to lift the heavy one. As it stands, I am by far the weakest of the group. The Fingers are one of my best events. I can do all 3 in 20 seconds.
If you can’t ‘clean’ that Finger overhead, pressing/lockout strength certainly DOES matter so you can get you arms straight. Most guys clean it to chest then push press it. I clean it overhead in one motion bending my legs JUST ENOUGH to get under it getting my arms straight ASAP.
For some reason, this is one of those events I get particularly amped up for.

[61pwcc]

Video of left hand then right hand Turkish Get-Up with a 100lb dumbbell now posted.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3U9uepx37E

[61pwcc]

You tube video of me hitting a 130lb dumbbell on the Turkish Get-up. Missed with the Left but nailed it with my Right!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlpqXpVRwsE
Also footage of me doing a 155lb Standing Dead Hang Snatchhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjhWRrcwU3Q

[jarrod]

wow! great lifts! you’re leaving me in the dust with the TGU. i’m up to 85. i feel i can do more but i’m trying to return to training slowly. great work.

jf

[61pwcc]

Thanks Jarrod but, I outweigh you by 30lbs so I SHOULD be hitting 130. I’m learning just how quick you’ve got to move to make the lift!!

[jarrod]

yup, the less time you spend under that weight the less time you have to drop it! when i hit 100, i’m going to put up a TGU video with a few technical tips on it, but i don’t feel like i can let myself do it until i put up 100. i think i could do now honestly, but i’m trying to be happy with bite sized improvements. i think that with just a couple changes, you could easily add another 10-20lbs to that lift, if you don’t mind my saying so.

jf

[61pwcc]

Nope, I don’t mind at all. I need all the help I can get. Remember, this is my 5th time doing these so it’s still new. Check out how my right w/130 was literally 3 times faster than my left. 14 second vs 46 seconds. I feel I need to swing my feet under myself sooner and get those feet planted flat. Basically try to get as much of myself under that weight as soon as possible!!

[jarrod]

i think that’s what i saw too. what i do with my straight leg to bring it under is this: i point my toes out, & focus on keeping my knee on the ground. then i pull my heel to my butt while i lift up my hips, & my knee ends up supporting my under my hips. don’t know if that makes any sense or not. 130 on your 5th time is AWESOME.

jf

[61pwcc]

I think I get what your saying. Appreciate the props.I compete in Powerlifting,Strongman and Olympic Weightlifting and stink @ ALL 3!! I’m not very strong OR quick. What I AM good at is balance, coordination and flexibility. My parents are not athletes. My dad’s dad was good at log rolling competitions and could walk up flights of stairs on his hands alone. Maybe I’ve got a touch of that. I started swinging an axe @7 years old. My family knows how to work long and hard. My dad is 67 and I’m sure he can still outwork me.
My point is that the lifts that favor what I’m good at, will be the lifts I do best. Do I still try to get stronger and faster=you bet. I think with the lifts that require balance, coordination, flexibility, endurance I’ll excel.
I don’t mean this in a jerk/show-off kind of way. I want to put up such a good Turkish get-up that NO ONE will go after it. Put it out of sight so to speak. I want to open my mind and see what can happen.

[jarrod]

i kind of doubt that you’re not strong, bud. but i tell you what, you go ahead & dominate the TGU in your class, & i’ll own it at 90kg!

jf

[61pwcc]

Sounds like a good plan.

[jarrod]

did 95lbs today…on a barbell. don’t tell my doctor!

jf

[61pwcc]

Nicely done. How’d you feel during and later on??

[jarrod]

ecstatic. followed by some tightness in the back, but i took it easy the rest of the day until my adjustment. i don’t think i should push it again anytime soon, but 95 didn’t feel like an actual max.

[Abe Smith]

For technical tips the best person to contact would be John Monk. I believe he did a half gardner with 155lbs – equal to bodyweight. There is nothing wrong with this lift, and is fun to play with.

[jarrod]

that would be great, is he on the forum?

[Author]

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