Part XV · Kettlebell exercises
Turkish Get-Up: Every Step From the Floor to Standing
Lie down with a kettlebell locked overhead, then stand up and lie back down in slow steps, arm straight and eyes on the bell. Any weak link shows itself.
The lesson
- 01
Get the bell up safely
Roll onto your side, take the handle with both hands, hug it to your chest, roll onto your back and press it up with both hands. Never press a bell one-handed off the floor cold.
- 02
Set the start
Arm locked over your shoulder, wrist straight, eyes on the bell. Bend the knee on that side, foot flat. The other leg lies straight and out to the side a little, your free arm out at about 45 degrees.
- 03
Punch up to your elbow, then your hand
Drive off your planted foot and punch the bell to the ceiling as you roll onto your free forearm. It's a punch, not a sit-up. Then push up onto that hand, set beside your hip rather than behind you, and sit tall, shoulder away from your ear.
- 04
Bridge high
Drive through the planted foot and lift your hips clear of the floor. Higher than feels necessary: the next step needs the room.
- 05
Sweep to kneeling
Thread the straight leg back under you and set that knee down below your hip. Shift your weight onto it, lift your hand off the floor and sit tall, then turn the back leg so knee and foot line up behind you, as in a lunge.
- 06
Stand up
Drive off the front foot to standing, bell still locked overhead, ribs down, glutes tight.
- 07
Reverse it, step by step
Kneel, hand down, sweep the leg through, sit, elbow, floor. The way down is half the exercise and most of the risk. Flat on your back, bring the bell to your chest with both hands and roll onto your side to set it down.
Watch for
- Bending the loaded arm. The bell stops resting on your bones and your shoulder muscles have to hold it alone.
- Eyes off the bell. You lose track of where it is, and it drifts out of line.
- Rolling up instead of punching up. You swing up on momentum, the bell wobbles and the straight leg lifts off the floor.
- Rushing the changes. You rock from one position to the next instead of owning each one, and the bell drifts with you.
What are the benefits of the Turkish get-up? You hold one straight line from your hand to the floor while your body goes from lying to standing and back down. Any weak link, in a shoulder, a hip or your trunk, shows itself at once, and owning every position under the bell is what makes it stronger.
How do you learn the Turkish get-up? One step at a time, with your lightest bell. Practise the first move, up to your elbow and back down, until it is smooth, then add the hand, the bridge and the sweep one at a time, each only once the step before it is solid.
How heavy should a Turkish get-up be? Heavy enough that you have to own every position, light enough that your arm stays locked and the bell never wobbles, up and back down. If you have to rush a step or your eyes leave the bell, it is too heavy. With two bells, own the whole get-up with the lighter one before you try the heavier.
How many Turkish get-ups should I do? Get-ups come after one-arm swings in the Structure · Anti-Rotation routine: one each side per set, four to six sets, resting until you feel fresh. Slow is the point: it is never done against a clock.
Next
Overhead Carry→The same locked arm overhead, now while you walk. It closes the same routine.
From the book
13The body moves together→