Turkish Get-Up: Roll-to-Elbow Conundrum
Damn those Turks! It’s no secret that I have a love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with the Turkish get-up. I love them because there’s no doubting their validity in terms of providing a lot of bang-for-our-training buck. We’ve been utilizing them more and more at CP with our athletes and clients to address everything from scapular stability to t-spine mobility to hip mobility to glute activation to, well, lets just say there’s a lot of good stuff happening.
I hate them because, speaking from a personal perspective, TGUs do an excellent job at shining a bright, Bat Signal’esque spotlight on some glaring weaknesses and imbalances I have. And while I think I’m better than the average cat at performing them, I know deep down that I probably suck at them.
But it’s like I always say: you’re only as strong as your weakest link, and it’s generally those exercises you hate most that are most beneficial for you.
Don’t believe me – read THIS awesome post by Roman on why you should embrace the suck.
Anyhoo, back to Turkish get-ups.
At last count there are like 593 separate steps to perform a proper get-up. Funnily enough, it’s step numero uno that generally gets people the most flummoxed (<—- I love that words).
Many people have a hard time with the roll-to-elbow because they try to do it like an ab crunch. I know I’ve tried to use cues like “roll and punch the ceiling” which works for some people, but admittedly even this only works half of the time. If that.
One of my former distance coaching clients, Laura McNally, who also happens to be a Strong First (SFG) certified kettlebell instructor, recently invented an ingenious drill that really cleans up the roll-to-elbow conundrum.
Here’s Laura’s description:
This assisted drill helps teach the proper motor pattern, which is a roll with a pulling motion on the down arm. You’ll automatically feel what’s supposed to be happening, and people can move to unassisted after only a couple reps.
Lay a heavyish kettlebell on its side so that the student’s hand on the down arm is holding onto the handle of the bell. During the roll-to-elbow move, the student pulls against the handle, using the kettlebell as an anchor. (A variation is for the instructor to hold the student’s hand as the anchor, with the student pulling against the teacher’s hand.)
Bloop – the student pops right up.
NOTE: It’s important to highlight that you need drive the elbow into the floor when doing the roll, as opposed to just trying to drag the KB toward the torso without pushing the elbow down as a pivot point.
It’s definitely one of those drills that you have to try to understand why it works. The drill helps to teach lat engagement and elbow drive. After a few reps, once the motor pattern feels grooved, try unassisted.
Since I first posted this idea on Facebook, I’ve heard from a number of kettlebell instructors that this drill helped switch on the lightbulb for the start of the TGU.
Comments for This Entry
Will B
wahoo! this is great. thanks Tony and Laura!June 6, 2013 at 9:40 am |
TonyGentilcore
Cool - glad you liked it Will!June 7, 2013 at 6:14 am |
Jane O
Yes you did just blow my mind. That Laura McNally is BRILLIANT!June 6, 2013 at 6:16 pm |
TonyGentilcore
Indeed, she is.June 7, 2013 at 6:14 am |
Barath
You made this whole thing up so you could flex those guns at us.June 6, 2013 at 10:21 pm |
TonyGentilcore
hahahahaha. I can neither accept nor deny that comment....;o)June 7, 2013 at 6:15 am |
John J Brooks
That's a great drill. I always tell folks to stretch the floor between the foot that is flat on the floor and the elbow you're trying to get up on... but this one may be simpler. Will have to check it out.June 7, 2013 at 11:46 pm |
TonyGentilcore
Cool - let me know when you try it out John and whether or not you like it.June 11, 2013 at 8:21 am |
Scott
Thanks for the tip. It helped me improve my get-ups immediately, and just when I was getting frustrated with that part of the movement.June 8, 2013 at 4:45 pm |
TonyGentilcore
Awesome! Yes, Laura has been getting some awesome feedback on this drill. It's amazing how something so subtle and simple can be so freakin effective. Why the hell did I never think of it????June 11, 2013 at 8:22 am |
Sean Norwood
Great drill for a common problem. Can't believe I never thought of this!June 11, 2013 at 9:37 am |
MassNERDerer
Do you have any posts related to cues or education on the rest of the TGU?June 23, 2013 at 7:22 am |
TonyGentilcore
Sure do. Here you go: http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/cressey-performance-in-service-get-upswing-tutorial/June 24, 2013 at 9:45 am |
Jez
Awesome cue. Thanks Tony and Laura. JezJune 27, 2013 at 4:55 am |
Rachel
Gah! Thank you!! I have been struggling with this very part of the TGU. Can't wait to try this tomorrow!July 15, 2013 at 8:27 pm |
Lørdags links #19 - Haacker
[...] link er til et indlæg om Turkish get ups. Jeg er ved at lære mig selv øvelsen, da jeg nu har energi til lidt mere varieret træning (hurrah [...]August 24, 2013 at 12:22 pm |
Performance and Postures | Excellent Reads – In case you missed them, June 2nd-9th, 2013. - Performance and Postures
[…] Turkish Get-Up: Roll-to-Elbow Conundrum by Tony Gentilcore […]September 21, 2013 at 8:39 pm |
Rees
Good thinkinJanuary 1, 2014 at 12:47 pm |