Going Beyond the Swing: Part 3—Turkish Get-Up

By Jeff Martone

May 26, 2011

Join CrossFit Kettlebell trainer Jeff Martone as he adds more kettlebell movements to the CrossFit toolbox. In Part 3, he shares one of his specialties: the Turkish get-up.

“This is another exercise that’s phenomenal for your shoulder, and it’s a total body exercise,” Martone says. He believes the movement translates well to getting up defensively, especially for law-enforcement officers.

The first stage of the Turkish get-up is sitting up from a supine position with the kettlebell locked out overhead. Martone breaks it down slowly. If your leg shoots up as you are driving your back off the ground, it is a fault.

“The reason that foot comes up is because it’s really just a disconnect in your core—you’re not keeping it tight,” he says. “We can fix it by doing a simple breathing exercise, just matching the breath with the movement … just actively exhaling on the way up, which keeps our abs tight.”

The next stage is getting off the ground and back down in another series of steps. Martone emphasizes proper shoulder positioning throughout the movement. He cautions against relaxing on the way down.

“That combination of your back slapping and that elbow bend—that kettlebell’s coming screaming for one spot: to crush your head,” he says.

7min 58sec

Additional reading: How to Speak Martone by Larry Gallagher, published Oct.28, 2008.

Free Download

Comment

The Turkish Get-Up Series: The Steps

By Jeff Martone

The Turkish Get-Up Series: The Armbar Stretch

By Jeff Martone

In the second part of the Turkish get-up series, kettlebell guru Jeff Martone outlines the three steps of the movement.

First there’s sitting up, then the transition to the knee and… Continue Reading

In the first part of this Turkish get-up series, kettlebell guru Jeff Martone breaks down the armbar stretch.

“The armbar stretch is probably one of the best shoulder-rehab… Continue Reading

The Turkish Get-Up Series: Style Advantages

By Jeff Martone

The Kettlebell Snatch

By Jeff Martone

In the third part of the Turkish get-up series, kettlebell guru Jeff Martone talks about the advantages between the overhead-squat style and the traditional method.

Most often, it’s… Continue Reading

The kettlebell snatch is the summary of all the skills learned in the CrossFit Kettlebell Trainer Course. At this seminar at Progressive F.O.R.C.E. CrossFit in Las Vegas, kettlebell… Continue Reading

11 Comments on “Going Beyond the Swing: Part 3—Turkish Get-Up”

wrote …

Nice Video! First time ever that I have seen the TGU broke down into caveman terms, I am not going to suck any more at doing TGUs! Practice! practice Practice! Thanks for the video Keep them comming baby! YEAH YEAH!

SANTI

Tammi Byxbee wrote …

My favorite KB exercise- great breakdown on correct form. If you ever get a chance to take some training with Jeff, I highly recommend it.

wrote …

Always nice to get a refresher on this great movement with the KB. I initially learned the TGU by watching Jeff's original vid's at the exercise area of the crossfit page may years ago. This is a good reminder of proper form and hand placement, siting along the thumb knuckle is a great tip I picked up from this video.

wrote …

I often use lighter weight TU's for my warmup and this refresher on the basics was greatly appreciated. As always, great instruction from Jeff Martone, I love his slightly off kilter speaking style.

Zach Even - Esh wrote …

Good shiz guys, Jeff is the MAN, who else can talk kettlebells w/such detail and then talk about "Mr. Pistol"

MORE KBs thrown into the WODs and more KBs from other boxes need to be on the journal!

To use KBs for swings and not much else is leaving tons on the table

Michael Krivka wrote …

Nice job as always Jeff! Excellent verbalization of a very technical lift. Keep up the great work!!! :)

wrote …

Excellent video, I really like working with the kettlebell right now so this fits nicely. One of the best tools for the shoulders. Good to see another Jeff Martone instructional piece and he is living proof of what kettle bells can do for shoulder strength/overall strength conditioning etc.

I am five weeks out from shoulder surgery and have been watching Jeffs videos intently, I cant wait to do some TGU again.

wrote …

I love Jeff's breakdowns of kettle bell work. Each lesson has a new insight I didn't consider before. KB's are probably one of the most underutilized warm up tools in the gym.

And I love how you've got to tag the 'Speak Martone' article after each Martone post.

"aw man, yaknow, this guy needs to be shot. Time to break out Mr. Pistol, yaknowwhatImean?"

wrote …

I highly recommend Jeff's kettlebell seminar, where I was a changed man from the very first Russian swing. Not only are my kettlebell components in the WOD's dramatically improved, I've discovered how useful kettlebells can be in training all kinds of specific strength applications. I'm closing in on a bodyweight shoulder press, a lifetime goal, thanks to kb work.

wrote …

Jeff is a great coach! This exercise together with the arm-bar stretch is really helpfull for shoulder strength/flexibility. Thanks for posting this, and more KB:s videos, up here at journal.

wrote …

wish I coulda seen this 3 hours ago! We did TGU's at the affiliate today. awesome video