5 Tips to Improve Your Turkish Get Up

The Turkish Get Up is a powerful exercise. By doing TGU’s regularly you can build strength, improve shoulder stability and create a rock solid core.

Turkish Get Ups are beautiful to watch when executed correctly, but it’s also a fairly technical exercise and can be frustrating for some individuals.

Here are a few of my favorite drills that will help you get through some common sticking points in the Turkish Get Up.

Who should try these drills designed to improve your Turkish Get Ups?

These drills are great for anyone looking to improve their Turkish Get Up or anyone who is looking to get past a sticking point in this highly technical exercise.

5 Tips to Improve Your Turkish Get Ups

View the video above and check out the tips below to improve your Turkish Get Ups and start building strength, improving shoulder stability and creating a rock solid core.

1. Single Leg Bridge and Roll

One of the first challenges in the get up is when you roll up onto the elbow. The biggest issue I see is not using the right leg enough to drive the movement.

For clarification, this would be on a right-sided get up where you are holding the kettlebell in your right hand.

2. Shoulder Packing 101

It’s difficult to understand the idea of shoulder packing.

Simply put, shoulder packing is when you position your shoulder blades back and down. In the video above you’ll see a few drills that you can try to help you own a nice position for the get up.

For a more detailed shoulder packing video, check these out.

3. The Get Up Dance

As you can expect, this really isn’t a dance at all, but if you can transition through these three positions smoothly, the get up is going to be much easier for you. Practice, practice, practice!

4. Foot Placement

When you make the transition from the post position to the windmill position, it’s easy to lose alignment. Try this little tip in the above video on how to nail the transition much faster.

5. The Push Away

When you are completing a full get up, one of the top positions people struggle with is transitioning from the elbow back to the floor without shrugging.

In the last portion of the above video, you’ll see a quick and simple drill where you push yourself away from your arm and own the shoulder position throughout the movement.

Try these tips to help you improve your Turkish Get Ups and let me know how it goes!