When it come to movement patterns, and what we should and shouldn’t be able to do, there is a large amount of conjecture and debate. What are the best exercises to do? What is the most efficient exercise? Which exercise works the most muscles? All valid questions and almost the holy grail of people involved in the fitness and health industry. it does come down to what your goal is. What is the purpose of your training? This question alone is the Pandora’s box of questions when it comes to exercise and movement. For in identifying the purpose of your training, it changes the perspective somewhat as to the type of training you want to employ and the result that you hope to achieve.
So when it comes to the BEST exercise, it is tainted somewhat by what you are aiming for. When someone talks about the BEST exercise, my perspective instantly goes to something that we should be able to master and perfect for our LIFETIME. Now many of you just breathed in deeply, sucked in your bellies and looked askance with one eyebrow raised as this mere fact changes the parameters somewhat. The BEST exercise is always relative to your goals but there are certain exercises or movement patterns that we should all aim to be able to master and keep in our repertoire for as long as possible.
Now these might not be the most glamorous or impressive of exercises, but functionally, they are the ones that usually induce feats of multiple joint movements, stability and co-ordination of muscle groups. The reason for this is that these exercises not only tap into our strength and unilateral movement patterning, but they also challenge a co-ordinated effort on the part of our Central Nervous System (CNS). Movements that take a bit of concentration and multiple joint spaces working together are not only good for challenging our muscles and joints but also our brains. That ultimate challenge of synapses and nervous system that is constantly taking stock of where our body is in space and co-ordinating complex ways of moving that ultimately keep our brains firing as well as our bodies. It’s another parable of mindful exercise.
So when we look at the first in this series it is a rather glorious movement called the TURKISH GET UP (TGU). First introduced to me in a CrossFIt WOD, this wonderfully dextrous movement pattern challenges our stability, balance, core and proprioception all with multi plane co-ordination of the body. It rotates as well extends, it pushes as well as stabilises and it balances us on one foot which is always a great adjunct to any movement pattern as it works our proprioception and ability to be unipedal (ability to move on one foot) in motion
One of the things I like about the Turkish Get Up is that it refers back to ‘earning your movement skills’. As babies we learn to roll before we crawl, crawl before we walk, walk before we run. You have to earn your next set of skills in a logical progression. The Turkish Get Up does just that as one step cannot be completed without being able to progress to the next one. Its a wonderful tester of movement ability and this is why it is first on my choice of Top Exercises to Master for LIfe.
Phase 1 - Arm Extension
Whenever we go into arm extesion our shoulders have to be stable to ensure good technique. This first phase of the TGU teaches us to stabilise our shoulder ensuring straight wrists, extended arms and proper alignment of the scapula and shoulder being back in the socket and against the floor. The abilty to hold a kettle bell in this position is a basic tool of shoulder stability and alignment.
Phase 2 - Hip Flexion
bending at the hip, bring your foot into alignment along your body with the foot, knee and hip in one solid line. Extend the arm 45degrees sideways. This basic movement should be able to be performed without any excessive jerking of the body or leg to enable hip flexion - a good test of flexor ability and range of motion.
Phase 3 - Sit Up
Sounds simple, but moving the body into the sitting position requires ultimate core control, a vital function in any movement pattern. You also have to flex the shoulder from the front position to an overhead position. This is a true test of shoulder stability and power, eliminating any elbow flexion to ensure you are strong through your stabilising muscles. Its also a good indicator of wrist flexion and alignment as you put your bodyweight through your wrist and hand to flex. You must avoid using a jerking motion, lifting the extended leg, rocking the kettlebell forward, relying on the supporting arm and collapsing the chest. These all negate the muscles that should be active and working.
Phase 4 - Hip Extension
Pushing from the heel of the bent leg, driving your hips into the air. There should be a straight line from supporting hand to kettlebell ensuring good shoulder range of motion and wrist stability. Hip extension from a flexed position is vital for the lower back and gluteals to fire. This is a basis for power movement involving the hips. Watch for not keeping the heel down, not keeping the top shoulder in place, not achieving full hip extension and arching from the lower back.
Phase 5 - Sweep
Sweeping the extended leg back and underneath your body to come to a lunge position, bringing it straight through under the hips and not around in a circular motion. This is where we will see some good rotation through the thoracic spine and the ability to hold the kettlebell in the extended position whilst rotating indicates good range of motion in the thoracic as well as strong stability in the shoulder. It also tests our hip flexion and extension all at once. The ability of the hip flexor to move independently and control the position. Watch for lifting the heel in the front foot, misaligning the shoulders and moving the supporting hand. The kettlebell should stay stabilised and still during this action.
Phase 6 - Half Kneeling
bring the trunk out of rotation to be upright in a half kneel or lunge position. The movement should be smooth and direct with no rotational aspect of the trunk. Watch for the back being arched, hips bending forward and shoulders not being able to sustain the upright kettlebell.
Phase 7 - Standing
Driving from the front foot, stand up and forward bringing the shoulder into an overhead extended position and the body into upright and standing position. This is an important core exercise and also establishes our overhead shoulder position, creating stability in the overhead extended position. Watch for upwards lifting of the shoulder and the inability to be stable on one foot. Throughout all phases, the wrist should be straight and the kettlebell shouldn’t be swinging around. Engaging the core is paramount here and you should be able to perform this movement without speed.
All of these phases of movement require control and stability which is why this is such a great exercise. It works the shoulder in many ranges of motion both with the weighted and the supporting hand and utlises core activation, with trunk rotation and wrist and ankle stability alongside hip flexion, extension and stability in single movement.
When I was first introduced to this movement it was done with considerate care but a certain amount of pace. Recently I was asked to control and slow the movement down to finite stages and control, with breath playing a huge part in being able to gradually control each movement stage and remain solid and stable. It exposes so many weaknesses in our body when we really focus on where we are restricted in moving between phases, and also our instability if we are forced to jerk or swing into a phase. TGU’s are a great assessment tool for being able to see where someone may be weak or unstable or lack range of motion.
Everyone should learn this movement pattern and it is a great warm up before moving into other workouts or movement progressions as it challenges so many of our joint spaces and major joint movers. It’s surprising how difficult it can be to perform and perfect this exercise, and it doesn’t require a bit heavy load. It can be challenging enough with 2kg! There is a progression of beginners having to perform the TGU with a glass of water to ensure they are understanding the alignment and stability required to not jerk or move too quickly through phases. It is ultimately about control and not about moving too fiercely. Oddly it will take a lot of concentration from you to complete a simple set of 5 on each side - now that’s a solid warm up.
