Old Forum A question regarding the Turkish get up

[Dean]

Hello,

I have a question regarding the stage of the TGU where one transitions from the kneeling windmill position to the kneeling lunge. When I attempt this step I feel a lot of stress in my lower back. Can anyone offer any advice as to how to complete this step without unduly stressing the lumbar region? For completeness, I note that my planted knee usually ends up being placed in front of the posted hand after the leg has been swept under the hips, which seems to result in my torso ending up 'behind my hips' so to speak when viewed from above.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks - Dean

 

[Mark Limbaga]

Can you post a vid?

 

[Bill Been]

I have a suspicion that you're performing a side-bend type of maneuver between those two positions and you're ending up moving your lumbar under load.  That would explain how your torso ends up behind your hips as well as the lumbar discomfort.

Let's discuss it from the top down:

One thing that seems to vex many people during the Get Up is pushing the hips BACK (during the descent) when reaching for the floor.  There's a strong tendency to reach sideways for the floor and end up doing the side-bendy thing.  Assuming you can hinge as described in "Simple & Sinister" - from a standing position, pushing the edges of your hands into the creases of your hips and pushing your hips BACK toward an imaginary chair, shins stay largely vertical, glutes and hams feel the stretch or the load - remember to do the same thing during the Get Down.  Practice it unloaded:  get into the tall kneel, sweep the down leg, and push your butt back.  Back.  Think of "folding yourself in half" NOT "reaching over for the ground".  Fold your hips.  Just like for a swing or deadlift.  At the same time, your hand is getting closer to the ground, so there's no need to bend your spine to close the distance to the  floor.  Once you've found the ground, come back up to the tall kneeling by pushing your hips back through or extending your hips, or doing the Pelvic Thrust from The Rocky Horror Picture Show - however you best think of wedging your pelvis back into the space between the floor and your working arm.  This act of employing the hip hinge to get your hand to the ground is more compact, has a shorter lever arm between the working arm and your lumbar, does not require spine movement, and puts you in a much better location for pulling the leg through.

Sorry this is so long.  I didn't have time to write something shorter.

 

[Al Ciampa]

@ Bill, it sounds like he's having trouble sweeping his leg to a proper "depth".  Those are good cues but to take it further, I think that repositioning in and out of the "3-point" stance should feel more like a windmill on the knee - trunk rotation and hip hinging.

@ Dean, Marks right - you need to post a vid.  What it sounds like to me is that you're not externally rotating the hip of your "sweeping" leg into the 3-point stance from the tall sit - you end up not based out properly; but we need to see it to be sure.

-Al