Old Forum concrete getups

[william bad butt]

My workout room is a spare bedroom with a typical low carpet on the floor. This is where I normally practice my getups. I am currently on vacation, staying with family for a couple of weeks. Of course I brought my 28 kg bell with me. There is no good place to practice getups inside so today I did my first getups on a concrete slab. What a difference! I think it will help my technique. I'm now realizing on the carpet, when transitioning between movements, my legs/hands/elbows are sliding to the next position. On the concrete I cant slide without injury (I do this barefoot and without a shirt). In a sense I feel like I have been "cheating" all this time. If you are like me and exclusively do your getups in a carpeted room, then I challenge you to try them on a hard floor - you just may learn something.

 

[Dave0317]

I haven't tried concrete yet. But I do prefer a harder surface.  We have wood floors.

 

On the other end of the spectrum, I think squishy gym mats are downright dangerous for get ups.

kind of like Pavel's shoe advice.  Stay away from the padded running shoes. Vibrams, chucks, or boots.

 

[william bad butt]

I don't think concrete is sustainable long term. I imagine a wood floor would be the best. I just found it to be an interesting experiment. My time under tension is very high and my movements very precise, else, I rip skin!

 

[Jason Paul]

I do mine in the grass in my back yard. And even on grass, I almost always also use a sleeping bag mat for extra padding. I'm thinking about using it less though, because the edge of my foot has snagged it a couple of times. It hasn't been a problem yet, but I can see the possibility of it throwing me off balance.

To clarify - I use the mat because I'm on a heart medication that makes me bruise easily and they take weeks to heal. So just doing them on the grass, I'll get bruises on my knees, shins, elbows, hips, and butt. They're not always that bad, but I just don't want to be covered in bruises.

But, I also don't want to get knocked off balance with a kettlebell overhead either, so I may give it another shot without the mat.

 

[Shanna]

The last time I did TGU's outside on concrete, I had a grasshopper land on my face.  Talk about mental concentration!  It's amazing how fast your brain works, (or doesn't).   Good news, I refrained from dropping a 12kg on my face!