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Kettlebell How to do TGU ?

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Anders

Anders

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Hitherto I have done five reps TGU with my strong hand (the right one). And then when I was finished with the 5 reps on the right I did five reps on the left.

I feel TGU is different than swings. I can get lactic acid from swings, but that never happens with TGU. Today I did 9 reps with 28 kilo right arm, and then 9 reps with the left arm. I felt as if there was no difference between the first and the last rep. On days when I sleep badly it is the same. Never seems to get tired from TGU, although TGU with the 32 kilo is technically more challenging. Multiple TGU is of course hard, and I can feel some sort of lactic acid in the muscles.

So is this the way to do it ? Five left and five right? Or do you change arm on every rep ?
 
In the estimated 500 training sessions where I've done TGUs, I've changed arms every rep for probably 498 of them. I can think of very little reason to stay with one arm for multiple reps. But it's not that much different from slowing down the rep, and I do that sometimes... So do whatever floats your boat, as the saying goes.

Like @Antti said, lactic acid is rarely the goal with TGUs, so what would be your goal?
 
To safely be able to do TGU with 40 kilo. Hopefully also to be able to maintain or increase ny strength in kettlebell military press ( without actually doing any military press)
 
The sole reason for not changing hand every rep is laziness. Would I be able to progress faster if I changed hand every reps ?
 
Anders said:
The sole reason for not changing hand every rep is laziness. Would I be able to progress faster if I changed hand every reps ?
Click to expand...

I don't know. But a good general rule with progress is to keep doing what you're doing as long as it's working, and to to change something if you seem to have hit a plateau.

But another good rule is to follow a program. So we could probably go back to S&S and see how Pavel recommends you to progress based on specifically where you are. (S&S is definitely alternating every rep).
 
@Anders, there is an article here - link, someone, please? - about doing multiple getups on each side. It is a proven plateau buster as a way to get to the next level, but I wouldn't make a steady diet of it.

-S-
 
Steve Freides said:
@Anders, there is an article here - link, someone, please? - about doing multiple getups on each side. It is a proven plateau buster as a way to get to the next level, but I wouldn't make a steady diet of it.

-S-
Click to expand...

Here

www.strongfirst.com

How to Get Better at Everything by Training Multiple Get-Ups | StrongFirst

Training multiple get-ups can boost all your training in the form of gains in your pull-ups and squats, increased mobility, and greater work-load capacity.
www.strongfirst.com
 
Personally, I think that after somehow establishing your base with your current bell, you should add multi rep tgu to your routine. It’s not by the book, but I don’t agree it’s the same as long paused single reps and it has its benefits. One might say it’s same TUT. No it’s not, it’s twice or triple as much movement, including getting trough sticking points, although fast. You still need the slow, paused ones to work on weak links, so ideally use both in your training.

After doing multiple sets of 2 reps, my timed session tgu part is a walk in the park. And I never even tried triples yet.

Levi discusses this in the article below. I’m not challenging Pavel here, but I don’t believe that ‘more is not better, it’s just more’ really applies here if you’ve spent long enough on owning a bell in S&S. Most of programs build volume over time, S&S is a perfect set up where you don’t need to, but that does not mean it will not work. One could say you could add more sessions, but it’s not the same.


 
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You wont increase your mp by doing tgu's. Tgu's might make you advance faster on mp's

When i do tgu i switch arms after each rep.

Advancing in weight is easier for some and hard for others. As a rule i dont tgu a bell i cannot floor press. That way the weight is never too much.

Lactic acid is evil. Should be avoided on S and S.. Most of the time. Or am i mistaken?
 
Shawn90 said:
Lactic acid is evil. Should be avoided on S and S.. Most of the time. Or am i mistaken?
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Lactic acid (or lactate and H+; acidic byproducts) are natural and unavoidable, even on S&S.

Deep and prolonged acidocis is to be avoided, and is on S&S.
 
1. Multiple rep getups have benefits no doubt but I also agree that is should be a form of specialized variety

2. Some lactic acid is part of the process.. What you want to avoid is to simmer in that state
 
As others eluded to, it's hard not to create lactic acid when 1 rep lasts 30sec. For fastest gains in strength, you would want to minimize the acid build up as much as possible. Take longer rests between reps. Get up and do fast & loose movements between reps.

Having said that, the TGU has built up my shoulder size more than barbell ever did. And it was due to the lactic acid build up.

As a general rule:

strength only : alternate sides, rest 1-3 minutes between reps. Use fast & loose drills

Strength with hypertrophy: multiple GU's in a row on each side and/or reduce rest to 0-30 sec between reps

Before you jump in full bore into the hypertrophy, realize that you may be more sore and will need more recovery time between sessions when you workout in that manner.

In the context of S&S, I would try to do most sessions with alternating reps every 1.5-2 minutes. Then try a dense session (rep every minute or less) once a week or so.

Let us know when you have to buy new shirts and you can't sleep on your sides anymore.
 
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