Barbell Kettlebell transitioning to Barbell Getup Advice

[TravisDirks]

Hi all, it's been awhile as I've been of gallivanting in the wilds of strength training. I recently decided bring conditioning back on the table and started simple and sinister 5 days a week with a sort of strongman Saturday. I progressed to 100lbs getup's for 10 and wanted to go up. The gym didn't' have any more kettlebells so I grabbed a 110lbs exercise bar. I made the getup easier than expected, but the lack of center knurling made itself known on the decent. I was coming in a little hot.

Now with a kettlebell I would normally just cover with my off hand and let the weight pull me into a roll over. Which is what I did out of instinct. With no weight outside the forearm and my elbow on the ground my wrist is not happy. Though it's been a couple weeks it seems to be slowly mending. Clearly I should have felt things out with a lighter weight first. I will say that my practice learning hear of going non-dominate side first served me well as my "good" hand is fine.

I wonder if anyone has any advice for moving from kettlebells to barbells for getups? Just looking for any other gotcha I might run into. Also Barbells vs dumbells. I feel like barbells are better as they seem more ponderous giving more time to move around them and keep the balance. Any one prefer dumbbells?

 

[Shahaf Levin]

From my experience with bent press you just need to start lighter (~60-70% of your KB weight) and learn the new groove.

 

[Steve W.]

I haven't done a lot of getups with a barbell, but I've done a lot of one-arm barbell lifting (side presses, push presses, snatches). The barbell is definitely a lot more stable and a comfortable than a dumbbell for these lifts.

The biggest tip I have (and you may have already figured this out) is to find the right balance point to grip the bar. If you center your hand on the bar, it will tend to tip to the thumb side. If you center a point on the base of the palm more under the pinky side, the bar will balance better. When you find the right balance point, the bar will sit very stably in your hand, and you don't have to grip it hard (although you may want to to help generate tension). You can even open your hand and bar will just sit there and not wave around.

For side presses, the bar stays in the groove really well, almost as if you are lifting in a Smith machine. By contrast, DBs seem to want to fall out of the groove very easily.

BTW, my bar does have center knurling and I would imagine it does make a difference, especially if you don't have the balance point right on, the bar is tipping, and you have to try to get it back under control.

 

[TravisDirks]

especially if you don't have the balance point right on, the bar is tipping, and you have to try to get it back under control.

Yep, thats what got me. A little tilt in a sweaty hand it started to slide just a bit. more tilt, more slide.

The biggest tip I have (and you may have already figured this out) is to find the right balance point to grip the bar. If you center your hand on the bar, it will tend to tip to the thumb side. If you center a point on the base of the palm more under the pinky side, the bar will balance better. When you find the right balance point, the bar will sit very stably in your hand, and you don't have to grip it hard (although you may want to to help generate tension). You can even open your hand and bar will just sit there and not wave around.

Love this. I have noticed that. In that I try to shade my grip so the weight feels like its on the pinky side of the palm. But it might pay to pay a little more attention to right where that spot is from center.

 

[Steve Freides]

@TravisDirks, please take your time coming back.

This might sound strange, but when I've had a sprained wrist in the past, I've sometimes found that sleeping with a wrist brace helped. I didn't ever seem to need the brace when I was awake, but just a few days of sleeping with it made my recovery go much more quickly.

-S-

 

[Kyle Kowalczuk]

T'he barbell is definitely less forgiving. Because the barbell is longer it creates a bigger moment arm which decreases your leverage and makes it harder. I luckily have a barbell in the gym with some knurling in the center. Finding the center for balance and getting it into the floor press positions will be the tricky part besides the get up itself.