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Kettlebell Substitute for Turkish getups

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Norbert

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Hey strong folks!

my name's Norbert and I'm glad to be here!
I've practiced combat systems and "fitness" (calisthenics, Indian maces, kettlebells and regular weights) since I'm 14 years old (I'm 48 now). I suffered several injuries because of my full-contact sparring/contests, but never, ever did it take longer than two or three months to heal up. That is, till *something* in my shoulder tore/overstretched when I was on my "daily 500" routine (100 pushups, 100 pullups, 100 dips, 100 hanging leg lifts, 100 squats) – 6 months ago. I took natural remedies (helped pretty well), was really cautious (still am), didn't workout for two months and then started slowly... but I STILL can't do one single rep of the Turkish getup with a 16-kilogram kettlebell (the usual weight I use for this is 32kg). This FRUSTRATES me no end. It really does. I wanted to avoid cortisone, but now I'm very close to say f**K it and get a few injections. Man, that sucks.

Till my shoulder is healed completely (I can almost stretch my left, injured arm above my head already, with only minor pain), I'd like to substitute the Turkish getup with another movement. Can anyone tell me what would be best?

(My current workout: Aleks Salkin's 8-week challenge, plus some a little rucking when time permits)
 
I forgot to mention that I can't do the TGU with my left (injured arm) because it HURTS like hell. The strength is there, but the pain is a motherfather :mad:
 
Welcome Norbert!

Crawling seems to be a good option. And bear hug carries with weight plates or sandbags.
 
Welcome! I’d also suggest seeing a professional - if you’re outside of North America I’m biased towards Osteopathy. Give them 3 appointments to make some headway, and if it’s not improving, get an ultrasound to find out exactly what’s wrong.
 
@Norbert
Additionally... if something like a ligament in your shoulder 'tore' (and I am not saying it did, nor am I a doctor) then it will not heal by itself. Not ever. That being said... unless it is a very bad tear in the rotator cuff or labrum there are a number of things one can do to manage the injury. Trying to train through it is not one of those things.

The only way to know for sure what is going on in there is to get an MRI, and have that image interpreted by a specialist.

If it is a significant tear then surgery is really the only course of action to 'fix' it. Again... I am not recommending that. I would seek all other avenues of treatment and management first, and would only resort to surgery as a last resort.

I speak from personal experience with two torn labrums. One surgically repaired. One that is being 'managed'....
 
I forgot to mention that I can't do the TGU with my left (injured arm) because it HURTS like hell. The strength is there, but the pain is a motherfather :mad:
Hello Norbert, I also say check with the doctor..

I'm thinking with a higher mileage body why continue to kick the crap out of yourself doing 'challenges'?
I too have high mileage but have tempered training to a point of thriving instead of wound licking. I'm 11-12 yrs older than you and will tell you it doesn't get better with age.
You must be smart about this game or it will take you out.
This rotator cuff/labrum injury (likely) is a warning shot across the bow, heed it and thrive with the right training strategy, do what you have to do and stay in the game.. Say no to cortisone and get an image done.. JMO :)
 
Welcome! I’d also suggest seeing a professional - if you’re outside of North America I’m biased towards Osteopathy. Give them 3 appointments to make some headway, and if it’s not improving, get an ultrasound to find out exactly what’s wrong.
We have osteopaths in North America.

-S-
 
We have osteopaths in North America.

-S-
The approach is a bit different though. In the USA, Osteopath is nearly synonymous with physician. My understanding is that the majority are not specialists in the musculoskeletal system. Whereas, the European model of Osteopathy is closer to what you would see with physiotherapy and chiropractic.
 
Hey strong folks!

my name's Norbert and I'm glad to be here!
I've practiced combat systems and "fitness" (calisthenics, Indian maces, kettlebells and regular weights) since I'm 14 years old (I'm 48 now). I suffered several injuries because of my full-contact sparring/contests, but never, ever did it take longer than two or three months to heal up. That is, till *something* in my shoulder tore/overstretched when I was on my "daily 500" routine (100 pushups, 100 pullups, 100 dips, 100 hanging leg lifts, 100 squats) – 6 months ago. I took natural remedies (helped pretty well), was really cautious (still am), didn't workout for two months and then started slowly... but I STILL can't do one single rep of the Turkish getup with a 16-kilogram kettlebell (the usual weight I use for this is 32kg). This FRUSTRATES me no end. It really does. I wanted to avoid cortisone, but now I'm very close to say f**K it and get a few injections. Man, that sucks.

Till my shoulder is healed completely (I can almost stretch my left, injured arm above my head already, with only minor pain), I'd like to substitute the Turkish getup with another movement. Can anyone tell me what would be best?

(My current workout: Aleks Salkin's 8-week challenge, plus some a little rucking when time permits)
First, see a doctor and follow the doctor's advice. Anything you do could render you worse off, so go get professional help first. For the sake of conversation, I'll continue, however...

I ripped my right shoulder almost 2 years ago doing a one arm chinup with it. It took a long time to heal but I'd say it's pretty good now. I'm assuming you want to do S&S and can do the swings but can't do the TGUs? Otherwise I don't know why you're so focussed on TGUs. They're great, especially as part of S&S, but not at all necessary. S&S is mainly about the 1 handed swings, so if you're doing them properly according to the book, you can make progress with them while balancing out this "big pull" with some kind of "big push". I'm not sure if racking the bell would be an option for you after getting permission from a doctor, but I've felt that a kind of hacked TGU replacement would be to rack the kettlebell with your arm, and then do squats. I find 5 squats is enough for a set. Switch arms after each set. Another option is to rack the kettlebell and walk around with it, which is called a "rack carry" I think. As these moves make you push upwards, they are a kind of counter balance to the swings which involve pulling backwards.

I did the S&S swings and then rack carries, deadlifts over 300 lbs, and ring dips. Once my shoulder healed it only took me a day or two to get back to my TGU level from before (using the 40kg bell). I kept training judo throughout but was a bit careful with some judo moves. I eventually started doing presses with the 16kg bell, and then up to the 24, 32 and eventually 40 which was a signal that it was time to restart the TGUs, in my particular case.
 
Guys, thank you!

I have an appointment with the doctor next week, and another appointment with the osteopath (I'm based in Germany) a couple of weeks later. Sorry for coming across like a knucklehead; I'm all for combining "regular" and alternative healing methods because, in my experience, this has the biggest potential.

The interesting thing is, I can do pullups and pushups without any problem, even dips work well, but the angle of the arm in the TGU obviously triggers all kinds of pain – I really didn't know till I tried it yesterday.

In closing, thank y'all for your help, I really appreciate it.
 
As a sub for overhead TGU I like this version demo'd by S Maxwell. You can come up with more of a lunge or more of a hinge, just be conscious of which you're choosing and use good form. Many exercises where you get all the way down and all the way up might be used instead for a similar effect.

Listen to the body, maybe avoid all overhead work for a few. Always consider training effect from various exercises and pick ones that work well with/around any existing conditions. @Brett S is spot-on, train smart.

 
Definitely go see a doctor/physio first.

I’ve had a shoulder impingement that has greatly improved with regular hanging off a pull-up bar and band pull aparts, I do them on a daily basis and always in my warm up before I press/tgu. I spoke to the physio before I started this and got cleared to do it.
 
I like suspension training (TRX) as an active way to heal weary shoulders/rotator cuffs. Push-ups with reduced stability provides some of the same benefits as the TGU, at least.
 
Just to be an old curmudgeon, two safety points on what Steve Maxwell is doing in above video.

1) Dust mask??? Maybe not if you don't care about COPD in your old age...
2) As someone with a dodgy knee I can tell you that will put a lot of lateral force on the knee joint.
 
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