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Kettlebell TGU as a main strength lift. Is it appropriate??

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Hwan

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I see most guys who do TGU tend to use it for warm up, rehab or activation drill etc.

My question is, can i use TGU as a main strength lift?? and can it help a lot for my performance in combat sports such as Judo??

If so, how should I implement TGU in my training program??

How many sets, reps and frequency? What weight relative to my bodyweight will be a good goal to chase??
 
Hwan said:
and can it help a lot for my performance in combat sports such as Judo??
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I think you will find a lot of guys and gals here who can attest to the benefits of the TGU for various martial arts, especially the ones involving takedowns and ground work.

If so, how should I implement TGU in my training program??

How many sets, reps and frequency? What weight relative to my bodyweight will be a good goal to chase??
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I think it serves best as a strength move, so either 1st in your session (if you don't do any power work) or 2nd (with power work).
Personally I'd do it before DLs, squats or any other big full body exercise, because they will affect your TGU performance, while it's not much of a factor the other way around.

Rule of 10 for the reps -> 10 singles (5 right/5 left, like in S&S), possibly going up to 20 total reps, but I wouldn't go any higher.
It's strength work so as much rest as needed to perform the rep with good form.
Frequency: 3-6x per week

Goal: S&S has it's simple goal at 10reps in 10min with the 32, which is a good goal to aim for.
I think anyone who can do a controlled, nice rep with half bodyweight on both sides is someone I don't want to mess with on the mat :)
 
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I spent a lot of time on the get up. It was my main lift for a few months, and led to becoming obsessed with the Bent Press. I would eventually train a bent press day and a Get Up day. A typical session was 20-50 reps, and swings, or deadlifts afterwards. Most days I would superset get ups with chin-ups. At least once a month I would do a session of 100 get ups with 24kg.

I would ramp up to a max single, and a few back off sets. Do combos and complexes with get up+windmill, side press, press, overhead squat, overhead carry, or reverse lunge. I would mix up the implements with kettlebell, Olympic barbell, Axel, loadable dumbbell, and thick dumbbell.

A kettlebell practice from my log book last year was:

KB TGU+WM+CU L+R 30lbx3+3+3, 40lbx3+3+3, 50lbx2+2+2, 60lbx2+2+2, 70lbx1+1+1, 80x1+1+1

KB TGU+CU L+R- 40kgx1+1, 44kgx1+1, 48kgx1+1, 80lb+30lbx1+1, 80lb+40lbx1+1, 80lb+45lbx1+1, (80lb+50lbx1+1)x2

KB TGU L+R- (48x3)x3 (some times I would finish with 2-3 segmental get ups or 2-3 AMRAP sets of roll to elbow(if I was working on my weak point)

2HS OTM- (48kgx10)x10

It took about 90 minutes, with a warm up with PVC dislocates, Brettzels, KB arm bars, KB PGSQT, KB SLDL, and KB rack carries, and a cool down of hangs, 90/90, and QL stretch.

That was an average amount of work for me. A Bent Press practice would look similar. I loved the get up as my main move. I got up to a solid get up with 80lb+60lb kettlebells in one hand, and 155lb 48 mm Axel. I have stood up with more, but I marked them down as a BM or Bad Make. If I make any lift that is not technically solid it goes in the book as BM, not PR. You are only cheating yourself.
 
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@Steve Freides Bad makes come from my Weightlifting training. If I got a bad make or press out on a lift coach said I should cleanly lock out, I owed another back off set, or extra torso work. It was a good motivator to be focused and lift well. Worked for squats especially, slow reps are ok, but grinding is not.

Think about KB Snatch. If you are going for 100 one hand snatches in 5 minutes, but the last 15 reps are bad makes can you honestly tell yourself you passed.

Form is paramount. Being honest with yourself is very important.
 
Hwan said:
I see most guys who do TGU tend to use it for warm up, rehab or activation drill etc.

My question is, can i use TGU as a main strength lift?? and can it help a lot for my performance in combat sports such as Judo??

If so, how should I implement TGU in my training program??

How many sets, reps and frequency? What weight relative to my bodyweight will be a good goal to chase??
Click to expand...
6 weeks ago I couldn't floor press 16kg. I have done TGUs per the Simple &a Sinister protocol since then. Now, I regularly do 1x5/5 with 16, and 1-2 per side at 24. I can military press 2 reps per arm with the 24.

In short: it has worked for me!
 
Hello,

@Hwan
S&S will serve you well. It uses GU as a strength move. 5 sets of 1 es. Strength is based on heavy weights and 1 to 5 reps.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hwan said:
I see most guys who do TGU tend to use it for warm up, rehab or activation drill etc.

My question is, can i use TGU as a main strength lift?? and can it help a lot for my performance in combat sports such as Judo??

If so, how should I implement TGU in my training program??

How many sets, reps and frequency? What weight relative to my bodyweight will be a good goal to chase??
Click to expand...

If you are looking to use it as a main exercise, given that you have great form, one way can be to use it as my following quote:


  • Week 1 “Volume Accumulation”: 8-12 get-ups with a medium weight (a good rule of thumb is 60-70% of your best-ever TGU).
  • Week 2 “Weight Ladders”: Choose three kettlebells, a light kettlebell, a medium-heavy kettlebell (similar or slightly heavier than week 1), and a heavy kettlebell (not quite your personal best). The kettlebells should be evenly spaced about 4-8kg apart (12-16-20, or 24-32-40, for example).Perform 3 rounds of 1 TGU on each side, first with the light kettlebell, then with the medium, and finally with the heavy kettlebell. The idea is that the heavy kettlebell will show you where your technique needs work, then the light kettlebell will allow you to practice and correct technique errors or inefficiencies. The “wavy” load is also useful for learning.
  • Week 3 “Run the Rack”: On this day, you’ll start with a very light kettlebell, perform a TGU on each side, and keep working up to progressively heavier kettlebells. Once you’ve reached the heaviest kettlebell you can manage for that day (which may or may not be a personal best), work with it for a few sets. Then perform a few slightly lighter get-ups to cleanse your palate. The total number of get-ups per side for the entire workout should be 8-10.
  • Week 4: Either start at Week 1 (trying to exceed either the previous weight or number of reps from last time), or take a light week to recover.
 
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Yes. The TGU is a bit humbling for people because it will reveal gaps in their strength. Struggling with it is a good thing because doing so you will actively address these gaps. One of the first things I noticed when practicing the TGU was that the weak points all around my body were becoming strong points. I have noticed that I no longer lose my balance or miss a step or have some weak stabilizer goof off on me when I am going on about my life. Its the weak parts that cause problems in life.
 
I personally really enjoyed waving the volume of my tgus when working on owning the 36 kg. I would do between 4 to 10 singles per side, usually on separate days than swings for the higher volume days and with plenty of rest, depending. I used Pavel's blog post on waving the load of swings as a template. Heavy tgus make you feel solid
 
i actually have get ups as main lift besides swings and snatches... so yes it is good :) you can also try to work with lighter weight and try to fit more quality reps in frames of time, i.e 15 min work and try to do as many quality reps as possible
 
I'm beginning to love the get up, as a strength move though (at least for me) it seems to be too easy on the legs - if your dead/squat/press ratios are fairly typical of strength athletes it would be your pressing or rotational trunk strength which is the limiting factor and therefore never truly challenging the lowerbody.

but maybe that's just me as im fairly squat obsessed
 
As a fellow Judoka...

Once you're doing 1/1 x 5 with something close to half your bodyweight... your uke will hate you and nobody will want to do newaza with you any more ;)

And if you decide to stiff arm someone, so long as you're also doing your heavy one handed swings... that arm isn't moving ;)

I fight u81kg, I walk around at 82kg and S&S is your friend. Especially during a heavy competition period.
 
On the TGU, I like to practice the high bridge for preference over the low sweep for my Judo/BJJ.

I'm quite comfortable with the 40kg on high bridge so when I do hit a hip bump from underneath someone, they tend to move.
 
Personally I'd do it before DLs, squats or any other big full body exercise, because they will affect your TGU performance, while it's not much of a factor the other way around.

I definitely agree with this -- I've done it both ways and given the change in levels and multi joint co-ordination required by this move, I would definitely do it before deadlifts. As a side benefit, your shoulders will be pre-packed for your deadlifts.
 
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