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Kettlebell TGU Hip Extension - How should it feel?

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4-bit

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I'm truly sorry for asking questions like these. I've been watching the Kalos Sthenos, read a few of Pavel's books, watched Youtube videos and read blogs, but I just don't seem to "get it". I'd be so grateful for some pointers.

So the questions are related to the famous hip extension in the Turkish Get-Up:
1. Which foot should apply the greatest driving force: The bent leg or the straight leg?
2. What is it supposed to feel like? Is there is a certain tension/stretch/"packed sensation", and if so, where is it located?

I've been trying out a lot of different strategies (without any weights of course), sometimes I feel an extreme stretch in the thighs of my straight leg, sometimes I go too far and I feel the lumbar spine activating some trigger points in my mid-back, sometimes I just tense my glutes, but I can't really figure out if my hip is extended or not.

So again: Is there something I can do to know for certain that I'm in fact extending my hip and not some other part of my body?
 
4-bit
Can you post or take a video of your high bridge get-up?

I'd say about a 70/30 or 80/20 split between bent knee and straight leg.
When you are feeling your lower back you may be hyperextending from the lumbar to try to get too high.
It should feel basically like a good glute contraction.

Also don't forget to do the low sweep version as well while you are working on the bridge.
 
Hello Brett, and thank you so much for taking the time to answer! Just unserstanding that the bent knee should do most of the work was really an aha-moment for me.

I made an attempt at filming my high-bridge. I feel a bit unsatisfied because I don't feel I extend my hips far enough, but if I go further it becomes an extreme stretch in my straight leg. Almost like a cramp.

TGU_high_bridge.mp4

Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks again!
 
4-bit
Your bridge is good

I do notice that when you are sweeping the leg back to the "windmill/half kneel" position your spine is lateral flexing quite a bit but I can't tell you why that is happening without seeing the full get-up.
could have been an adjustment to the cabinets and situation you were filming the video in
 
I do notice that when you are sweeping the leg back to the "windmill/half kneel" position your spine is lateral flexing quite a bit

I noticed that too. Ideally, keep the spine straight (laterally, left to right) when moving in and out of the tripod position. It's like a windmill in that regard. And as I learned at SFG II while practicing the windmill, it can be sometimes hard to do without actually having someone watch your spine and give you the external feedback of when it is happening. Once I got a better handle on it for myself, I found that my back and other structures in the vicinity such as the SI joints (I think) stay much happier when I hinge at the hips and rotate the t-spine in and out of tripod and/or windmill, as opposed to flexing laterally.
 
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