What the hell is with the Turkish Get Up?

Get ups, you love them or you hate them.
Why do so many in the strength community bash them?
I love them.

1. Let's start out with this list of things about the TGU:
2. The TGU hits almost all of your major muscle groups.
3. It also requires tremendous stabilization from your torso. 
4. They require a great deal of flexibility in the hips. 
5. They improve mobility//stability in the shoulder. 
6. They get you strong in unusual ways.

 Get ups are one of our foundation exercises at TPS. WE frequently see people who have extremely poor hip flexibility and shoulder issues and weak upper backs from sitting at a desk all day. The get up can FIX all of these issues. One exercise that can fix a whole host of orthopedic issues? Really? Really.

TGU's can also make you brutally strong when loaded properly. Standing up from a prone position while holding a foolishly heavy weight overhead requires a large amount of strength, everywhere. Go ahead and see, grab a 32kg kettlebell and do a few get-ups properly. Bet you can't.

Think you're a badass, try this!

 Adding in TGU's to your training will open your hips and restore mobility and build strength, they will strengthen your upper back and restore strength and stability to your shoulders, and they will build a bullet proof midsection. They are a true wonder exercise.

So why are they so bashed in certain "strength" circles?

I'm not sure but I have a few ideas.

First, a bunch of people in the strength community think if it's not pulling, pressing or squatting it's bullshit.


This just isn't true. Yes you must pull, press and squat but you CAN do other exercises. Adding in the get-up will address weak links and eliminate them.

Second, most people just don't know how to do them OR teach them. Just because you can't do an exercise is no reason to say it sucks. You have no idea how many professional "trainers" that I have seen that can't do or teach a squat or deadlift right in the past 20 years in this industry. Not one of them has ever said that pulling and squatting sucks. Don't even get me started on overhead pressing and benching. Those are two exercises that are done WRONG more than most by professional "trainers".

Does your trainer have a squirting flower and a tiny car?

Third, get ups are HARD to learn and hard to do right. When we have big, strong guys with mobility issues a lot of times we see them try something, have trouble with it and say it sucks. Ego gets in the way. They just don't want to look weak in front of the boys and just go back to squatting because they are good at it. Her is a tip: find something you suck at (make sure it's good and not fluff) then get good at it.  bet you'll see some improvement in your lifts.






Try using your shoe when doing a getup. It teaches balance and alignment. Don't let it fall!

Watch my boy Gray teach you how to dot. TGU

Stop bashing and start getting down with the get up.

Registration fees

Am  I the only one it bothers when gyms run ads saying "only $20.oo to get started" ?
They should say " give us extra money for nothing" instead.
When gyms issue a "registration" fee and advertise that it is on sale it is very deceptive in my opinion. Why don't they just not charge the fee? You don't get any value for it. You just get charged money.
As a gym owner I realize this is an extra profit center for them, but, as a gym owner I realize that I need to give my customers value for money spent.
I think more people would be happier customers if they actually got something for their money.

Look at the big name gyms and their advertising. I'd love to say the name of who I am talking about I'm but I'd get sued if i did.

 Here is a hint: I'm talking about the big chain ****on Sports Club. They spend tons of $$$ on deceptive advertising and people fall for it. "Oh, it's only $20.00 to get started" they think. Why don't people think, "what am I getting for my registration fee"?
I don't know, I just see this in the paper every day while I'm eating my 20 eggs and toast and I get pissed.

OK, I'll get off my soapbox.

5 things that don't work Part 1

5 Things that don't work for your fitness plan.

This is the first in a five part series on common misconceptions about fitness and achieving goals. I'll name the five biggest mistakes you can make in your quest for fitness and tell you how to avoid them. I'll do one fix each month.

First up is the list, here are the 5 Things That Don't Work:

1. Long Slow Distance Cardio

2. Skipping meals to lose weight

3. " I just want to tone" so I'll use light weights because I don't want to get too bulky.

4. Infomercial gimmicks

5. "I'll do cardio to get in shape before I start lifting weights".

I don't know where to start with this list. I'll just go in order, so this month it's "Long slow distance cardio", or LSD. People have been preprogrammed by the media that cardio vascular training is where it is at to lose weight.

You are spinning your wheels doing this!

Let's get one thing straight here, most people want to lose FAT, not just weight, they just don't realize it. Of course, losing weight isn't bad, but you do not want to lose muscle (NOTE: I hate when people use "loose" instead of "lose"-look for it, it's everywhere!). When the majority of people embark on a weight loss program they are unaware of the difference between the two. In order to get the body that you want, you must maintain muscle and decrease body fat. Muscle is "metabolically active". This means that muscle burns calories just existing. Fat is not metabolically active. It doesn't do anything unless you are a sumo wrestler, and I don't think too many of my readers are.

So should you do cardio? Of course you should and if you are out of shape, start slow an low. You should start out easy for a few weeks (two) and increase it over time. You should also begin strength training right away. Start this slow and low too.

Try this out for your first few weeks: Cardio: three times week-use a machine of your choice or go for a jog. Shoot for about 15-20 minutes at a pace you can keep.

For better results try this-use your body for cardio: Jumping Jacks-20, Squats-20, Pushups-try to do 20, situps-try to do 20, Mountain Climbers-20. Rest 1 minute and do this 4-6 times. It is much better than using a machine. You will be sweating when you are done.

Strength training-shoot for twice a week with a full body workout consisting of basic exercises. Squats, pushups, rows, presses, etcetera are the best choices.

If you don't know how to do them safely and effectively, find a good coach. TPS is full of them.

So, why do we say not to do LSD cardio? It's simple and scientific. LSD cardio does not burn a ton of calories and that is what we are after. It also does not elevate your metabolism much either. There is evidence that it (LSD) can burn more calories during a workout than some forms of strength training, but not after the workout. Strength training is your secret weapon in the war on fat. It DOES elevate your metabolism. It elevates it much more than cardio training-after you have worked out. Your metabolism will be much higher for much longer by strength training. You will burn more calories the day after, not just during the workout.

Interval Training, which is the bodyweight workout I listed, also burns more calories DURING and AFTER the workout than LSD. So if you want to be like a hamster on a wheel, get on the treadmill and go for a 45 minute walk. You won't make much progress, but it's what the fitness "experts" on the local news will tell you to do in January.

Don't listen to monkeys on tv.

If you actually want to look and feel better quickly, follow my advice listed here. If it didn't work, we wouldn't be One of America's 20 Best Gyms, we'd just be another gym down the street.

Stay tuned here for the next four installments.