I have heard a lot of different opinions on turkish get ups. From what I can understand, it's a great exercise for conditioning, endurance, and shoulder stability, but for pure strength it isn't too great. Why should someone use the get-up and how do you program it?
conditioning? define conditioning. if you mean cardio, the answer is "haha, no", because it's inherently a slow and long winded lift. however, it's very very good for limbering up the entire body with one movement. for shoulder stability they're pretty nice, but i prefer plain old windmills. no idea how to program it as a heavy main lift as i'm not very up to speed on KB-specific programming, but a few sets of easy reps as a warm-up would probably save you a ton of warming up time (with more weight on it the more overhead or lunging/squatting work you're going to do afterwards). some moderate-to-heavy-ish singles at the end of a workout would probably also work quite nicely to help with shoulder stability, although again i prefer windmills for that as a specific goal.
TGUs are consistently my second favorite exercise in the universe (my favorite changes every other day, but the TGU is constant). First up, ensure what you are doing IS a TGU. Get hold of Dave Whitley or Gray Cook/Brett Jones dvds on what a TGU is. There are two major versions, the low sweep and the Kalos Stenos. There are other versions such as the squat variant, the no-hands and the double kettlebell. The Kalos Stenos is my favorite version and can be used as a movement prep, a main lift, as a 'core' exercise or as a cool down. As a main lift it can be done for strength or conditioning depending on load and speed. Many cite it's value in enhancing shoulder/press strength (or hypertrophy), for this I would use the low sweep as it does allow a heavier weight to be used. First thing though is... get coaching. The TGU is a complex movement and can even be used as a movement screen (in large class settings I use it in lieu of an actual Functional Movement Screen). It can highlight many asymmetries, weaknesses or mobility gaps, and poorly done it can wreck you (like most lifts). If you were going to use it as a movement prep, you can do it without weight (called a naked TGU) or even make a fist and balance your shoe on it (do the TGU, don't drop the shoe). As a main lift, I'd couple it with a power movement such as the swing, snatch, clean etc (bar or 'bell) and do the TGU as the second half of the workout. One rep per side, alternating sides. As a 'core' thing, you could slap it on at the end of your workout with a medium load. As a cooldown, same as the warm up. Personally, I've found the TGU to work wonders for my 'core' (inc glutes), shoulders and upper back. It's also given me the confidence for kettlbell press and snatch with heavier weights, as with the TGU you can lift a much heavier weight overhead than you could press or snatch. The TGU allowed me to build my shoulder stability/strength with a lower volume of work than I would have need to do if I'd used pressing alone (whilst also working all of my hip and thoracic mobility at the same time AND getting a core workout). Yes, I love the TGU
With regards to conditioning, I'd have to say 'ha! yes!'. Low to medium load, low sweep get ups at a moderate pace, alternating sides each time for 10 mins. Not exactly a front squat or power clean tabata in terms of increasing work capacity, but for those with limited time who want a balance of strength, conditioning and mobility work simultaneously... Maybe not a conditioning tool for hardcore grapplers, but don't neglect the benefit for general populations (and those unused to it) of 'get on the floor and stand up... now repeat'.
Speaking of 'get on the floor and stand up'. Can anyone pull this off: I tried it the other day, can barely do it without weights, with weights I just keep rolling backwards, cant seem to get my feet under me. I dont think my hips have that sort of range yet. Seems like a very cool variation on the get off the floor theme.
you need an absurd amount of adductor and hip flexor flexibility to do that (i am jelly. so jelly). it's probably doable around the point where you can do a butterfly stretch with a neutral and completely vertical back and your knees down by the floor. and sometimes the weight actually helps with that sort of things, partly due to being in front of you and helping you balance, and partially by helping defeat some mobility restrictions via added pressure (couldn't say whether that's the case for her though).
