Turkish Get Up

The Turkish Get Up is a very tough exercise. This is how you do it.

1. Lie on the floor, in a supine position (i.e. face up), next to an appropriate size kettlebell.

2. Use both hands to press the kettlebell vertical – directly above your shoulder. Once in position, keep your elbow locked, wrist straight, and your eyes on the kettlebell.

3. Post your foot close to your buttocks (same side as your working arm.)

4. Allow the weight to drift slightly forward, then push off your posted foot and sit up. It is acceptable to allow your free arm to assist slightly in sitting up.

5. From sitting, slowly move to the kneeling position. This can be done a number of ways. The main thing is to move slowly, keeping your working arm perpendicular to the ground and to finish in well supported, 3-point kneeling position.


6. Slowly straighten your torso, then stand straight up.

7. Now that the fist half of the TGU is over, simply reverse the steps until you have reached your starting point.

If you can do this exercise then you have the ability to do many more exercises with the kettlebell.

Kettlebell Cleans

The Kettelbell Clean is one of the most explosive exercises you can do with a kettlebell. You can do the Kettlebell Clean with either one arm or two. Beginners should start with one.

1. Keep torso straight but bent forward at the hips slightly.

2. Explosively raise the kettleballs by extending the hips, knee and ankle in a “jumping action”.

3. Keep your elbows out and shoulders directly above the kettleballs as long as possible. Keep the kettleballs close to the body.

4. Once you have extended the lower leg shrug your shoulders and at maximum elevation of the shoulders start pulling with the arms. Keep the elbows high during the pull until the highest point.

5. Rotate elbows around and underneath the kettleballs. Rack your hands across the front of the shoulders. Slightly flex the hips and knees to absorb the weight.

6. This should be a fluid motion where all the steps flow together

If you do this exercise you will be tired quickly, so make sure to get enough rest in between reps.

Kettlebell Windmill

This exercise mainly works the obliques. Clean and press a kettlebell overhead with one arm. Keeping the kettlebell locked out at all times, push your hip out in the direction of the locked out kettlebell.

Turn your feet out at a forty-five degree angle from the arm with the kettlebell. Lower yourself until you can touch the floor in the opposite direction. Pause for a second and then reverse the motion back to the starting position.

The most important thing to remember when you doing this exercise is to always keep your eyes on the kettlebell because if you don't you could easily lose control of the bell and could cause injury.

Why Do Athletes Use It?

They say in 5 years the National Football League (NFL) will look at how many Kettle Bell swings the player can do instead of how many Bench presses he can do.

This is because the Kettle Bell Swing is one of the most efficient workouts an athlete can do, because of the fact that it is not working just one muscle group, it is working basically your whole body.

On TV's 60Min's, they highlighted LT Tomlinson, of the San Diego Chargers, the best running back in the NFL . If he stays healthy, he will surpass Walter Patton's records. The Program showed part on one of his training sessions with his trainer(pushing the hell out of him). What we saw as mostly everything functional training, including swings using Kettlebells! Now I not that naive to think that just because LT uses kettlebells in his training, that every football team or player will start using kettlebells, but you never know.

The one thing that I can tell you is that if LT uses them to get in shape, then they can not be a bad thing.