Why You Should Do The Getup

As my athletes know, I am a huge fan of the Turkish Getup. It's an exercise where you start laying on the floor, holding a weight up overhead, and then you basically "get up" from the floor while continually pressing the weight overhead. See the picture above for some examples at different stages of the movement.

There are 14 steps in the Turkish Getup (7 to get up, 7 to go back down) and each one gives the athlete a uniquely valuable lesson in stability, strength, and mobility. It's crucial to focus intently on the mechanics and quality of each step, rather than simply the amount of weight you can technically stand up with. I have two examples illustrating this point and the value of the exercise.

First is the client in his 50's who has had chronic shoulder pain for 20+ years. He scored a 1 on the FMS shoulder mobility screen, indicating a gross deficiency in movement quality. We started working on his mobility first using some lacrosse ball, foam roller, and other myofascial release techniques and his range of motion improved, but the pain under tension persisted. Next we looked at stability by adding the Turkish Getup to the program using only an 8# weight to start. We did Getups once per week for sets of 10-20 per side. The rest of the program consisted of lower body strength and metabolic conditioning.

Within a few weeks, the client started noting not only increased strength, but a remarkable lack of pain in the problematic shoulder.  A couple weeks later and it was nearly pain free and he is now using a 25# weight. After 20+ years of pain and discomfort, the stability and strength developed by the Turkish Getup solved a problem long since thought to be unsolvable by the client.

Then there's the athlete who could not lift his leg. He had played football over the weekend, and, five days later, was still unable to lay on his back and lift his leg up past about 30 degrees. It was as if the hip flexor simply did not work anymore. I had him perform some Getups with a strong focus on the step that requires hip extension. I glanced at the athlete after a few reps, asked him to raise his problematic leg, and he was able to do so to about 90 degrees. The body awareness and movement patterning of the getup cleared up whatever neuromuscular issue the athlete was having (most likely hip extensors fighting his flexors). It was like witnessing a miracle.

These are just two examples of many that illustrate the utility of this amazing exercise and why we do them at least once a week at CrossFit Watch City. Take the time to work each step to its fullest and you will be rewarded with better quality movement in almost everything else that you attempt.