The Turkish Get Up: Maybe The Best Exercise For Grapplers

“They say that strength doesn’t count, but it does. Maybe it wouldn’t make a difference if the opponent didn’t know anything. If the opponent knows something, then strength starts to count.” – Carlson Gracie 

The Turkish Get Up is Possibly the best full body conditioning exercise.

Many experts say that best lift for BJJ is the deadlift as it develops strong hips, legs and core. The Turkish Get Up or TGU, is also I believe one of best single exercise you can do. This exercise has everything.
It requires and will help you to develop: balance, core strength, joint strength & stability, flexibility, power, muscular endurance.
For athletes requiring functional strength and having minimal time to achieve it then you could do this one exercise 2-3 times per week for 10-15 minutes and achieve excellent all round physical conditioning.

This movement is similar to a technical get up from BJJ, and builds a strong midsection and core, as well as improving your shoulder flexibility and stability which are crucial for BJJ. Training with kettlebells makes you more resistant to shoulder injuries. Your body is constantly adapting to keep the load overhead stable, although it may look easy…it’s not easy so start with a light weight.

How to perform the Turkish Get Up:

Here Jason Brown demonstrates a couple of variations for BJJ to the turkish get up. These variations will help you with standing to base (which is also crucial in street situations to protect yourself) as well as coming up on your shin, great for establishing position so your opponent can’t close their guard:

Here’s how you progress:

Day 1 (no weight; just balance a tennis ball in your palm)
Stage 1 (the sit up) 3 x 5 reps each side
Stage 2 (lunge preparation) 3 x 5 reps each side
Stage 3 (the get up) 3 x 5 reps each side
No need to do any other exercises in todays routine

Day 2 (light weight – 3-6k Kettlebell depending upon your ability)
Stage 1 (the sit up) 3 x 5 reps each side
Stage 2 (lunge preparation) 3 x 5 reps each side
Stage 3 (the get up) 3 x 5 reps each side
No need to do any other exercises in todays routine

Day 3 (light weight by now you should have worked out what weight you are comfortable with be conservative for now!!)
Stage 1, stage 2, stage 3 – 1 x 5 reps each side as warm up
Stage 1 & 2 – 2 x 5 reps each side
Stage 2 & 3 – 2 x 5 reps each side

Day 4 (use optimal weight)
Stage 1, stage 2, stage 3 – 1 x 5 reps each side as warm up
Stage 1 & 2 then Stage 2 & 3 – 1 x 5 reps each side
Full Turkish Get Up – 1 x 3 reps each side take 30s rest before transferring to other arm

Day 5 (optimal weight)
Stage 1, stage 2, stage 3 – 1 x 5 reps each side as warm up
Full Turkish Get Up – 3 x 3 reps each side take 30s rest before transferring to other arm