It’s not an easy move to do at first, but the Turkish getup is worth mastering for its ability to challenge your core in a way that moves such as hanging leg raises and crunches don’t.
Slowly moving from a lying to a standing position with a sandbag or kettlebell loaded on one side of your body activates your lower and upper body, and keeps the core engaged as your body fights to keep itself stable. Perform the getup as a warmup with lighter weight, in the middle of your program, or at the end as a finisher. And remember to start light.
Once you become more competent at the exercise, begin to increase the load slowly.
How to do it
Start on your back with a sandbag draped over one shoulder, and the same-side leg bent in a bridge position.
Roll toward the opposite elbow, lifting your torso up, so you’re in a seated position with your knee still bent.
Fully extend your arm to support your weight, and then slide your opposite leg under your body to a half-kneeling position.
Stand up, and then slowly reverse the movement.
Clean sweep
If the leg sweep trips you up, try performing the half Turkish getup: Get into position 2 (above), and perform a hip raise.
