20130720 Barefoot and Shirtless Turkish Get Ups with Kettlebell Swings

As my online friend Steve Cooksey often says, I worked out outside, barefoot and shirtless! I've really been off track since 20130710, ten days!

1. Two-legged Glute Activation Raises 1 x 20
2. Flying Dogs 1 x 15 per side
3. Turkish Get Ups
• Strong ( right ) Side x 5 x 5 lb. dumbbell
• Weak ( left ) Side x 5 x 5 lb. dumbbell
• Strong ( right ) Side x 5 x 5 lb. dumbbell
• Weak ( left ) Side x 5 x 5 lb. dumbbell
• Weak ( left ) Side x 5 x 5 lb. dumbbell
• Weak ( left ) Side x 5 x 5 lb. dumbbell
• Weak ( left ) Side x 5 x 5 lb. dumbbell
4. Kettlebell Swings
• Point A 5 x 22.5 lb. t-bar homemade kettlebell
• Point B 5 x 22.5 lb. t-bar homemade kettlebell
• Swings 5 x 22.5 lb. t-bar homemade kettlebell
• Swings 25, 25, (12,8,5) x 32.5 lb t-bar homemade kettlebell
5. Myotatic Crunch 1 x 10 x 5 lb dumbbell
6. The Cat Vomit Exercise 1 x 10

This took a long time, 72.5 minutes. This is my first time working the Turkish Get Ups ( TGUs ) into my routine. You may think using a 5 lb. dumbbell is useless but I've only ever really done this exercise one day before and then without any weight at all. When I got done with the TGUs I was nearly wiped out. I could already feel the soreness in my thighs.

Given how I was already feeling after the TGUs, I decided to scale back my swings. Another reason to scale back was that it had been ten days since I worked out. I was doing pretty good until the third set of swings when I had to adjust my tbar with 13 reps to go. With 5 reps to go I was so winded I put the weight down and took several deep breaths and then knocked out the final 5 reps.

You might ask why my only "strength" exercises are TGUs and Kettlebell Swings? Simple, I read about Gray Cook in The Four Hour Body. 

This ( the Turkish Get Up ) is the movement that Gray used most with Michelle Wie, along with the basic swing. The TGU is an elegant solution that includes nine discrete movements which, in combination, address all of the major muscle groups and planes of movement. Gray underscores why the mainstream usually doesn't see it: "The Turkish get-up and swing just aren't sexy enought for the glossy magazines. Am I actually saying that you can be a world-class athlete and only do TGU and swings for injury prevention? Yes, pretty much."

As usual, the six minute ab routine was tough. I was dripping sweat during the CVEs. I wonder how sore I will be tomorrow!