You’re going to get hurt.
After 13 years on the mat I can make this statement with confidence.
It’s not a matter of if, but when.
When you do jiu-jitsu long enough, the odds are that you will sustain an injury, either acute or chronic.
Either a one-time injury like a weird twist or sudden action that tears or sprains something, or a long-term chronic pain from the repetitive positions and rough nature of BJJ.
So the issue becomes how can you reduce your chance of injury without sacrificing time on the mat?
We know that strength training and mobility work can help reduce injuries, but where do you begin?
There seems to be countless options and opinions on the best methods. Barbells, kettlebells, weight training, low rep, max effort, flows, soft tissue work, joint mobility drills, yoga, pre- hab, lacrosse balls, the list goes on.
If you invested time into every method or modality that could be good for you, you’d have no time or energy left to train.
And how do you balance that all with your mat time and daily life?
What if there were one move that could give you strength, mobility, injury prevention, and movement improvements all in one?
And all you had to do was a few reps every day.
And you could use it as a warm up, an assessment, or even a strength move.
Enter the Turkish Get Up.
The Turkish Get Up For Resilience
This is an ancient exercise that’s over 400 years old and has endured the test of time. It was created by ancient wrestlers and soldiers to prepare their bodies for combat.
The reason it’s so effective for creating resilience is that it’s actually a series of movements that brings the body through multiple movement planes. It a lot like what you would experience in a fight, all while being under load.
The Get Up forces your body to create stability in the shoulders, core, and spine, while also mobilizing the hips and ribcage.
Loaded Mobility
One of my favorite ways to fortify the body is through loaded mobility drills. Meaning exercises that mobilize the joints, take them through a full range of motion, while also strengthening those joints at the end range with weight. To me, that’s how you create real resilience.
The Turkish Get Up is the ultimate loaded mobility drill. Your shoulder, thoracic spine, hips, and knees are all taken through challenging ranges all while they’re stabilizing and supporting a weight.
The Get Up will also expose if one side of your body doesn’t move quite like the other. This usually means some tissues are tight or restricted, while others are weak or under active.
This gives you the opportunity to address those areas individually, but also to improve them right there by performing the Get Up.
When you become proficient all 7 steps of the Get Up, and move equally well on both sides, you can the load it with a heavy weight. A half bodyweight Get Up is an admirable goal worth working toward.
Benefits Of The Get Up For Injury Prevention
When you can maintain near perfect form at that weight, your body will have fortified itself for combat in an extremely effective way.
Your shoulders, and therefore, frames will become strong and stable.
Your entire core will be ready for action in all planes; sagittal, frontal, and transverse.
Your hips will be mobilized and strong for the positions that you’ll meet on the mat.
And, you entire body will be working toward moving more symmetrically and unified on both sides.
So, should you drop everything else like weight training and other mobility work?
No.
But the Turkish Get Up is your insurance policy if you fall behind on those other areas, or are confused by their endless options.
You don’t need a gym or a lot of space to to perform a Get Up to get all the benefits.
Or even a lot of time.
A few reps is really all you need.
It’s the ultimate minimalist, big bang-for-your-buck time saver.
Use the Get Up before every training session to prime and asses your total body for the work ahead.
As a strength move, reps of 1, 2 and up to 3 per side will do well to give the muscles, joints, and tissues the stimulus they need to fortify.
And Get Ups can be done every day, with bodyweight alone or loaded.
So if you’re a grappler who is serious about staying injury free, or just someone who want’s a lifetime of resilience and optimal movement, invest in the Turkish Get Up.
If you want private coaching to learn the Get Up, just email me.
