Exercise of circus strongmen. What is a Turkish lift and how to do it correctly?

Exercise of circus strongmen. What is a Turkish lift and how to do it correctly?

It will not only make you stronger, but also develop mobility and improve coordination.

fitness treener

This exercise came to us from old-school athletes and circus strongmen of the past. The traditional Turkish lift is performed with a kettlebell, but now athletes have started using dumbbells, barbells and any other heavy equipment. The exercise is considered asymmetrical, and there is a trick to it. You will discover the weak parts of your body and the difference in strength between your left and right sides. This will allow you to improve your mobility and coordination.

Pros of the Turkish Lift

1. Engages many muscle groups. Breast muscles, triceps, shoulders, legs, abs and back get a good load.
2. Develops a sense of body balance, improves coordination.
3. Helps to dilute the monotony of training and not to burn out from monotonous work with “iron”.
4. It is important for heavy loads in impact sports. You develop the necessary strength for pushing from yourself, using your whole body, not just your arms.

Who should not do this exercise

We recommend refraining from Turkish lifts if you have injuries to your knees, back, shoulder and elbow joints. When you lift the weight asymmetrically above your head, the load is not evenly distributed, which can aggravate the injury.

Also be careful if you have had the above injuries within the past three months. Be sure to consult a physical rehabilitation specialist or doctor before performing the exercise.

With what to perform the Turkish lift?

Kettlebell. This projectile makes the shoulder girdle tense more than when working with dumbbells, because of its mobility.

Dumbbell. It is more stable to hold in the hand, so this option is simpler. Suitable for beginners.

Disk from the barbell. One of the most difficult options, since the projectile is not fixed in any way and can fall. It is performed by experienced athletes.

Barbell. A complex variant of execution, which requires good coordination and stability due to the length of the projectile.

How to do the Turkish lift correctly

Tehnika

• Lie on your right side, bend your legs at the knees. Take the weight with your right hand, and put your left hand on top. Next, roll onto your back and straighten your left leg. The right leg is bent at the knee, with the foot flat on the floor.
• Press the weight up and straighten your arm. Lock your arm in this position. It is important that the handle of the kettlebell hangs on the base of the thumb of the right hand and the kettlebell touches the forearm. The left hand rests on the floor with the palm facing the floor.
• Hold the straight arm with the kettlebell in the air and lift your back off the floor, turning your shoulders and torso to the left. Next, bend your left arm at the elbow to rest it on the floor and transfer your body weight to your forearm. Your task is to keep a close eye on the kettlebell.
• Next, move your supporting arm from your elbow to your palm and move into a sitting position.
• Leaning on your left palm and left foot, lift your buttocks off the floor by bending your left leg and move it backward. Next, place it on your knee.
• Raise the body to a straight position and rotate the hips so that both pelvic bones are facing forward and the left foot is pointing backward and standing on the toes. Extend your free arm out to the side for balance.
• Hold the kettlebell above your head while standing on your knee. Next, straighten up.
• Do the same in reverse order.

Start adding Turkish lifts before your workout as a warm-up. The weight of the apparatus should be light! Do three lifts per side. Once you master the movement, you can increase the weight of the projectile and perform Turkish lifts as the main exercise, because the exercise engages the muscles of the chest, triceps, shoulders, legs, abs and the entire back.