Why form is important in lifting weights, especially Turkish Get-Ups
In case you can’t make out the image below, it was lesson number one in the importance of proper form in doing Turkish Get-Ups.
In particular, it’s a dent in my floor in the shape of the bottom edge of one of my kettle bells. If you lose control of a kettle bell while doing a Turkish get-up, especially when you’re holding it high above your body and the floor, you can try to regain control, but there’s a good chance it will hit the floor hard.
That dent is where a kettle bell hit when I lost control because I lost my form. It happened something like five years ago.
I mention that this dent was lesson number one. Lesson two was the weight hitting not the floor but a rib. The impact hurt enough and the pain was localized and lasted long enough that I figure it was a hairline fracture.
After the second lesson, I told myself that if I ever experienced a third lesson with similar impact that I’d stop trying to do Turkish Get-ups with heavy weights. Since then I’ve focused more on form. It’s why I took so long to try them with a 70-pound weight. I don’t want that third lesson. Still, I have my third set with the 70-pound weight coming up. Let’s hope it goes well. Rather, I’ll prepare so I do it well.
Here’s another view of the dent:
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