Uncommon Bodyweight Exercises for Achieving Complete-Body Strength You May Not Have Experienced Yet
Personal trainer Elle Linton has shared three uncommon bodyweight exercises that can help you get a sweat on during your home workout sessions. These exercises, including the Turkish get-up, push-up into leg lift, and bear crawl, offer a unique challenge and target various muscle groups.
Push-up into Leg Lift
The push-up into leg lift is a versatile exercise that can help build a strong lower body and improve coordination. To perform this move, place your hands on the floor, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, extend your legs behind you with your feet slightly apart, engage your core and glutes, bend your elbows to lower your body, and push through your palms to return to the start. From there, lift one leg followed by the other. Elle Linton recommends performing 8-10 reps for each leg.
Turkish Get-up
The Turkish get-up is a full-body exercise that works the arms, legs, and core, but can be challenging for beginners. To perform the Turkish get-up effectively, follow these key steps:
- Arm Extension: Start lying on your back holding a kettlebell in your right hand, arm locked out straight above you, shoulder anchored down, and eyes on the kettlebell.
- Knee Bend: Bend the right leg with the foot flat on the floor, keep the left leg straight, and extend the left arm at a 45-degree angle for support. Engage your core to brace.
- Sit Up to Post: Drive through the right heel and roll diagonally onto your left elbow, then onto your left hand, all while keeping eyes on the kettlebell and the arm locked straight.
- Hip Bridge: From the hand, lift your hips into a bridge to create space and maintain tension through your core and glutes.
- Leg Sweep and Stand: Sweep the straight leg back into a kneeling position, then stand up fully while keeping the kettlebell overhead and arm straight. Reverse the movement slowly with control back to lying down.
Throughout the movement, avoid common mistakes such as wrist cocking, shoulder elevation or looseness, lateral rolling, losing sight of the kettlebell, and rushing through transitions. Moving slowly with deliberate control maximizes strength development and shoulder stability.
The Turkish get-up offers numerous benefits, including arm and shoulder stability, core engagement, leg and hip strength, full-body coordination, and mobility. Incorporating Turkish get-ups into your training can help build strength, stability, and mobility in the shoulders, core, and legs simultaneously, making it a highly functional full-body exercise suited for injury prevention and athletic performance.
Bear Crawl
The bear crawl is a full-body workout that also challenges the brain. To do a bear crawl, start on all fours with hands under shoulders and knees under hips, lift knees just off the floor, and move forward by lifting right hand and left foot, followed by left hand and right foot. This exercise is a great way to engage the core, improve balance, and challenge your coordination.
Elle Linton suggests doing the Turkish get-up or its half version for reps appropriate for one's fitness level. If you're finding push-ups too challenging, there is a four-step plan to help you get your first push-up. For those who are looking for an alternative to push-ups, the push-up into leg lift can be a great option.
References:
- kettlebellsworkouts.com - Step-by-step guide to Turkish get-up (2025-07-29)
- kettlebellsworkouts.com - Benefits of the Turkish get-up for shoulder and core strength (2025-07-29)
- gymshark.com - Detailed core engagement during Turkish sit-up/half get-up (2025-07-10)
The push-up into leg lift, a versatile exercise, not only builds a strong lower body but also improves coordination, making it a valuable addition to any home health-and-wellness routine focused on fitness-and-exercise.
The Turkish get-up is a challenging full-body exercise that works the arms, legs, and core, offering numerous benefits such as arm and shoulder stability, core engagement, leg and hip strength, full-body coordination, and mobility, making it an excellent choice for injury prevention and athletic performance in the field of science and health-and-wellness.
