EPIC!! Losing, gaining and groaning with Caroline Girvan

So, if today is another active rest day, does that mean tomorrow is HIIT? 😬😱

I did no training today, couldn’t face any abs but we did go for a brisk walk and I did 14k steps. I did the same on Thursday, although we may have walked for longer. When I’m back at work I won’t have time for long walks so Thursdays may well become yoga day. How active are we supposed to be on an active rest day?

I want to start upping weights for my lower body, I would do for my arms too but I still have an iffy right wrist so don’t want to push it too much. 6kg is about right for most depending on how many reps we need to do and I can do 8s for the back stuff, but for the lateral raises I feel I’ll be stuck or 3s or 4s forever. It seems that for Endgame all exercises are 1 min long so far. Oh my, I hope she doesn’t do 1 minute of Tabata tomorrow! I can just about cope with 20 secs at a time!

and ordered some ankle weights too! My glutes will be activated if it kills me.

I did a weighted abs one today which I prefer to the endless tuck raise things (which hurt because my spine is too knobbly).

And LWR's glutes. Which hurt because my glutes are so lazy.

Day 4 done and I really enjoyed the circuits. I definitely to get the new weights as the arm exercises felt like a break. I think this week has been really good to slow down the core moves and really focus on form, I never would have thought 1 min Bulgarian lunges were doable at the start of epic 1. As it’s the weekend I did the extra abs add on, never done an extra workout before but my abs need the most work!

@BigButtons I always count my reps, it helps get me through the exercise, plus where there are repeats I try to best the reps. Also because for the exercises where you do one side first then the other I have this irrational fear of doing more reps one side and ending up with a thicker arm or leg.

I’ve been keeping up or beating her on all the 100s so far hence my suspicion that she’s been sneaking a few more in and hoping we won’t notice 🤔

I also found it a bit tiring repeating the circuit, the third one was a bit of a challenge but I tried to plough through and keep up the reps. Needless to say I didn’t do the add on.

The 100 sumo squats at the end were not taxing at all. In fact, I suspect she added another10 or so to the full range ones as I got to 50 ages before her and practically finished the half squats too in the same time. There’s something a bit iffy with her counting as I find myself finishing before her in most of the finishers. Hmmm

Day 3 done here. I found it quite a challenge. Did my thrusts against the sofa. I don't mind them too much as at least your upper body gets a bit of a comfortable rest.

What would really help me is if she somehow marked out during each exercise where you should be feeling the work. For example in those staggered leg hip thrusts I couldn't work out where the focus was meant to be. Just an arrow or maybe a few flames on the screen to show you would be good.

I’ve just spotted there are add ons! Will do the full body in a while, then try the add on, whatever it may be.

I agree re hip thrusts on the floor, I do mine in the sofa and keep sliding down and needing to adjust, so I’m never sure if the position is right.

I think I'll do hip thrusts on the floor next time. I was reading the FB group members' comments - mostly they don't like the chair hip thrusts and it's easy to get them wrong and exercise your quads not your glutes (I think I was doing this).

Day 4 was the whole body workout. I substituted other exercises for the lunges and squats and feel much better for it. Will do the ab add-on later on I think.

Day 3 done and it was better than I expected as the hip thrusts were broken up. Still not sure I’m doing them 100% correct but really concentrated on keeping my chin in and squeezing at the top. First finisher I’ve finished well behind CG. I’ve felt a little soreness in my legs on the stairs but not like I used to feel at the start of Epic.

I randomly did ache in the first week of advent when she did a couple of abs classes. But my arms and legs are impervious. or something

I don't ache very often now either for any of the workouts. Is it a case of increasing the weights further?

I have also realised that my glutes don't activate at all! I have very lazy glutes.

Anyway I did inner/outer thigh and ab workouts this morning and then went to what was meant to be a nurturing, relaxing yoga class but which was being covered someone who is the opposite of nurturing. Really enjoyed it.

Interesting conversation.
I'm rarely achey after the workouts (Epic Heat, Advent). However when I took a break for 2 weeks, after my first workout back, I was really aching for two days after! So I think we're a bit conditioned. It's only when we take a break that we notice it.
I also really ached for a couple of days after the glute workout.
When I increase the weight, I feel it.
But I think even when we don't feel achey, we're still getting stronger. I don't expect (want) to ache after every workout.

I’m not achey either, except for my triceps a bit from the day before. I did do extra stretching though after the glutes so that may have helped.

I think it’s entirely normal not to be achey after a workout, I remember after Epic 1 not feeling it the day after many workouts, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t getting stronger. Heat made me more stiff after some workouts, maybe we’ve just got used to that?

I remember from my avid gym going days that feeling stiff the next day or the day after meant that you hadn’t done enough stretching. CG doesn’t do a lot of stretching, so that probably contributes to the sore muscles next day.

We did Epic endgame day 1 - pretty tough (got nowhere near 100 squats! Maybe 60?). I will do something tomorrow, not necessarily day two, as not sure husband will want to workout tomorrow, as he has a long day at work first.

Weights wise, you just need to do as much as you can - I have sh*te knees, so generally use either 7.5kg or sometimes 10kg for legs. For upper body, generally 10kg chest press (although I can go heavier, but the rest of the weights are out in the shed!), And then 5 or 6.5 for the rest of the stuff. I've definitely improved the look of my body since starting CG, despite not using as heavy weights as I used to when I went to the gym. And the only way to get that muscle definition, and lean look is to lose fat - so you can eat carbs, but just cut calories a bit for a while.

I did the add on this evening and my glutes were definitely feeling it from this morning!

It's a rest day tomorrow, although she said she will sometimes post workouts.

My, that was grim. I liked the other exercises but she just had to pepper everything with the dreaded thrusts! I ended up doing most in the end, although the weighted ones I might have stopped at around 15 seconds before time was up. I expect to have stiff glutes tomorrow, having studiously avoided the thrust sessions in her Advent series.

It also didn’t help that my cat decided to distract me by jumping on kitchen worktops and anywhere he wasn’t supposed to. Note to self, avoid exercising at cat dinner time.