Getting fitter and stronger with Caroline Girvan- all welcome!

Good to see you back,@ladybranstonpickle!

I know what you mean about the protein. I once did an analysis which, if memory serves me right, suggested I 'need' around 140g of protein a day. No way...... even if I wasn't trying to control my calories intake as I need to lose some weight...

I'd be interested how others manage their protein intake. Is it possible to get 'enough' without resorting to powders?

I've been MIA - new job and whatnot has taken up all my time. I do check in on the thread though and am amazed by your progress and dedication!

I am on the last week of Fuel. Had a dreadful summer cold last week so missed 3 workouts - have been doubling up this week to make them up. E.g. yesterday I combined Day 23 Glutes & Hamstrings Tempo with Day 27 Shoulders Chest & Triceps Tempo. I need somehow to get Day 28 Posterior Chain Clusters, and Day 25 Dumbbell Cardio & HIIT done today. Then tomorrow I can do both full body sessions (Day 25 & Day 29).

I am desperate to finish the workouts a day early e.g. Day 31 Dumbbell HIIT No Repeat on Saturday as we are off to Thailand for two weeks on Saturday night! I am planning to do a few calisthenics or full bodyweight only sessions while we are away. Maybe there'll be a new program by the time I get back! If not, i'm going to start Heat again. I love the 30min format that combines cardio and weights.

I've seen a lot of progress in my strength and cardio health - resting heart rate is now 60bpm! Burpees and sprawls no longer fill me with dread. And I can do a few solid tricep pushups and nearly 10 normal pushups in a row. Still terrible at dips though.

My next focus is to really clean up my diet. I eat pretty healthily but definitely do not get enough protein. Trying to eat at last 25g at each meal, not easy bc I only eat lunch and dinner. I hate the idea of protein shakes as I consider them UPF...but might try a couple of powders mixed into my yoghurt etc.

I'm doing Epic 3 again. As these are fairly short, I add in a 20-30 minute HIIT courtesy of Growingannanas, plus a short plank* and either a bit of ab work (Rebecca) or thighs & glutes (Lucy), to make it 90 minutes a day.

• Caroline has a neat 5 minute plank, which makes a change from Bowflex:

Fuel finished! I enjoyed it more than than it sounds like some of you did, but overall I agree I'd prefer more steady strength training and less cardio. I had to go much slower than CG on some sets just to keep my form. Anyone know if there's anything coming next? I'm thinking about repeating Iron or Heat.

@BigButtons - you went to see the Stones, wow!!!! I would have loved to see this but had too much going on, plus I didn't have a ticket...

The last one you did, with the abs and plans - not sure which one you mean...... do you have a link or a name/heading?

Why not try this, @BigButtons ? Anna is using 5kg, but feel free to use 10... 😆

This may become my new go-too workout as it ticks all the boxes for me. Even includes a fair few planks! 😍

I'm now on day 17 of the Fuel series. Not loving it. I find it very focussed on the legs (think someone (BigButtons ?) said this too. I've been doing other upper body workouts in between my Fuel ones. And also some running (which is hard to combine with Fuel as running is also legs...).

Day 9 fuel this morning and it was a deceptively sweaty full body workout. I thought it was going to be easy going with only 40sec exercises but the shorter 20sec rests seemed to be over far too quick. A full 60mins netball last night as well so feeling good to do 3 days exercise in a row as I’ve been making a lot of excuses to skip it of late💪

Didn't Caroline today because my PT merrily kicked the shit out of me instead. And it was glorious. Except for the part where the barbell almost slid off my shoulders because they were so sweaty.

Epic 1 Day 29 tomorrow.

Well done all with your workouts. Finally started Iron properly yesterday. I've already done a few random workouts from that series, but am going to work through it properly now. Will do day 2 today.

Day 8 fuel completed tonight, it felt much slower than recent days and very doable with my 5kg weights but then CG was using 15kg so another workout telling me to buy new weights. I did find out I’m getting promoted this week so maybe now’s the time to ‘treat’ myself!

I think most of Anna's workouts are labelled HIIT, but she has both high and low impact sessions, with and without weights. I often do them at my own pace, depending on how energetic I feel. Her back catalogue is huge, so I always manage to find something.

As for the Bowflex 3-minute plank, I cannot recommend it highly enough. I'm really not superfit, especially after not having been able to work out regularly for the past 6-8 months, but my core is still solid. Do it every day for a month and you won't believe the difference!

Especially if you combine it with Rebecca Louise's Best Abs. (But do remember to turn the sound right down after you've done it once...)

Day 4 beginners done! Absolutely loved it! I love dumbbells. Totally got my mojo back. Feeling energised and positive!

@FlowerArranger just googled the Bowflex 3 min plank. Top comment on YouTube “want to time travel? Prepare for the longest 3 minutes of your life” hahahaha!!!
You must be incredibly fit!

EPIC 3 was the series that worked best for me and I keep going back to it. I never use anything approaching her weights though. Mostly 5kg plus occasionally 10kg for squats and the like. I also do Growingannanas HIIT sessions on alternate days as full on Caroline is too much for me. Oh, and the Bowflex 3 minute plank. Every day!!

^what they said. I'm all smug about getting up to 10kg on a session except when I had to drop back to 7.5 but Caroline was using heavier weights than me. You just do what you can and keep plugging away and you build fitness and strength.