Getting fitter and stronger with Caroline Girvan- all welcome!

I just did the beginners day 1. Awful! All those bloody lunges! And that sitting down and standing up with one leg up! Crazy!

I did what I could though. I'm sweating and my legs feel weak so I must be doing something right.

I just had a sneaky look at day 2. I think I'm going to skip it - I can't do push ups so 30 minutes of push ups isn't for me. I want to enjoy it, at least to start with! Abs sounds more my cup of tea so I'll give day 3 a go next time. I'll come back to push ups one day!

Thanks for the help :)

@Melassa I have muscle shape round my knees too

it’s amazing, isn’t it? I never thought I needed a muscle there, or even that one existed, but it has come in quite handy. It also fills out the wrinkly bits so win win!

Oh, I do the stupid things! I just glare at Caroline while I do them. She seems unmoved, curse her. 😉

I agree with keeping up the lunges to help sore knees. I used to have fairly dodgy knees from running and bad posture/heels but since doing CG’s lunges I have no more weird twinges and aches or clicky bits. I now also have muscles next to my knees instead of a baggy bit of skin. I actually quite like doing them now, more so than squats.

For starting out I second (third?) Epic Beginners, start with relatively light weights and move up gradually.

@vivicrocodile I started with the beginners series then moved onto EPIC1 (almost twice!) but epic1 is hour long sessions so depends what your time commitment is like. I liked the mix of cardio and strength (although I skipped every single hiit workout in the program- too much for me!)

A lot of people seem to rate HEAT as it's 30min sessions but I haven't tried that one yet (doing iron series)

Agree with @AquaticSewingMachine - it's addictive! Im currently eying up a new set of adjustable dumbbells and some more plates for the barbell!! Must resist

Hi @vivicrocodile

Welcome to your new addiction ;)

CG actually has a 5 session Kick-Ass Kettlebell series you might like to try. That would give you a taster and then you could consider whether you want to continue one of the longer programmes. That's what I did and then I started on Epic 1.

Hi all,

I really want to start with CG. Which videos would you suggest I start with? I've had a quick look but I'd really appreciate your insider knowledge.

I have been doing some weights (at home, with not much of a clue what I'm actually doing) for about 4 weeks now.

I have an 8kg kettlebell and a basic set of dumbbells (I think they are 1kg, 2.5 and 4.5kg) Is this enough? I find the 2.5s a bit light but the 4.5s are too much after a few lifts. Do I go with 2.5 or keep attempting 4.5?

Thanks for your help :)

@AquaticSewingMachine I have really started hating them since starting CG workouts. I haven't struggled with them in the past but I feel there are so many in some of her workouts that I get fed up of them and my knees are sore the next day. Was going to consider looking for an alternative for the lunge heavy workouts so I can swap some out and keep the rest. Squats fine with me too but I know the single leg exercises are important and I do need to keep up with them

Any tips on getting better for renegade rows? I struggle with holding the plank for it all. Admittedly, I need to get better at following the Bowflex challenge more too

I did Iron D13 today, have been doing some other HIIT in between so doing 3-4 Iron workouts per week rather than full 5

I have also discovered that I always, always hate lunges. No idea why. I like squats fine.

Epic 1 Day 24 for me yesterday, full body dumbbells. I'm actually nearly at the end now aren't I? I'll have to think about what I do next!

Slow progress on strength but I do find that I'm trading down to my 5kg dumbbells more and more rarely.

@BigButtons that's a good idea (that I feel a little dim for not thinking of!!), thanks

Hi ladies, I'm enjoying the iron series (up to day 17 now!) but I'm finding some difficulty with the length of the rest intervals.

For a lot of the sessions I find I'm struggling to get to the end of the timer in the second half of the workout. I've found out that if I leave a bigger rest interval, say 60 seconds instead of 30, I can do it but I'm not sure if I'm best to stick to the timings as CG does them or pause the workout for a slightly longer rest and complete the timer? If I drop my weights a bit this isn't an issue (but don't really want to do that)

Also found my left shoulder is SO much weaker than my right but for the legs my left is the stronger one- How on earth has that happened?!

I’ve got to day 27 in Iron, only 3 more to go! Skiving today though as I’ve had my hair blow dried straight and any sweating will just make it curl <shallow>.

Looking forward to starting Fuel as I need to get leaner, with Iron I seem to have bulked up a bit, which I do like, but I want my new muscles to stand out and at present I just look sturdy 😬with no specific muscle definition.

I do love that push ups have got easier and I’m feeling stronger in general. I can lift almost anything with ease and my knees are a lot less creaky, thanks to the countless lunges. It’s coming up to a year since I started, from lockdown levels of non fitness, and I do feel better for it, despite not always following assiduously.

We're just doing full body at the moment as husband has got a sore knee .. found a good one in epic 3 today. Off on holiday tomorrow, so no exercise for a week!

Fuel day 3 completed and enjoyed the variety for a glutes day. I think I’ll definitely be aching after all the elevated lunges and bridge marathon at the end. Looking forward to full body day next.

I felt bereft without a new CG today, so went back and did Fuel 5 - loved it. Well structured and consistent cardio throughout, thought it was one of the better ones so far. Did 6kg to CG's 10kg.

Iron day 5 done, really liked the abs section! I only did 5kg though

Fuel day 2 completed and my arms are definitely fatigued, feel good I’ve managed to get back into a routine if only for 2 days. Knowing they’re only 30mins stops my usual lack of time excuses 😀

Monday afternoon would be great! Let's arrange towards the end of the month x

I'm not liking the sound of Fuel from everyone else's posts. I don't enjoy being out of breath (although I love an elevated HR). I hate walking up mountains for the same reason, I am limited by lung capacity well before my legs tire.
For some reason, I can tolerate it really well when swimming so that has always been my cardio but not a member of pool at the moment

@BigButtons you made it much further than I would have if I wasn't enjoying it, I admire that you managed to get through so much

Did another low impact HIIT today and back to getting my daily steps in now kids are back at school. Going to have to find a way of doing this over the long summer break, I average less than 5000 if I am not doing school run, increases to 12000+ when taking to school and activities.