Getting fitter and stronger with Caroline Girvan- all welcome!

Hello all just wanted to pop in and thank you for this thread. It inspired me to give iron 1 a go which I've just finished and absolutely loved.

It's the little improvements in functional fitness that I most notice and appreciate, like now being able to do some decent lunges when I was originally wobbling all over the place, and stronger core means I'm not aggravating a slightly dodgy lower back.

I've never managed to stick to regular fitness and I'm determined I will this time. I'm trying to think of it as a gift to my older self. Heat next :)

@ellebelli I was listening to Mindpump today and they had a podcast on supplements, the only ones they recommend are protein powder and créatine. I take 3g of créatine monohydrate everyday with my protein powder after a morning workout. I'm sure it's helped me recover more quickly. Not everyone is a créatine responder and no need to take any fancy créatine supplements most research has been done on the monohydrate and it's much cheaper than all the combinations with other substances!

Thank you @BigButtons and @samthebordercollie for the support.
I have just finished Day 3 of Heat and am starting to enjoy it,it is different each time with more cardio based moves so yes it definitely gets my heart rate up and leaves me sweaty!!!(love it haha)
I do take a protein powder because i do not think i get enough from food alone, don't take a creatine supplement- would you recommend one?

Checking in again- I am up to day 37 of Heat now and loving it! Have upgraded to 8kg weights for my "heavy" set.

I was doing a HIIT with the kids (!) in the holidays and DH got inspired to join in so now we do CG together every day! I did warn him he might end up with an hourglass figure but he doesn't seem to care....

@samthebordercollie so far I think they're much the same although Iron 2 has snuck in a few complexes which I don't remember in the first one.

@BigButtons what's the difference between Iron 1 and 2? I didn't like Iron 1 much, found it a bit dull, so haven't been in a hurry to do Iron 2!

@ellebelli congratulations on finishing Iron! Don't worry about the weights you use, or the reps, as CG says You do You. Her weights are lighter in Heat and the reps higher, your heart rate will be too! In a couple of Facebook groups I've seen members post photos of enviable muscles just from using fairly light weights consistently over a couple of years. And a lot depends on genetics, some people are just really strong and can increase weights more than others.
Do you eat plenty of protein and/or take a créatine supplément?

Well I have finished Iron, enjoyed the different way of training, slowing it down, and because of this i have increased my weights and managing to go heavier when doing other workouts by other trainers I use.
However today I started Heat (day 2 legs)
I could only lift about half of what Caroline used and do half the reps she did also.
I was feeling quite good but now I feel deflated...sure I will improve, I do find legs difficult, how the hell she can use 20kg in each hand for lunges-not only would my arms fall off but my legs would probably snap

@BigButtons yaay! It's so much easier to follow the workouts on a big screen. Quite a few people on a couple of FB groups have been criticising the lighting of the Iron2 series saying it's too dark.

I'm going to finish the YouTube long programs before starting the CGX Beastmode and Iron. Epic I is the last one and I'm up to Day 7, death by lunges but it was OK, I quite like lunges. It didn't compare to the screaming muscles I had after of Day 7 leg day of Epic III. I can actually match some of the weights in CG's early programs ( certainly not all) but there's no way I could in either of the Iron programs. 20kg in each hand for lunges, my arms would give out!

Did your phone not connect with the chromecast on the TV at all? That's odd. It took me ages to understand I just had to click on the icon in the app once the CG workout program had started to get the cast to work, I didn't need to go into Google home at all.

If you have a big white wall another option is a smartphone projector, but it's yet more expense!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mini-WiFi-Bluetooth-Projector-Compatible/dp/B0BNH7GCGH/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=phone+projector&qid=1694442873&sr=8-4

@BigButtons did you need a lightning adapter? I have an iPhone 12 and when I used the CGX app I just clicked the Chromecast icon on the top right of the screen and it cast directly to the TV

@BigButtons have you got Chromecast?

Is the new series only accessible via paid app?

I'm redoing the original Iron right now. But with heavier weights than last time. It's still a good day if I'm using 2/3 - 3/4 of Caroline's weight though.

I've just bought the app to do Iron 2. Luckily both phone and tv are Samsung so that's been simple but the sound is sometimes a bit glitchy.

I couldn't cast directly from my iPhone to my old TV but the app works perfectly with Chromecast

I just overlap my hands and change which hand is on the bottom when ness.

i do find it a bit awkward actually and was thinking next time I will just use two dumbells, I also wear gloves as this helps my hands, some of my metal dumbells are quite uncomfortable to use(especially during renegade rows,hence the gloves)

Everyone ready for a really dumb question?

I cannot find a comfortable two-handed dumbbell grip for things like pullovers. I try to overlap my hands but that just feels too weird, so I end up squashing them together and it hurts my wrist. How do you grip the blasted thing double handed properly?