Caroline Girvan or someone else?

[sidsgranny]

Am looking to start doing some weight training to tone up and get stronger. I am a complete newbie and have no idea where to begin.
Have found Caroline Girvan on youtube and I know she's popular. Would I just pick a different video to follow each day?

I'd love to know this too. Caroline Girvan looks quite intense for a beginner. I'm keen to start exercising too, just putting it off.

Am also wanting some info on this too.

Caroline Girvan has a beginner program so recommend you start there, although I’m not sure if it’s on YouTube or just the app.

You can also try her app for a free 14 day trial to see how you like it?

I train a lot with various modalities and I think she’s brilliant, highly rate her. Especially good if you don’t want to think about doing your own routine and cheaper than a PT. She’s got a very loyal following and for a friendly face to get you moving you can’t beat her really.

If you’re an absolute beginner it’s a bad idea to do any YouTube programme. Get some time with a personal trainer so they can teach you the moves and ensure your form is correct. Then Caroline Girvan is fantastic. Iron on YouTube is a good place to start - the moves are quite basic and you can make it as easy or hard as you like by using lighter or heavier weights. Don’t just dip in and out though - start with day one and try to do three days a week. Originally it was five days a week with the ‘rest days’ either side of the full body days.

Her beginner programme is hard. I recommend starting with iron with no or low weights and increase slowly.

I really recommend Nourishmovelove on YouTube - I do her kettlebell workouts and think they’re great. She has lots of different programmes to follow if you prefer to do those instead of individual workouts.

I started with her Iron series on youtube. Loved it, got hooked and been working out with het consistently for years, now using her app. Go for it!

I started with Caroline Girvan’s Iron Series as an absolute newbie at age 52. My advice would be: start light, have a couple of different weights (maybe 1.5 kg and 3kg to start) and most importantly, skip leg day!
I do her glutes, but I can’t do the other leg one each week. It’s death by lunges! Unfortunately, that’s the first episode of the series and it’s a killer. Just skip it!
I also find anything she does with abs is just too brutal. I started doing Jessica Valant Pilates at the same time as Caroline Girvan, and I switch out both legs and abs with much gentler workouts from JV.
Not that Pilates is easy, but I feel “secure and supported in my season of life” with Jessica, whereas I don’t trust Caroline to give me an ab work out that won’t leave me in pain for four days afterwards.
I’m now on about my fifth time round Iron. I’ve tried her other series, but I just love Iron. Every time I complete the series (not you, leg day) I buy a new weight. I’m up to 7kg now for the heavier lift. I also have a 12.5kg and resistance band for the hip thrusts. Still not massively heavy, but they’re showing results. I have defined muscles on my arms that I’ve never had in my life, lean rather than bulky. My bum is slightly less of a pancake (I’ve been on wli throughout, which is why I decided I needed the weights). I’ve never looked toned before, but I certainly do now.

I started with Caroline Girvan from nothing, still doing it two years later with heavier weights, it’s great.

Beginner Epic is actually quite hard but she recommends you repeat the 5 days until comfortable with it before moving on to another programme. Epic 1 etc very challenging!

Easier series are Advent (shorter workouts 20min), Iron if you use lighter weights, Epic Heat (quite intense but the easiest of the Epics I think).

just don’t try to match her weights. Start with 5kg as your heavy weight (or even less)

Her beginner programmes on YouTube aren’t actually for beginners to weights, just people who are new to that series eg iron, epic etc to get you used to what’s to come in that series. Her proper beginners programme is on the app where she talks you through proper form etc. It’s about £10 a month and totally worth it. You also get 14 days free to see if it suits you

I like Joe Wicks on Youtube. The workouts aren't too long either.

I tried her but found her a bit too much as a beginner. I really really recommend Lynne Ward whose website is called Pepper Hustle. She has all sorts of different programmes and also many 4-week challenges, where you do the same workout for 3-5 days one week, then move on to Week 2 and so on. She is in her 40s, very relatable, takes a holistic approach (ie encourages walking, eating well, drinking plenty of water, mindfulness and so on - which you can incorporate into your programme or just focus on the workouts).

I do really like CG and have used her and got stronger. I think like a previous poster, that as long as you start with lighter weights eg 4kg, warm up and take breaks when you need them, you can’t go too long. They’re straightforward lifting exercises.