Anyone else doing Caroline Girvan's EPIC programme?

[BigButtons]

I thought I was pretty fit and toned. I have exercised consistently most of my life: weights, cardio, hit, running etc ( now 53). I have just finished day 8 of EPIC and feel like a complete wuss. It was the lunges one. I wanted to be sick even though I was standing infront of a large fan the entire time.
How do people actually manage to get through these? I have just looked ahead to the burpee day and feel like I am simply not up to this.

Hi all. Meant to have a rest day today but we went bike riding. Day 30 tomorrow. Can't believe I've got this far.

DS was humming a tune during our bike ride and it took me a while to twig it was one of the tracks from my morning CG workouts 😂 One of the things I love most about CG has got to be the lack of talking during the workouts. I've come to realise how much constant yapping when I'm trying to exercise annoys me. Probably why I don't like classes at the gym!

I agree about the constant yapping. I used to have the sound off when I did Jillian Michaels. Another reason I can’t stand yoga with Adriene. I prefer as little inconsequential conversation as possible.

Well done @ManxRhyme for reaching day 30! I am meant to be hiking again in the Alps tomorrow but DP is grumbling about a sore foot so it probably won’t happen and I will do the arms and abs session instead.

Alas being on holiday I’m back on the wine and aperitifs so my wobbly tummy is not going anywhere , but who cares, I will get back on the wagon when I go back to work and fully expect everything to melt away and my toned, muscly physique to emerge

Reporting in:
Epic Beginner Day 2 DONE

Felt ridiculously stiff this morning when I woke up, but managed Day 2 pretty well, as it was Upper Body mostly. Struggled a bit with the side planks...even in yoga i find those hard, think all the pudge around my middle weighs me down, LOL.

Wondering when everyone started to see a difference? (Yes, I am impatient!)

Well done @ladybranstonpickle!

I'd say it was about 6 weeks of epic 1 that I started to notice a difference in terms of strength and a difference in my shape.

But I think a lot depends what difference you are looking for. Are you hoping to get stronger? for your clothes to fit better? Results are very personal and not a one size fits all.

great questions @Moonflower12345

I guess multiple reasons - I feel very flabby at the moment. I carry weight around my middle and hate how it looks - when I'm in shape I can fudge being an hourglass but any sort of extra weight and I'm a distinct apple. So I'd like to get a bit leaner. I think I have decent muscle from all the yoga and previous life of heavy lifting at the gym (squats, deadlifts etc) but need to strip out the layer of fat hiding it! I've lost a stone since January doing intermittent fasting (with lots of breaks on weekends and celebratory times etc) but there's still fat loss to go, I think.

In addition, we are thinking about TTC for a second baby next year. I''ll be 41 in November, so want to make sure I'm in the best shape possible for conceiving and carrying a baby. I was in great shape for my first one and I think that really helped in so many ways through the pregnancy and delivery.

Essentially, probably vanity more than anything else. I like nice clothes, and have a super slender SIL, so hard not to compare to her.

@ladybranstonpickle - it depends what you mean by results!

I was already pretty fit when I started in March, but I had gained some weight over lockdown. I'd say my mental attitude to exercise changed almost instantly when I discovered Caroline.

I'd gotten myself in a bit of a rut with my previous 'gurus' - Rebecca, Lucy, Jake, Ranier.... even Growingannanas was beginning to get a bit boring. My EPIC sessions reanimated and rejuvenated me, and I noticed physical improvements, in terms of strength and muscle tone, within about a month.

5 months later I haven't lost much weight, but I'm definitely leaner and stronger. My shoulders and arms are bigger, but my waist and thighs are thinner. My friends say I look more athletic!

I think Caroline's workouts can become a bit addictive, but personally I feel it's a good idea to mix in some other workouts, especially HIIT and cardiovascular work that do not rely on using weights so much.

I wish I had started all this decades ago, before the menopause. I think focusing on building up body strength is so important. At 41 you are at a great age for this. Your bones will thank you

CARDIO - not cardiovascular...

Did day 27 arms and abs this morning. I have sore wrists now from the repetitive tricep dips and the endless push up medley.

Re changing shape, I’m in week 6 and currently living in a bikini and floaty dresses/baggy trekking shorts so I don’t really know if my clothes fit better yet. They did before my holiday at about week 3, but I’ve not tried since. I can see that my arms and shoulders are more toned, my legs are regaining some tone (they’d got flabby with weird pockets during lockdown from not walking so much) and my tummy is about the same, I did actually have a six pack from all the core training many years ago for a bad back, I probably still have a bit left (from some angles it’s just about visible ) but it is firmly hidden behind a wall of podge. When I get back to work I’ll go back to cutting down on the wine and hope the podge will go away.

I have noticed that now I’m older (in my 50s) I’m finding it harder to put on muscle or see results, at 41 you should see results much sooner I would have thought. Fingers crossed for you that you do.

One more benefit I can think of since starting CG is that I have a lot less back pain, practically none now. I used to get twinges despite doing yoga and Pilates, but I’ve noticed that since starting Epic I’ve not had any. So I must be getting stronger in my core, despite doing fewer core exercises (or so it seems). Maybe it’s all the other muscles that surround it.

Funny you should mention back pain, @Melassa. For the past 18 months or so I noticed what I believe were early symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome in one wrist and hand.

I would wear a brace while lifting weights and a heavier brace at night. As the months went by the pain lessened and eventually went away altogether. I've pretty much ditched the brace, even though I'm now lifting heavier weights.

I wish women were more aware of the importance of lifting weights to strengthen bones and build muscle. My mother broke a hip in her 80s and she never walked again. She was otherwise healthy for her age, but this in effect killed her.

@Melassa I notice a change in my leg shape by the second week in, but my legs build muscle very quickly.
Since doing CG my back has been hurting. I ha e never had lower back issues before 🧐

@BigButtons at the beginning my back hurt too, especially when doing the rows, but when I increased the weights I did the movements more slowly and possibly more carefully as my back doesn’t hurt any more. As soon as I feel a twinge I correct myself, whereas before I would just plough through it.

Interesting about your improved wrist @FlowerArranger, since I started moving less (and maybe also because I stopped wearing heels ) I noticed my knees were getting creaky. I’ve been doing corrective exercises using bands and hope to recover effortless movement and not have to pull myself up every time I crouch down.

@Melassa thanks that could well be it. I am never sure if I am doing them correctly. I try and follow her instructions but am sure I lapse without realising. That’s why I think temp week would good.
A positive is that my dodgy right hip and knee have been much better since cg😍

@BigButtons I notice that if I engage my core before each squat or row with the DB my lower back is fine. If I forget then it starts twinging.

Just completed day 30 - EMOM HIIT. It was insane. The upper body had 300 pushups in 10 min 😱. I managed about 100 😅

OMG! Puts today’s push-up medley into perspective . I’m not sure I could even manage 100, kudos to you @ManxRhyme!

@ManxRhyme no way am I doing that. I did an emom with her with press ups but I did on one my knees.

I had to go onto my knees for the tricep pushups towards the end. And even then only managed 2 or 3. My arms had an out of body experience. But I'm sooooo chuffed I can do REAL pushups now!

The EMOMs are just insane. They are the only ones I dread.

@ladybranstonpickle bear in mind that you may see your weight go up during Epic. Mine did for at least 6 weeks, when you start or increase exercise (especially weights) your body holds on to more water. I definitely felt bigger for a while but now I am leaner and more toned than I've ever been. I have the start of abs which after 3 kids and 3 c sections I never thought was achievable!

Epic is a brilliant program, but fat loss really comes mostly from nutrition. I lost 3 stone over the last year and it is 80/20 diet/exercise.

@Moonflower12345 I certainly felt bigger for a while.

I am due back home late tomorrow and will hopefully start again on Saturday. Not sure if I will continue with Epic or do Tempo?

Day 3 EPIC Beginner DONE!

Abs are my least favourite body part to exercise, that's for sure. I think I did ok though, managed most of the planks fairly easily, except for the Side Plank Dips. Had to take a break on the first side and needed to put my knee down for the last bit of the second side.

@FlowerArranger that is very inspiring! I agree, she's so much more motivating than any other video exercise classes - I dabbled a bit earlier this year with YouTube workouts but just couldn't get into it.

I don't even have dumbells yet so just doing it bodyweight style. Need to look on FB marketplace and see if anyone is selling weights. What size should I start with?

@Moonflower12345
that is incredible to hear, I also had a c section and definitely have the scar and the fold above it :( i never had a flat tummy anyway due to being a bit of an apple shape but the c section didn't help. I agree re nutrition being the key to fat loss.

@ladybranstonpickle for dumbbells keep an eye out on aldi and lidl special buys. They have them every now and again. Also Tkmaxx and sports direct and decathlon too.

My husband bought our dumbbells just before lockdown from aldi and I laughed at him and told him they were a waste of money and no one would ever use them. Who's laughing now? I've used them 5 days a week for the last 18 months, best purchase ever!

@BigButtons - I got my dumbells from Argos. Very cheap. I'd start off with 2kg + 4kg (or 3kg + 5kg if you are feeling strong...), and graduate to heavier weights as and when.

www.argos.co.uk/search/dumbells/?&_$ja=tsid:11675%7cacid:538-451-5664%7ccid:6752917165%7cagid:78189039263%7ctid:aud-641224040617:kwd-332671225835%7ccrid:481081898618%7cnw:g%7crnd:6476241944017692798%7cdvc:t%7cadp:%7cmt:e%7cloc:9045917&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=6752917165&utm_term=dumbells%20argos&utm_content=text&utm_custom1=78189039263&utm_custom2=538-451-5664&cmpid=GG05X&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpf2IBhDkARIsAGVo0D3ax-K6q4erb7PZcF8TlU7lutsi4nnywhj99_FnahHsKlXhjF2b6IAaAoxYEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

You can get adjustable dumbbells but I personally find them less handy and a bit of a faff when you have to add weights while you're in the middle of a workout.

Can you go to a gym and try out some weights to see which weights you feel comfortable with? Remember you need lighter weights for press-ups compared to Bulgarian dead lifts and the like.

Sorry, above post was meant for @ladybranstonpickle!!!

Just to add: if you hate abs workouts, try this from Rebecca Louise:

It has been my favourite for at least 18 months and it really works. Just remember to turn off the volume and listen to the radio instead...

@FlowerArranger me too. I Lordy had sets up to 5kg but m needing to do heavier for one exercise so got an adjustable etc from Argos. I also have 8 and 12 kg kettlebells I can use.