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.

Up to day 38 of epic heat - have had to do lots of other of her workouts as husband has hurt his back and we are doing epic heat together. Today I redid day 29 - full body dumbbell circuits! Tough ... I have managed to push my weights up a bit.

@fishonabicycle epic heat looks crazy- much harder then epic. I will need to get stronger before I can do that. Although I know I am stronger already as I could do 4 proper push ups today🤩
Today I did the hiit session in the morning and then a shoulder one followed by glutes with a band🙂

Goodness @BigButtons you’ve definitely done your share today! I just did the 1hr session but as I needed to go for a blood test this morning and run a few errands I did nearly 8000 steps in a rush (I was late for everything so had to practically run!) before 10am so I let myself off after the 1hr today. I do feel stronger, I wasn’t really achy after the session yesterday, nor the lunges the day before, just slightly stiff in certain positions, so either I’m not working hard enough or I’m getting fitter.

For flexibility I would say yoga more than “regular” stretching, although sometimes a bit of ballet pushes you beyond because they’re really strict with every pose, but I think you need to go to a class for that, you need someone to correct posture and bums sticking out etc. For agility I don’t really know what else to suggest. Maybe a dance? Not necessarily ballet but something which requires swift moves and balance. I’m not a huge fan but someone I know does salsa and Latin American dance and is still fairly nimble in her 80s.

Following all the info about diets but it does look like a lot of hard work. I’m veggie anyway and there are only so many eggs I can cope with, so the 2.2g of protein per kilo rule already seems a lot. I do snack on nuts and eat lots of pulses, alongside high protein grains, so maybe I manage it, but likely not as it seems I would need to eat huge amounts.

@Melassa I have to be careful not to overdo things. On school hols, kids all doing their own stuff, suddenly I’ve got free time. I am still in lockdown mode in my head so have basically not bothered going out.
First lockdown I did online belly dancing which was huge fun!

I actually don’t eat much- probably not enough. Looking at the amount of protein I am supposed to eat a day there’s no way I could do that much. I am a size 6-8 and 164 cm so hardly large. Most people would say I didn’t need to lose anything, but I know I have put some pounds on during lockdown, just by my clothes.

@Moonflower12345 and @FlowerArranger
Being introduced to pistol squat has totally made me to appreciate what a strong badasses ice-skaters are! Never given it much thought before even though I used to watch ice-skating competitions a lot.

I had a 1hr full body at complex series today. For few external reasons as well as having slept poorly all week, I found it pretty hard today. I had to quit it early but only by about 6 minutes.

I always work out on empty stomach first thing in the morning and have done more or less for the last 20 years. There’s no way I’d get up at 6am to eat so it has time go down before my 7:30am start. I practise TRE and want to maximise the fasting hours as well as the fat burning when working out in fasted state. I’m also insulin resistant so fasting/TRE is important health wise.

Yes, I would think you’d need vast amounts of food to reach that protein target.

I too am 164cm tall, but more of an 8-10 nowadays, depending on where I shop. I just noticed lately a lot of my trousers were getting quite snug, partly from reduced activity as I haven’t been eating as much as usual, but also I’m pretty sure it’s hormonal as my shape has changed in general. My tummy has gained a cushion and my waist has thickened. Sadly there are trousers I’m never going to get into again, so they have been given to my DD who has a teen waist. My boobs have also got bigger too, bizarrely, but everywhere else was getting saggy and spindly. Like an old teddy bear whose stuffing has got all lumpy. Now with CG I feel I’ve taken back some control of my errant stuffing.

I also find the more inactive I am the more twinges and aches and pains appear, I get stiff and creaky from sitting in one position too long, even now.

I used to count macros and found it quite fascinating! But it is a faff and haven’t done it for a good while now. I do have a good understanding of them now though and I just priorities protein and vegetables. I don’t eat any pasta and bread anymore. All my carbs come from double cream, berries and vegetables and an occasionally slices of banana.

I just totted up my todays meals on MFP though, just out of interest to check I’m still on track. My protein intake for today is 142g and as my weight is 53kg, it’s good. And not difficult to obtain at all. I had a chia pudding for breakfast, chaffles with bacon for lunch and chicken stirfry for dinner with a little chia pudding for dinner too. Chia seeds are rich in protein I also had salad and veg, just haven’t broken it down to nitty gritty.

@Melassa exactly! I am in peri and on HRT. I used to be able to regulate my weight easily but recently that has changed. The old tricks no longer work. Doing Epic has made a big difference and I too feel like I am regaining some control over my ‘stuffing’ again ( great analogy btw). I also ache and twinge less since starting- although I have perma ache from the exercises of course! 🤣

Hmmm @wetpants I might try totting it up over a couple of days and see how much protein I really ingest. I still eat pasta (in Italy, it would be a shame not to ) but it’s not cheap pasta, it’s the posh stuff (like De Cecco I think you have in the U.K.) which stays al dente because of its higher protein content. Bread I only eat occasionally, I’ve never been a huge fan, and pizza I’ll eat maybe once a year, if that. I also eat a variety of other grains, I’ve found cutting out carbs completely doesn’t really work for me so I just stick to smaller portions and mostly whole grain, so a lower glycaemic index.

@BigButtons I’ve just started HRT, I was hoping it would make me less achey and I’d sleep better, but I’ve not noticed a huge difference yet. I still have hot flushes, I think they’ve decreased a bit but they’re still bloody there . It has only been a week or so, maybe I need to give it more time. I still have the rage and am finding my teen DD hard work, not sure if it’s the hormones or if DD really is that rude and objectionable in her moody teendom.

Ho hum, I just keep throwing myself into the next workout to burn away my rage and ignore the antics. Onwards and upwards!

@Melassa HRT can take a good few months to work properly- early days for you. It’s good to protect your bones with it too🙂.
I am feeling shattered today- think I have a bug that’s going round. No work outs for me this weekend.
Hope you are all well🙂.

Just in case anyone wants a change from Caroline, here are some other options:

www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/fitness/strength-training/a704114/best-youtube-workouts/

I'm small too bigbuttons - size 6 and about 46 kg - I eat around 80g of protein a day - not really much of a meat eater, but tend to have a scoop of protein powder most days and that seems to be enough. I just try to keep to home made food and not too much sugary stuff.

Took a day off yesterday as I too was feeling tired, did day 20 HIIT this morning with aircon on full blast. Again, I found it not too bad, although it does make me doubt I’m not doing it properly as opposed to I’m getting stronger and fitter.

We’re going on holiday this evening, I’m going to bring the weights but I don’t know if I’ll manage to keep up with the programme every day as we’ll also be going hiking and that usually means an early start. Way too early to get some CG in, I am so not a lark! Still, the intention is there and now I’m seeing some results I’m keen not to get behind.

I hope you feel better soon @BigButtons!

@Melassa take the time off! If you are hiking you will be doing plenty. I think it will be good for your body to have a rest from CG- muscles need time to relax after being built up.
I am going to London for 5 days in week’s time and won’t be doing anything( are staying in a tiny travel lodge room so no space anyway!)
I suspect part of my exhaustion yesterday was down to too much exercise and not enough food. I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open most of the day. I’m going to rest again today and try not to be so silly and gung-ho next week.
I also love the better brand of pasta idea. I’ve been reading all about it this morning and will definitely get some. 🙂

Day 21 today- leg complexes with dumbbells. Bloody hell. I had to keep pausing- sweat pouring off me, trying to catch my breath. I thought I was getting better but this was so so hard. I am hoping it was just very hard rather than me being useless.
My hamstrings are absolute toast [shocked]
It went by very quickly though, which is strange considering the amount of pain I was in.

OMG! I was wondering what they were going to be like, now I know. I will put off until Wednesday I think, tomorrow we’re going on a short hike to test our mountain legs and DP’s total lack of stamina

I got my blood test results and I’m bit low in Vit D, so I used that as an excuse to get some sunbathing in .

Starting Caroline's pyramid week tonight after a full month off. Feeling nervous!!

@Melassa- that sounds sensible! Lucky you having some sun- it's rubbish here. I take vit d everyday as a matter of course.
I am going to get the foam roller out later- stretches won't be enough. Thing is it didn't look hard at all, but it is basically 3 minutes solid exercise with a minute off, for 50 minutes.

@QueenLagertha let us know how that goes!

@BigButtons gosh that was tough 🥵 my legs are like jelly. Wish I hadn't taken such a long break. It feels like I'm starting all over again!!

Did the day 21 leg hell today, at first it seemed not too bad, but it got quite tiring on the later exercises. Is it just me or did she do the wrong leg in series 2 of the uneven lunges? Off to the lakeside this afternoon to wallow and bob about on my giant inflatable to rest my tired muscles.

I’ve made some Japanese red bean slices to nibble on as a snack, hopefully this will up my protein during the day (although there is some sugar but I’m turning a blind eye to that!).

@Melassa well done! I agree that it got tiring very quickly. I had shoulders and abs yesterday which wasn’t too awful. Today is glutes and abs so more hamstring pain for me🥴🥵.
The workouts seem to be getting longer as well😲

Yes they do! I noticed that too! They are creeping up towards all being an hour long, not just the full body. If they get any longer it might be problematic keeping them up when I’m back at work, as I’ve been doing them in my lunch break but I also need time to shower and eat.

I look forward to arms and abs tomorrow, my shoulder is finally better. Not looking forward to glutes, there are so many exercises that just set my teeth on edge, even if it particularly hard. I don’t know why.

I don’t mind glutes really.
I am able to do these long ones because I am on school holidays. It will become more difficult once I start back in three weeks.
I would love to finish Epic but might have to choose epic heat( god help me) as the sessions are shorter but of course more brutal 🥴😱😮