EPIC!! Losing, gaining and groaning with Caroline Girvan

[BigButtons]

New thread!

@UglyModernWindows I want to do tempo. Might do day one today. I did her 29 min inner and outer thighs with ankle weights. Made a nice change from the squats and lunges as it felt like they were targeting different muscles. I am too full of cold to do anything that will get me out of breath.

@Anjelika I am going to just keep looking them up on you tube. Hope your back is ok though?

@BigButtons I may need to look on YouTube but it would be a lot easier if CG talked about it during the workouts. I've been exercising long enough to (hopefully) know the right form for basics like lunges and squats but things like a sumo RDL throw me a little

@Anjelika I found a very useful clip on YouTube explains how to do a lateral raise properly. The angle the arms should be at, the weights, leaning the boat forward slightly, how often to train the side delts and variations on the raise.
I had been trying to up my weights and failing. He explained that you should be able to do at least 30 reps with a given weight for lateral raises before moving up a small increment in weight.
I had been throwing my arms around and basically not making gains. I will be dropping back down to 4kg and start to do them properly.

Meant to add that I tried a few his way with a lower weight and found a big difference in effectiveness and really felt that those side delts were being worked properly.
The face pulls was another very interesting one. I don’t have a bench I can angle though so will have to try my best standing.

I just did the advent shoulders one. how could using 3kg to CG's 4 still be really hard?! I tried to apply the form lessons I have been learning .

Will tempo day one later for the legs.

@BigButtons thanks for all the info. Is there one particular person on YouTube you are using for all this?

Really interesting about using a weight you can do 30 lateral raises with. I did an upper body one from Epic 3 today which had a staple of lateral raises but at a slight diagonal angle. I've been doing the first 3 videos of each Epic 3 week every week and leaving out the full body and HIIT ones. Really want to try the Advent ones but haven't got the time (or strength) to add on to the Epic 3 ones. Maybe I'll switch next week and start the Advent ones instead - 2 a session.

@Anjelika I've saved some so will post. I like them because they properly explain what is going on the muscles so I understand what is actually happening.
I have just done tempo week day 2 brutal legs. I did enjoy it as the movements are very slow, sometimes only 4 per 40 mins. However, I cannot actually feel my legs right now . That hasn't happened for a long time with CG!

this guy fro face pulls- I am interested in improving my rear delts and felt I was doing it all wrong- which I was!

and this guy for lateral raises and tonnes of other stuff. he has a great video on doing dead bugs properly. I had been doing those wrong too

dead bugs

Thanks @BigButtons I'll take a look at these later.

I just did day 1 advent today. But wondering about adding something else tomorrow. What is the Tempo programme @BigButtons?

@Itsnotdeep tempo is just a week but I think on the whole the movements are slower ( not easier though). Mostly concentric/excentric moves.
For example many exercises came in sets of 4 fast down, then very slow up and then reverse. Really slow rdls and ones where you paused for about 4 seconds at the bottom. A trillion calf raises and holds. 40 seconds to go down into a squat and the the next one was 40 seconds to get back up ( killer).
I really liked it because it worked the muscles in a different way. I did get a bit out of breath but nothing like heat. It blooming hurts now though I can tell you!

Right so today I have chosen a glutes callisthenics and then the advent abs and core for later. Haven’t done glutes for ages and since this is unweighted there are not endless hip thrusts!

Any thoughts what I should do after EPIC 3? I've still got a few weeks to go, but I'm really enjoying it (although my push ups are still crap). How do EPICs 1 and 2 compare?

@MarisPiper92 I really enjoyed heat- the other Epics are much longer sessions. Some at an hour!

Oh, I don't think I have the patience for an hour. Will take a look at Heat - thanks!!

@MarisPiper92 will be interested to see how you find the 2 compare. I really enjoyed heat- it was shorter sessions but really intense to compensate for that. Each one was like a cardio workout with weights!

I am waiting for the snot reducing medicines to work so that I can actually breathe and do some exercises

@Melassa I think I've found a glute workout you would like! Hardly any hip thrusts but an absolute killer. Day three calisthenics.

Ooh, I might try that! Is it Tempo?

Interesting re the advent calendar, I hadn’t realised there was one. I must look it up on you tube. 20 mins seems about right for these days when I find it hard to fit in half an hour even. I got to day 40 in Heat but have since fallen off the wagon but doing a short workout most days I can manage (usually 10 min abs).

Also interesting the trainers with the correct form, I will watch those properly as soon as I have a mo. I’ve got this persistent anterior delt pain (or I think it is) which gets in the way for some shoulder presses or even just lifting my arm at times. I have to sleep with my arm stretched out or I’m more sore in the morning. I’m curious if it is due to bad form or my mobile phone (likely).

@Melassa this one
Get that trigger point book out, you will find out what it is an what could be causing it and how to treat it

Day 2 advent was abs. I think they might all be only 20 minutes but they're quite tough - no breaks and lots of repetition. I didn't manage the add-on today as was at the office all day.

@Melassa this guy on you tube is excellent for stretches m.youtube.com/watch?v=SfxyICleU4I&t=820s
My right shoulder is grumbling because I have taken up knitting again so I am doing his stretches abs they really help.

I'm going to do Day 63 of Epic 3 today then I might switch to a combination of Heat and the Advent calendar ones. I see today's is a full body one. Will be interesting to see that in a 20 mins session!!

@Anjelika that’s what I am doing- a mishmash. I still feel pretty ropey and have blocked sinuses so am trying to find workouts that kind on the old lungs.
I think I will a beast mode back and biceps and finish the advent abs I got halfway through yesterday.
I do highly recommend the glutes calisthenics if anyone fancies a change of actually exercises.
My bum does actually ache today- I never normally feel it after endless hip thrusts but doing different exercises without a band has made the difference to me being able to concentrate on isolating the muscle.