EPIC!! Losing, gaining and groaning with Caroline Girvan

[BigButtons]

New thread!

@stilllockeddownnowheretogo today is HIIT day for me (day 30 Heat) and I’m still having coffee and stollen bites in bed (today is a holiday where I am), contemplating when to do it. I always feel good after but it’s just the getting to it that I find challenging.

Luckily it’s crap weather out so I won’t get waylaid by anything else, I suppose.

This is me wetpants, I had a faff with two separate MN accounts, one being the premium one without adds. I've now managed to sort it out and have the same username running on both on my phone and laptop. Decided to streamline my username while I was at it.

@BigButtons

I had a really weird thing happen during triceps and biceps day 38. Started off ok with the tricep dips then went all weak and wobbly. Had to go down to 4kg and even then that felt hard. My hands hurt, I had no strength at all. I fast forwarded the tricep push ups. Heaven knows what went on there.

I did Heat day 38 yesterday and had exactly the same experience Really struggled! Just about managed 4kg on skull crushers .

She really turns up the heat (geddit ) as we are nearing towards the end of the series. I defo feel like needing an extra rest day during the week now.

Back to Beginners Day 1 and I did find it easier second time around, but that also meant I could get deeper into the squats and lunges, so I suspect my legs are going to be just as wrecked tomorrow as they were last week.

@VeryLittleOwl yes that’s what happens- it will always feel hard because the stronger you get the deeper you go!

Day 39 Epic 3 was core calisthenics and it killed me. Not the actual exercises (although they were really tough) but she has such short breaks. Good though.

I need to buy some knee bands.

I'm thinking of Beast Mode next - have you done that @BigButtons?

I'm flitting between various programmes at the moment and did Epic 3 Day 11 - glutes and calves - today. Not surprisingly it was much more about the glutes than calves!! This routine was the first day of Week 3 of Epic 3 and I'm going to try and do the rest of the week day by day apart from the HIIT which I'll replace with a run.

I did the HIIT today, da 30 EH supersets. Thankfully 20 second sets passed really quickly. CG did 6kg weights and I was tempted to do the same, but stuck with 3kg on most exercises and that was sufficient I think at the speed she was doing them.

Only 20 days to go! At this rate I might actually finish by Christmas!

@Itsnotdeep I did think about beast mode. I certainly think I will do some of the shorter progs after heat.
I can only do 2 this week. Today I swapped yet another hip thrusting session for one later in the week which was calves and quads.
She does so much hamstring work and mine already really quite bulky.
It wasn’t too bad but I did have to pause a few times. I do that quite a lot. I think it works better for me, even taking an extra 30 secs as I am stronger for the next set and have better form. The minute long wall sits with weights were easily doable.

Day 7 done! My first go at Bulgarian lunges (verdict: do not like), but Squat Rocks are my new favourite thing.

@MarisPiper92 well done. Bulgarian lunges are really tough to do. A few weeks back on heat there were sets of them that lasted 3 minutes each- was ghastly!

I have just done day 42- chest and triceps. Started off well enough. I use 8.kg kg for the chest work and 5 kg for the tris and flies.
But then she goes and puts push ups at the end of each tri-set. not just any old push up, dead stop tricep push ups and the like. No way on god's earth. I couldn't even do them on my knees by the end.
Arms are shaking like crazy.

@MarisPiper92 I liked the squat rocking too. And the "calf rockin" (proper term? ) too. Oh and I've learned to enjoy curtsy lunges and staggered Romanian dead lifts as well.

But Bulgarian lunges are still hard. I am much stronger now but still despise them.

EH day 39 for me this morning. I do feel spent and have decided to take a day off tomorrow and use the bike on Thursday. I need time to recover

Everyone is still progressing - great to hear about all these different days/programmes.
Does anyone like Bulgarian lunges?? I think they're also my least favourite.

I have done day #2 of Epic III (arms), it was good. The staple was push-ups though which got harder and harder .

Need to do day #3 today...summoning up the enthusiasm for hip thrusts.....

Legs were fine yesterday, no problems with stairs at all :) but I ended up having a rest day after getting swamped with work. Tried to do Beginners day 2 today, but the stomach muscle I managed to pull in my sleep on Saturday night (no idea how - woke up on Sunday morning and couldn't sit up with rolling onto my side and pushing myself up) says it's absolutely not ready to be doing even knee push ups yet. So I guess I'm on gentle exercise only until that heals itself enough to continue.

Just did Epic 3 Day 13 - Hamstrings & Glutes supersets - and am sorry to say it was one of the most boring workouts I've ever done. Death by hip thrusts. Literally 48 minutes of hip thrusts with a few RDLs thrown in. Shan't be repeating that one any time soon. Never thought I'd be actually hoping for lunges, even the dreaded Bulgarian ones!!!

I've just done Day 8 (chest stuff), which also wasn't particularly enthralling. Did the job though, because I had quivering chest muscles by the end, which I didn't even know was possible!

@MarisPiper92 I felt shaky at the end of mine. Had to sit down to cut some veg!!

@Anjelika sounds really tedious. She does seem to have her favourites. I actually get a sore bum from doing that leg day one I really like. Whenever i do hip thrusts I think I activate my hamstrings too much .

@BigButtons it was just the lack of variety of exercise and I found the non-talking didn't really help. If she'd have been explaining the benefits of ALL these thrusts and maybe the difference between the various versions and where exactly you should be feeling it, it would have been better. I love a lot of her routines but not this one!!

@Anjelika yes I agree- explanations would be really helpful.

@Anjelika, oh no, that sounds brutal! (and boring )
I admit, I did read the introductory post at the beginning of week 1 of Epic III, and she said it would be fewer exercises and more repetition than Epic I and II (i.e. not 'no repeat'). You're backing that up!
I am not sure if I'm going to like that - the benefit of no repeat is if I don't like any exercise, I know it's only for 40 seconds . hmm.

Oh, and an update from me. I failed to do Epic III day #3. Oops.
Will do it today, I promise

@stilllockeddownnowheretogo it was the nearest I've been to just giving up - not due to fatigue or difficulty but sheer boredom! I did Days 11 & 12 earlier this week and they were fine. I'm going to try Week 4 next week but might preview the workouts first just in case there are any more like this.

I also couldn't bring myself to do day 41 yesterday - also glutes with the hip thrusts (the dreaded clear chair was out). Maybe I will today or maybe I need a break.