Getting fitter and stronger with Caroline Girvan- all welcome!

[BigButtons]

New thread!🤩

@ErrolTheDragon I much prefer upper body days. I have now reduced the weights I use on leg days. I hated how relentlessly hard it was with heavier weights and how bulky my thighs were getting.
I am in the last 2 weeks of my second round of endgame. I don’t do all of them but have rediscovered some belters which I will have in my favourites list.
not sure which prog to repeat next though…….

I've always had sturdy walkers legs, I think the risk of damaging them and also lower back with weighted exercises may outweigh possible benefits at this point.

But as it's rainy here for the next couple of days and DH is away I really need to get on and finish the series rather than sitting here talking about it.

What weights do you use mostly for lower body Endgame now @BigButtons ? I'm really enjoying the Endgame: Full body days are my favourite, and I prefer leg days to arm days (I'm a runner and after 3 months still can't lift heavier than 5kg for over head exercises like presses!)
I haven't done any of the HIIT days either which I feel a little guilty about but as I run 3 or 4 times a week I prefer to concentrate on heavier lifting when I do CG workouts: I spent all day yesterday laying out and planting veg and it was so much easier than previous years thanks to Caroline, bending over for long periods is no longer painful!

Just to call myself a liar, did iron day 26 before lunch - legs circuits which I quite enjoyed.

I also much prefer the upper body stuff nowadays and use lower weights on the lower body. Last time my bum and thighs bulked up a bit too much and I couldn’t fit in my trousers, which would’ve involved an entire wardrobe refresh. Also I’m quite a small build so too much bulk just makes me look stocky.

I now stick to 6kg for most lower body exercises and I find it’s perfect for staying toned and firm without the build up. I’ve started to go a bit heavier for some of the upper body stuff as I did enjoy my strength at the end of Iron, plus I’ve been doing work around the house and it’s really been helping with the drilling and chainsawing and my arms don’t get so tired.

I’m on Heat day 34, I’ve been doing 3-4 a week with gaps in between but I’ve not skipped one, I even did the HIIT, so I’m quite chuffed with myself. Last time I skipped most of them so this has been a novelty for me.

@samthebordercollie I use mostly 10kg now for lower body as opposed to the 14s I was using previously.
For some reason both my imac and phone hate this thread. i can't post on it very often as the page keeps reloading.

For those of you who don’t want to do heavy leg workouts I really recommend Lucy Wyndham Read’s Thighs and Glutes, especially if you introduce some variations that make them more challenging.

Core workouts also work the legs. I still swear by Rebecca Louise’s Best Abs, as well as Caroline’s Braced Abs and Core.

Last day of my skiing break. So glad I did all the leg work last year. No more fear of moguls 😁

OMG todays workout Endgame day 26 Killer arms and chest was the hardest arm workout I've ever done. I nearly cried - until I saw that Caroline had to stop for rests during the 1 minute sessions too.

Christ this Iron series is a massive struggle. I've just switched off 28 because of the sheer boredom of 30 mins of hip thrusts. I've done other exercises instead. I think there's only two left of this one and I hope Epic will be better for me. I've just found it so boring aside from the full body sessions which are great. You can't please everybody I guess, I just found Fuel so much more fun. It's takes me so long to complete this.

I did iron day 27 yesterday and quite enjoyed it, but if day 28 is all hip thrusts I might give it a miss. The last one that had a lot of those it did occur to me I could probably have achieved a similar effect more enjoyably via, um, other activities.

@TheFormidableMrsC i found iron very boring. I did it live and attempted a second round a while back but didn’t finish because I got bored.
@samthebordercollie i hate hip thrusts with bands and weights- so boring. I have a selection of her more interesting glute sessions saved on you tube and I sub those instead.
I am on Easter hills and thought this would mean more exercise time, but the demands of my teen girls has actually meant I have less time than I had when I was working so it has all gone a bit to shit!

You're not wrong 🤣

I feel mean saying it as she does so much and clearly puts a lot of planning in but I just couldn't get on with this and it's taken me 2 months to finish it which is shocking! I'll complete it and start Epic next week.

I’m another one who gave up on Iron. Twice. I don’t think I got further than session 14 or so.

but where is she??!!!!

Epic heat (day 21 I think) today was pretty much all hip thrusts! I don’t mind them though.

I love Iron, except for the large rest breaks.

I’m enjoying epic heat too, but hate the HIIT days.

I think half of the issue with hip thrusts is that I'm not in a position to use a convenient sofa, I have to do it on the floor. I'm on Tamoxifen after breast cancer and my hips just bloody kill all the time as a result so the hip thrusts are a massive uncomfortable effort and I'm not sure what for. I just feel more pain after. Lesson learned to avoid hip thrusts 🙃

@TheFormidableMrsC I do most of mine on the floor anyway. I don't want a ginormous backside.
@FlowerArranger I suspect she will come back with something that has a subscription ?

Maybe. I just find this total silence a little odd. Or perhaps she's hoping that expectations will be at fever pitch if and when she launches whatever she is panning to launch - because we're all desperate... 😂

Or she's had a baby?

I'd happily pay a subscription if necessary. The work that Caroline put into her programmes is considerable, the fresh flowers every day must cost, let alone all the different clothes and shoes (although she probably gets a lot free following the success on YouTube).

Quick question. I usually do intermittent fasting and do a workout fasted but I'm really struggling with this now. I find I can lift much heavier weights and I have more stamina if I eat carbs before a CG workout. Does anyone have any good pre workout snacks they could share that aren't massively high in calories (I don't want to put any weight on-I'm happy at my current weight).
I can stick to IF on the days I don't workout.

Hi! I'm 75% through Epic Heat and love it. I'm so pleased with the change in my strength and fitness.

I'm finding though on leg days, it's really difficult to sleep because my legs feel like twitchy, heavy dead legs in bed. It's taking hours to settle.

It doesn't happen on the other days so it's definitely related to the leg workouts, it doesn't feel the same as Doms and I do the stretching after and yoga sometimes to help, but it doesn't work. Also happens if I workout first thing in the morning .

Has anyone else experienced this?

Someone recommended her to me. I have just bought some free weights but got a 1kg, 2kg and 3kg set. They aren't heavy enough are they??

Where should I start with her? Is it on you tube?

Hi @pinkyponkyplink .

Everyone is different with starting weights. I started with 2kg and then quickly moved to 3kg. Now I usually use 5/6kg after nearly 3 months.

She has a YouTube channel, it's really worth doing her epic beginners to start with, I rotated these for a month before moving onto epic heat, it was a good transition, I can do 5 little press ups now so hardly the strongest though 💪😊

@pinkyponkyplink Hi. It really depends on your previous experience and fitness. I started in 2021. I had always exercised and had lifted before. The heaviest set I had at the time was 5kg and that was certainly enough to start with. It is far better to start lighter, really learn the form you need to stay injury free and progress slowly. I have an ongoing tendon issue near my elbow and have had to go back down to 3kg for bicep work. I was at 6kg. BUT if i really squeeze hard during the entire movement it actually gives me far more of a pump than with the heavier weights. You can make lighter weights heavier by really concentrating on the muscle you are working

@pharmachameleon there is no way i could work out fasted!