Lifting with Caroline Girvan 2024: What's not to love?!

[BigButtons]

New thread!

@samthebordercollie well
done! 👏

i finished my first week of iron on YouTube today, I am really enjoying it.

Next week I’m going to try to double up a couple of days and do it over 3 days, just to give me days to run and a rest day. Do you think it’s better to do both legs sessions on one day, and the abs/arms/cord etc on the other day, and full body hiit as day 3? Or do one legs/ glutes/ and 1 arms x 2 days?

@samthebordercollie I much preferred the CGX iron too. Why don’t you give intent a go? I am enjoying it. Lots of variety due to the different paced days. It’s quicker lower body today. I take no notice of her really heavy weight!

@thenewaveragebear1983 if you are going to do 3 days then even mixing up the workouts to have effectively 3 x full body would be fine. It's really a quesion of trying to see what suits you best. I did and upper body and then shoulders and triceps workout back to back and had to sub some of the shoulder exercises for biceps because it was too much. As Caroline says, you do you!
@BigButtons I think I will do intent, I'll give it a week and then start. It sounds far more interesting than Unleash. Are the workouts around 45 minutes long?

@samthebordercollie yes- about 45. With the warm up and cool down it takes it to 50. If really doesn’t feel long though a the variety is so good. It’s not at all like unleash!

I have a weight (body!) question. I’ve been doing CG religiously since September. Until new year I was trying to lose weight but by the start of January I was happy with my weight/body shape. I started Iron and then went on to Epic 3, working up with weights. I’ve stayed the same weight since January pretty much, and I’ve even upping my calories and focussing on protein intake. This last week I’ve noticed my weight is up about 3-4 lbs. I’ve measured and I’m the same waist and hip size - could this be the famed “muscle weight”? It’s hard not to freak out at the scales but surely 6 months in it’s reasonable to think I’m actually gaining muscle now.

I hit a plateau late last year and on reflection this was when my body changed so drastically in terms of shape, when I had been starting more weights. I wasn’t losing weight though even in a deficit and got frustrated by it but my waist really changed a lot by inches.

I am going to start iron as I think I need to follow a programme a bit more than just dipping in and out of YT’s

@AtomicBlondeRose yes I would say so. Ditch the scales- really ditch them. Use a tape measure or your clothes. I am bigger overall since weight training. I would rather be strong than thin and weak .

@BigButtons You have reassured me if Intent is not like Unleash! I'll start it next week.
Today I did my favourite full body workouts - Day 44 Epic II and the 20 minute full body compound lift workout.
@AtomicBlondeRose if you've been progressing with your weights and upping your calorie intake it's very likely to be muscle after 7 months, especially if your waist has stayed the same. Are your clothes tighter in some places? My shoulders are noticeably bigger with tops tighter than before, and I put on a pair of jeans I haven't worn for a while and the waist was the same but the calves tighter. Ive been lifting since Jan 2023 so am hoping like you it's newbie gains!

I did a double session today- iron day 6 (quads) and day 7 (shoulders and triceps) - tough session! There’s a lot of knee action in those lunges, I had to switch down the weights and really be careful with my knees.

Also reading your post above, I definitely need to do my measurements! I am just finishing a 10 week pt course with a guy from
my old gym and annoyingly I didn’t take any measures, I did photos and I can see a difference, but a tape measure would have been better.

For everyone with the App, if you haven't seen it yet, the introduction Caroline wrote for Week 2 Intent is worth a read. She writes very well, this time about her nutrition habits. Lots of protein as if you hadn't already guessed!

@thenewaveragebear1983 quad exercises can be tough but strong quads ultimately serve to protect your knees and ankles from injury, so definitely worth the pain!

I am bulkng out big time and I am not even trying!!! Intent uppperbody was superb. 5 minute finisher in the biceps. Each day has a different pace. I love it. My body will need at rest comeweek three that’s for sure

@samthebordercollie and anyone else ... is there any way to prevent things like shoulders/legs getting bigger?

I'm only on Day 3 of starting Iron, so I'm probably worrying far too soon. But I'm quite short, small frame/small boned and really don't want to end up with chunky legs or broader shoulders. (But would happily have the smaller waist!)

Any ideas who makes her lovely loose shorts from the iron series?

I think she gets a lot of clothes from Lululemon, there are definitely loose shorts in their online store.
@Cherryblossom81 Don't eat in a surplus! With hypertrophy your muscles get bigger, one way to restrict the growth is not to eat too much.
I'm not 'bulky' but my shape has definitely changed for the better - before I was a skinny-but-saggy runner.

Primark are doing some loose shorts for £4.50 I got some yesterday in a waffle style they are really nice for working out

I like the silky texture of hers, but yet they don’t seem to go staticky which is good. They probably cost a million pounds a pair 🤦‍♀️

I did day 8 iron today. I’m not great with deadlifts- I don’t know if it’s that my weights are too light or what or whether I am totally doing them wrong but they don’t seem to do very much- I recorded myself doing them and my form appears to be correct, but especially with the Romanian/split deadlift and the back lunge into split deadlift, I just felt like it wasn’t actually engaging the hamstring at all. Any advice?

@thenewaveragebear1983 i had this. I stood on some weight plates to raise my heels it helped, but I get a lot more from staggered RDL’s. I think everyone’s body is different shapes, I have short legs and a long body so some exercises are either too hard or don’t do much so you can adapt them

RDL’s are hard to get right I agree!

@thenewaveragebear1983 When doing RDLs you need to bend your knees slightly, look down, stick your bottom out - imagine you are shutting a door with it - and keep your weights close to your body when lowering and raising. Don't round your back, try and keep it straight. Don't worry about going as low as Caroline, just below the knees is fine. You should then feel the pull in your hamstrings.

I've hurt myself! Neck,shoulder and upper back killing on one side.
Having to take painkillers.
I used heavier weights and think I've twinged something.
Annoyingly I really enjoyed the workout I think caused it.
Need to rest But finding that had..maybe a lower body session or cardio? Bad idea

Thanks @samthebordercollie and @Menora , I think I am doing that all correctly, maybe I do just need a heavier weight then. I was reluctant to increase if it was a form issue. We used to fully raise the leg at my old gym, I can’t get my head into the staggered (I called it split sorry in my previous post) dead lift. I’ll try a few with a heavier weight tomorrow and see how that feels.

Staggered took me a few attempts but I get a lot more stretch out of it. I saw someone say about raising your heels on instagram so I tried it this did also help

keep the weights so close to your legs you are almost skimming them down your shins (but not too close don’t hurt yourself)

10kg on an RDL does nothing for me anymore so I went to 15-20 this helped

I think I do need to up my weights

in other developments, I’m a runner and I have started this year doing the same run on a Wednesday morning as a time trial (it’s the only pace work I do really) - well, yesterday I did this route for the 54th time and did it the fastest since September 2020 (when I was in peak lockdown fitness, no less) so that’s marvellous, and also I’m sure partly down to increasing my overall strength in my legs and core with hiit and CG workouts