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

[BigButtons]

New thread!

I finish Epic 3 next week and then I’m going to pay for the app I think. Would Intent be a good one to go on to? I’ve heard good things about it, but I don’t have any
especially heavy weights (I have a random pair of 30lb/13ish kg dumbbells that I got cheap but that’s the highest). Or I do want to do the app Iron at some point too.

@AtomicBlondeRose I would do Iron on the App first, it's a good program, more interesting than Iron on YouTube. And good preparation for Intent. I'm glad I did it first.

The app Iron is 10 weeks isn’t it? That fits well into my schedule so sounds like a good choice. I did enjoy the first Iron because of how simple it is.

@AtomicBlondeRose do you have a barbell? She uses a barbell for hip thrusts and bridges on the App. I bought one, it's a lot easier than using dumbells. 13kg will be fine for everything except perhaps sumo squats where you might want to go heavier. I've never gone heavier than 15kg for lunges and squats, my wrists are too weak! Yes, Iron is 30 mins. Intent 45 minutes, so longer sessions. It's definitely more intensive than Iron.

As I'm a weakling, lazy and time-poor I've been doing the 24 days of Christmas series, as they're only 20 minutes long! Finding it great, until cardio day! HOW DOES SHE DO THAT? I can follow for about five seconds, then modify, then give up entirely.

I absolutely hate sprawls and burpees. They’re the only exercises where my body just…stops. Like, literally will not do one second more. I get fitter and stronger at all sorts of things but those, nope, never any better.

@AtomicBlondeRose i love burpees but oh my, those tricep dips off a chair will literally never get easier. It’s reassuring to see that even CG can’t do a full minute by the third set but honestly, I can’t do more than 10 seconds without a rest

Me too! I just get stuck on the floor. Just torture.

Burpees I also hate.
I'm still on epic 1 and I started the enom (towards the end of the programme, can't remember the number because I have to change them all around to fit in with work etc) anyway there were burpees,squat jumps and lunge jumps in the first round(for ten minutes!) I was way behind in the first minute and then just turned it off and found a different day to do.
Just can't do it some days..I'm not a machine, but she clearly is

Hi everyone! I’ve not posted for a while - my usual trick of falling out of the habit of exercising.

But I’m feeling really positive that I have a new plan which seems to be working. As I WFH most days I’ve started doing the school run in my gym kit, then as soon as I get home, I do my CG workout, have a quick shower and I’m at my desk by 9:15 (school starts at 8 here). I decided it was time I prioritised working out instead of putting everything else first, which invariably led to me getting to the end of the day without having done my workout. I really think this is something I can stick to.

I’ve just finished my first Programme - Beginners on the App. And I’ve started Iron on the App today and really like it. I’m hoping it will be good for shredding some inches, as I have a holiday coming up in 6 weeks.

Well- I am right royally buggered from heavy day. I did not go heavy . But I went for pauses and very slow movements.
heavy upper body tomorrow……

@chloechloe ive been doing exactly that on my wfh days - works really well for me too.

I did Iron day 4 today. I’m really enjoying Iron - seems so basic compared to Epic beginner (the only other one I’ve done) - but I like that!

The heavy days are exhausting, I find, not cardio but mentally trying to concentrate! I did Day 6 and 7 this morning, a slow heavy lower body and a faster circuit upper body, so a nice contrast. Managed 15kg for the 3 sets of lunges adn staggered RDLs- CG was using 20kg 😱- but my left wrist probably wouldn't have coped with a 4th set. For the upper body for once I could match Caroline's weights as no overhead pressing or chest presses!
Loving Intent.

Forgot to ask - does anyone else do stability ball exercises? I've just bought one to use but I'm not feeling the effort in my hamstrings, OTOH my calves are screaming. So I'm doing something wrong but not sure what!

I ache!! There will be full on doms by tomorrow. I bought lifting hooks in the end to protect my elbows. I like using them though it does interfere with my Apple Watch. Yesterday it was recording my heart rate at 171 for the lunges which can’t be right.
i paused every thing and lay on the cliff for 30 seconds and the heart rate halved in that time so it must have something odd with the watch and possibly the straps were too tight. I dunno.
I used to lift with 15kg for squats during iron 2 but didn’t like the big build on my legs. I also noticed a definite round backside this morning- probably why my pants don’t fit properly any more😂
I can lift the same as her for some upper body but I am choosing not to. My reasoning is that she said she is not ever lifting at capacity. It seems silly for me to try to. My form is better when I don’t.

@BigButtons I was thinking that she must be capable of lifting more than she does, with the exception of the 20kg in each hand for lunges. But I'm curious about the pauses that she has in that case, during the upper body circuits she paused a lot and it wasn't really necessary - do you think she does it to make us feel better??
I've put on a couple of pounds at last, waist is the same size so I think - or at least hope - it's muscle and not fat! Jeans are definitely tighter around quads and calves.

No- I really don’t! She said she can lift 30kg for lunges but chooses not to!
She says there are lots of ways to make your weights feel heavier and take you to failure rather than simply lifting heavier. The speed,Rom pauses, squeezing, mind muscle, depth, length of a set, where it comes in a set etc. I think she explained all of this in the write up intro for intent. I mean she clearly gets fatigued at times even with 4kg!

That is what I am doing now and I feel I am actually working my muscles harder even with lighter weights. She says that varying the weights she chooses, even for exactly the same exercises has helped prevent injury and fatigue . Wish I could say the same😮🫣

@samthebordercollie I definitely think some of her pauses in Iron are for the viewers benefit, they don’t seem natural somehow.

I assume as she is working and not just working out that means her work outs look different to the user than if she was really working out, she is producing content that has to fit across many different users of different ability, she also has to be able to direct the moves from one to the next as is likely thinking more about the content/move being right and easy to follow on camera. Rather than her own workout. She must record a lot of content probably back to back and she is good at it but it must take practice and her actual work outs probably look completely different. She is focused on presenting the video plus also showing you the stretches. She might have done 3 already that day so she might have fatigue

She has always said that these are her actual workouts. I am sure she has to consider all that you mentioned but they are her workouts- I chose to believe her!

Omg this series is breaking every bit of my body now. I am not recovering between sessions. She did mention that we might need extra recovery days.
slow upper body today and it was a fail for me- kept having to stop and drop down the weights.
I am going to go lighter over all.
though I was pleased that I managed 15 lg for the three sets of 75 second pullovers and also for some of the deadstop rows. Back wasn’t happy so I lowered.

today was the first session where I really didn’t feel like it, I’ve run this morning and had the most boring day at work and I realised if I didn’t do it today I’d run out of days this week! So I did it, and I’m glad I did, but my heart wasn’t really in it today. this weekend I plan to do my long run tomorrow, then do day 14&15 as a double on Sunday

Please don’t over do things. You don’t need to double up. You aren’t in a competition! Maybe your body is asking for a rest. I always know I need to back off when I push though with sessions that I don’t enjoy.