Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Exercise

Chat to other fitness enthusiasts on our Exercise forum.

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

965 replies

BigButtons · 07/01/2024 18:48

New thread!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
33
pharmachameleon · 02/05/2024 13:32

Thanks both. I'll check it out tonight as I'd really love to try the app. Not least for meal ideas!

Menora · 03/05/2024 10:09

My quads are so tight this week after my dedicated leg week so I am going to have a couple of rest days.

weight is stable which was frustrating me but I have dropped another inch off my waist and half an inch off my thighs so I am building muscle/toning phase

AtomicBlondeRose · 03/05/2024 10:33

My weight has stayed the same since new year pretty much but I’ve definitely been toning - every time I work out I see different definition in my legs for sure.

Another before and after, because I was looking back to this time last year. The photo on the left isn’t horrendous but I felt SO puffy and lethargic all the time, just a swollen up version of myself. And looking back I really lacked brightness, skin tone was poor, even my hair felt different. I definitely credit working out and intermittent fasting for the vastly improved state of my body overall - not just weight, but the added sparkle and vitality.

Lifting with Caroline Girvan 2024: What's not to love?!
JumpinJellyfish · 03/05/2024 11:04

Looking great @AtomicBlondeRose! You also look nice in the before picture though, but it’s all about how you feel.

I’m still plugging away at Iron - did day 6 (legs) yesterday and see that today is arms and the dreaded triceps! Will give it a go tonight.

samthebordercollie · 03/05/2024 13:15

@AtomicBlondeRose great before and after photos, your face definitely looks more defined and overall brighter than before!
I've done one full body from the Epics and 4 Intent sessions this week, up to Day 16 and17 today which I loved, a leg day circuit - and I matched Caroline's weights, but they weren't very heavy today 😂 and a brutal upper body workout but soooo effective. Off to the UK tomorrow for a few days so I'll just take a couple of kettlebells and do some of those workouts. There isn't room in the car for all the weights and equipment I'd need for Intent!

Cherryblossom81 · 03/05/2024 16:03

Your posts are always so encouraging @AtomicBlondeRose! Do you mind me asking - did you make changes to your diet as well? I'm short, at a healthy BMI but would ideally like to lose maybe around 7-10 pounds. Online calculators always tell me I need a tiny amount of calories due to being short, but I'm trying to get the right balance of fueling my body properly, especially now I'm doing these workouts.

I did Day 18 of Iron today. I am a complete beginner (first time I've ever done any type of workouts with weights) but I can already notice progress in what I can do compared with a month ago!

AtomicBlondeRose · 03/05/2024 17:13

@Cherryblossom81 yes, I have changed my diet a lot. I lost 2.5 stone in total. The first 1.5 was before I started working out and I did that through intermittent fasting and calorie counting. Probably about 1400-1600 a day. IF makes calorie restriction way easier; I clean fast so you don’t get hungry and then have enough calories to eat a decent lunch and normal dinner.

After the first couple of months I started CG and then I went up a bit in calories but always doing the IF. By Christmas I was at my target weight but I carried on tracking, while bringing up calories. Now I eat in a roughly 6 hour window, I don’t track calories but I go protein-heavy, from whole foods, low UPF and generally focussed on good nutrition. That feels like a very sustainable way to eat and I can see myself keeping it up for good.

florenceandthemac · 03/05/2024 22:54

CG has released a one hour callisthenics workout on YouTube today. The first free workout since she launched the app

JumpinJellyfish · 05/05/2024 10:28

What is clean fasting @AtomicBlondeRose? I think IF could work for me. I have a terrible sugar addiction which I can beat by going cold turkey but I fall off the wagon every couple of months - it is a constant struggle. I need to cut it out totally as even eg a couple of squares of chocolate makes me craving more.

I did Iron day 6 today - I think my arms are stronger already! Need to do my measurements and before pics and start tracking to maintain accountability as I’ve been a bit half hearted so far.

AtomicBlondeRose · 05/05/2024 10:51

For good usable information on intermittent fasting I’d check out Gin Stephens - she has a couple of useful books (“Fast, Feast, Repeat” and “Delay, Don’t Deny”) and a lot of podcasts. Basically clean fasting is only having black tea or coffee or water in your fasting window. No milk or sugar, nothing flavoured, basically trying to avoid anything that might spike insulin. I find this really the best way as although it sounds harder you don’t get hunger pangs after the first few days of acclimatising. I go from 7pm-12 noon the next day as a rule - I’m not especially strict now although I was at the beginning and often did only 3 or 4 hour eating window - I work out fasted every morning and just have a black coffee afterwards, and I get through until lunch just fine. I do eat a fairly hearty lunch but I’m not fainting with hunger or anything, I’m just hungry enough to really enjoy my food, and not count what I’m eating. Just a good amount of nutritious whole foods.

Interestly in the last few weeks when I was finishing up Epic 3 I was very hungry in the afternoon and craving carbs and sweets. This week starting Iron that’s disappeared and I’m not that hungry at all. So I do think sometimes you just have to listen to your body. I needed those carbs obviously!

RosaRoja · 05/05/2024 20:10

@AtomicBlondeRose thanks for the podcast recommendation. Is this the first time you’re doing Iron? Or is it one of those series you keep coming back to. I’m finishing it in a couple of days and I’m thinking of starting it again before I move on to others.

samthebordercollie · 05/05/2024 20:35

@AtomicBlondeRose it's interesting
about fasting. I still run or lift fasted every morning but I now have a protein shake or Greek yogurt with berries after - before I never ate until 1pm. But unless I have the breakfast after working out there is no way I can get my protein intake in (I aim for 120g a day).

devildeepbluesea · 06/05/2024 08:59

@AtomicBlondeRose looking great!! Glad to hear there are plenty others who don’t get DOMS.

Although I might tomorrow. Started back this morning after my week off, and picked the Pure Endure 1000 rep lower body challenge. Bit of a mistake! I finished but had to take a lot more breaks than CG!

*Edited because at first I only credited myself with 100 reps 🤣

AtomicBlondeRose · 06/05/2024 09:47

RosaRoja · 05/05/2024 20:10

@AtomicBlondeRose thanks for the podcast recommendation. Is this the first time you’re doing Iron? Or is it one of those series you keep coming back to. I’m finishing it in a couple of days and I’m thinking of starting it again before I move on to others.

I did the YouTube version and now I’m on the app version. I do think you could do either over and over - they feel more like maintenance programmes to me but not in a bad way! And of course you can increase the challenge all sorts of ways. I like knowing I’m rarely swearing at the Tv during Iron, and never have to do burpees or sprawls…but after a few weeks I find the pace less inspiring. However if you only did Iron over and over for the rest of your life you’d be in great shape!

devildeepbluesea · 06/05/2024 21:42

Omg 13 hours after my 1000 rep challenge and my arse / inner thighs are already screaming. Dreading the dog walk tomorrow morning. Hastily re-scheduling tomorrow’s workout for something upper body related.

BigButtons · 07/05/2024 06:55

Any exercise is better than nothing but doing iron on repeat is not the best use of your time! You get better results from shaking things up a bit!
intent day 26 for me later. She is using like weight for lower body- only 10 kg and a heavier barbell. I tent is very glute focused. We work them three times a week and mine are popping- popping too much. All my knickers are now too small!

OP posts:
RosaRoja · 07/05/2024 07:32

@BigButtons you need a name change to BigBottoms! I started on Beastmode yesterday. Only day 1 but it seems similar to Iron, but longer overall and shorter rest times. I’ll go back to Iron if I find it too tough.

BigButtons · 07/05/2024 07:43

RosaRoja · 07/05/2024 07:32

@BigButtons you need a name change to BigBottoms! I started on Beastmode yesterday. Only day 1 but it seems similar to Iron, but longer overall and shorter rest times. I’ll go back to Iron if I find it too tough.

😂😂 good call! I might just do that! Although I am aiming to get it smaller 😂

OP posts:
thenewaveragebear1983 · 07/05/2024 20:03

I prefer arms/abs/core to legs, is there a programme which is better for those rather than so much glutes and hamstrings? I’m doing iron at the moment, I’m on day 18 but I’ve gone back down to just 3 a week because it was too much with my running as well.

samthebordercollie · 07/05/2024 20:07

@thenewaveragebear1983 just skip the glutes and hamstrings. All her programs have that to a certain extent, but they are often together in one session. I never skip them as they really help with my running - having strong glutes and hamstrings makes going uphill so much easier!

samthebordercollie · 07/05/2024 20:15

If I remember correctly the Epics have one glutes session every 2 weeks. There is one week with 2 upper body, 1 lower body and one HIT and the next week 2 lower body (one glutes specific), 1 upper body and 1 HIT. At least that's it for Epic 3, Endgame and Heat. Epic 1 and Epic 2 are more all over the place programming wise but fewer glute specific days overall.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 07/05/2024 20:17

@samthebordercollie i have found I’m running better generally but i find it hard to run when it follows directly on from a glutes or hamstrings day, I don’t have the flexibility to change my scheduled run as I only have certain days and times when I can get out. I probably just need to plan a bit better to get my workouts and runs in sync then!

florenceandthemac · 07/05/2024 22:29

airtable.com/app90kt6Fz0MBfrty/shrCApiBkaRj96F2D/tblYUQZ5tiHHku1dI

I posted this link on another thread but thought it might be be useful here too. It's an air table listing and comparing all of CG's programmes

samthebordercollie · 09/05/2024 09:55

Back in France after a few days away in the UK - I did Caroline's new calisthetics You Tube work out, which was great, based on the cluster format.
She very cleverly used it as an opportunity to publicise her App, (as well as celebrating the 3 million subscribers on YouTube.
It would be interesting to know how many new App subscribers she gets as a result of posting the new YouTube workout!

ellebelli · 10/05/2024 09:53

I will definitely get the ap in the future.
I actually pay for another fitness instructor on patreon, I took a break from caroline to catch up with the workouts she had put out that I've missed...and I simply don't enjoy them as much as Caroline's.
The trainer I follow is very cardio based and I've never really enjoyed that element.
Since Caroline I have made weight gains and noticed more tone to my legs And done less cardio.
I do find I'm more out of breath and sweaty after a workout using the other trainer but it's not all about that,right?
If I had to choose which to pay for it would be Caroline's.
However there is a load of free workouts still on youtube(the other trainer took all hers down)so for now until I work my way through them all I will stick with the free content.