Lifting and getting stronger with Caroline Girvan: 2025

[BigButtons]

New thread !

@Gobacktotheworld
I used to love JM. Might well have been on that thread. I got all her dvd’s. There was one really good on- three sessions of about 20 mins cardio type stuff it was brutally. I also like her yoga inferno/ no longer have a dvd player though.
i have given up on Max because I was so bored of the same stuff week in week out. The end was glute work is what has aggravated my hip- think it’s possibly sciatica?
I did an unleash lower body yesterday and liked being able to focus just on the one body part. Funny the way I am liking most of it now when I hated it before/
i notice there aren’t many daily posts on the Facebook group about it anymore.
i would much prefer 6 week series as I get so bored of the repeating formats.
on a recent unleash upper body she had a lying on a bench( sofa) exercise which involved holding a 7.5 kv dumbbell and dropping it behind your head with a straight arm- like a single arm pullover. I loved to have a new move- why can’t she add more variety?🥱
I am now busting out of my vest tops and sports bra things( don’t wear normal bras). It must be muscle as I am completely flat chested and have hardly any upper body fat.

Are any of you here a typical ‘Apple shape’? Do you have any tips on body recomposition or any other tips? Have any of you seen positive changes since doing CG workouts?

I’m 5ft2 (with a small frame, tiny wrists/ankles) and officially a healthy weight/BMI, but I can’t seem to lose my stomach fat. I’ve been doing CG workouts for a year and track my calories (I average maximum of 1400 per day) but I’m feeling so rubbish today about my body shape. I know the focus should be on health etc (I’m a healthy weight, I eat healthily and I exercise) but I would really like to lose some of my stomach fat.

Sorry @Cherryblossom81 am a pear. Bet I'd envy you your legs. Mine are stubbornly sausage-like at any weight.:)

@BigButtons Me too! I still really rate Jillian's No More Trouble Zones and Banish Fat Boost Metabolism, and both Yoga ones, Inferno and Meltdown. I got a DVD player off eBay a couple of years ago just to be able to use my fitness collection again, mostly Jillian but also aerobics and the pump type workouts.

Hard agree that a change in the exercises can be really stimulating. The last Max workout I totally loved was Day 28, which had lateral lunges, and then a finisher where lateral lunges merged into quite fast side to side skandasanas. Great. (And it was a Tuesday workout without glute bridges or hip thrusts... O joy unbounded.) Today I did the first circuit of the 60min kettlebell full body one on the app, so 30min- that was enough, just got too hot! I need Caroline's fan.

@Gobacktotheworld I'm also pear shaped. Very very, like several clothing sizes difference. I have very stumpy legs.

I really enjoyed yesterday's Max for some reason.

@Cherryblossom81I’m rectangular or inverted triangle (my shoulders are massive now thanks to Caroline!) - you can’t spot reduce belly fat but cardio can help and eating oily fish (for the omega 3 which is apparently helpful in reducing visceral fat). I know as a runner I’ve never really had a big belly just a little overhang from 2 C sections.
@Gobacktotheworldthe one hour full body kettle bell workout is my favourite k bell workout, but as the 2nd 30 minutes is a repeat of the first you didn’t miss much. I always do that one when I go to the uk to visit my dad, a couple of kettle bells fit in the car no problem. I’m going there tomorrow so will be doing that workout at the weekend. It will make a nice change from intent, I’m up to day 32 but I definitely prefer PE.

Sounds like a plan @samthebordercollie. I got up and did the second half of the workout this morning because I am anal and wanted to record it in my diary. Wow. I think you could have something close to total fitness just hammering this workout and maybe running too.

We are moving house soon and I am considering what weights will be needed to stay fit while without barbell etc. Seems a couple of kettlebells and maybe a pair of 10kg dumbbells could cover most things!

Today's Max (39) looks ace with all the push ups. Will hit that tonight or tomorrow.

Urgh, Push ups, Bulgarians and Burpees are all my least fave exercises(and the ones i most need to do!!!!)
Not so great with rear delt flys either.
What does or doesn't do it for others?

I love push ups and Bulgarians, not so much burpees. I don’t mind rear delt flyes but I never fe eh l I’m doing them properly as I don’t get near to failure with them. I can’t bend over Caroline does. I’m wondering if she’s using an incline bench for the next programme if she’ll be using it for rear delt flyes and rows as well as incline chest press etc.

Loves:

• around the worlds. Just feels like the best shoulder stretch.
• tricep dips, ditto
• any kind of yoga or animal movement moves (kick throughs, swimmers, cobra moves, skandasana, malasana, standing leg raises, crab reach, side plank, those plank to downdog toe touch things...)

Hates:

• renegade rows. Don't think they've been in MAX which is one point in its favour
• rear delt flyes. You can't see if you're doing them right and they are so boring and endless.
• hip thrusts but only because they're a total pain in the arse to set up. The actual exercise is... OK?

I love a pullover, nice and stretchy. Quite like the stability ball rollouts.

Hate lunges with heavy weights. Prefer bodyweight. I don't bother using a barbell for bridges either , just a faff and I stick with just a band instead.

I like those two movements, too. Anything that stretches and increases range of movement feels as if it serves a dual purpose.
I use my band for the bridges and hip thrusts too.

Rear delts have taken me an age to master . It is such a relatively small muscle!

Same with rear delt fly's I never feel like I'm doing them properly and I get bored, and I find anything where I have to bend over feels unnatural
I loved pull overs but underestimated how small the muscle is, went to heavy at the weekend and they are still sore.
I hate push ups because they are so hard and I can't do many.
I hate renegade rows as they hurt my wrists.
I love standing ab exercises and dead bugs. I find wood choppers very satisfying

Oh- what do I like?
step ups
rear steps and lateral lunges
sumo squats
Am neutral about most leg work but hate high squats and elevated squats cos they hurt my back.
hate banded bridges and thrusts thrusts without band = ok band without weight = ok together? No and such a bloody faff if you have to put the barbell away.
Love most upper body work except chest flyes - they really hurt my shoulders and not in a good way. I can do press ups now so don’t hate them they way I used to.
i love a Tate press. No idea why she stopped doing those- I often sub those in when doing triceps.
hate renegades and am glad she seems to have mostly abandoned those.
with the rear delt flyes I can’t do them sitting. I have to stand and bend over.
i am hungover this morning so doubt I will be doing anything today😮🤮

@Gobacktotheworld Hip thrusts being a pain in the ass to set up..the actual exercise...is a pain in the ass, right?! 😀
I've just got a bar bell this week, so far it's sat in the corner of my home gym but next time there's hip thrusts I'm gonna use it (wish me luck)

Totally get the boredom with flys..I can't bend myself flat Like she can therefore it just annoys me that I'm doing it all hunched backed and yes the sheer boredom.
Don't like rows for the same reason.
I guess I don't need to go as far bent as caroline,in more of a upright position?
I also feel it in my back with high squats,maybe I'm doing those wrong too.

Do some chest pressing and tate presses.
Least your laid down.
Cardio after any drinking is God awful which I found out last weekend

Hello! Well I am enjoying Ultimate Beginner, but I have just done workout 6 and it is definitely getting hard now! I think some of my issues are down to my weight (bmi 35ish), but also cranky knees and lack of flexibility (I find the warm up harder than the workout!). I also cant lunge for anything - lateral and squats are ok though.

Pushups - even doing these on a chair was hard - my arms don’t seem to bend right! I ended up doing them on my knees
hip thrusts - not too bad but I skipped the band and used a light weight
renegade rows - So my options were a 6kg hexagon, perfect for the plank but too heavy to lift, or a tiny light metal set but these were to uncomfortable to rest my hands on. I ended up modifying and using the light ones
Sumo squats and RDLs were fine
Arc raise - fine but went light

my knees hurt today, not sure if that’s from modifying or from the 6kgs maybe being a little heavy? I don’t have any actual muscle soreness though, probably not a good sign.

@BigButtons i also have loads of Jillian DVDs, and also beachbody ones. Our dvd player is rubbish though and seems like such an effort to put DVDs away in their cases! I am planning to do one month of the paid CG app then should probably use free stuff/DVDs for a while.

@Clearingaspace things will get easier and you will get stronger quickly- promise!

Clearing after your month is up I hope you can enjoy Caroline's many free youtube offerings again, like Iron and Fuel. I have epic iii on youtube earmarked for my next focus but my daughter wants me to do Beachbody's Body Beast DVDs with her because she has a crush on Sagi, lol! It will be a bit of a change from Caroline to be working out to a roided up gym bro shouting MAN UP again, but the programming itself is thankfully quite similar:)

Ooh I love step ups. Day 11 of both Intent and PE were wonderful step up workouts. I did Max 39 last night, LOVED IT, but will probably do a leg day today instead of day 40's wanky accessory circuits.

I made the mistake of looking at the comments for today’s max workout
What was I thinking and what the hell is wrong with that man?

Just an arsehole. In the comments yesterday he was wanging on moronically about yoga and being a "certified mindfulness breathwork faciliator" or some other utter, utter bullshit. I am a lifelong yoga-lover and can tell you that this self-promoting, self-adoring, attention-seeking twat is the opposite of yoga.

And breathe.😄

@Gobacktotheworld i thibk sagi is probably as far away from CG as you can get!

How much cardio is everyone doing? I walk for about 30/40 mins daily on my lunch break, but I don't feel it's enough. I have just done a Heather Robertson hiit, and I found it pretty challenging.

I feel that Max has been good for building strength. I like the repetition and the longer intervals, but I miss getting my heart rate up like I have done with her other series.i think I need to start incorporating a weekly hit workout (probably Heather Robertson as I enjoy the variety and having warm up and cool down included). My favourite CG series so far have probably been Epic Heat and Fuel, as I think I do need the cardio element. Is there anything similar to these on the app?

@ItsCoolForCatsthe App doesn’t have a Fuel equivalent but Beastmode with 20 sec rest and the full body days of REV give a higher heart rate, as do some of the Intent workouts. I run, spin and gravel bike for cardio and prefer to keep it separate from the lifting but I really enjoyed the full body Rev days and the leg days of Intent