Lifting and getting stronger with Caroline Girvan: 2025

[BigButtons]

New thread !

@Cherryblossom81 definitely try with 12.5. Remember that you can just do one set or a few reps and then drop back down. That way your tendons get to play catch up and get used to the increased load safely.
I speak from bitter experience if not doing this and getting injured🫣
well done @samthebordercollie !
I did do an ankle weight glutes yesterday-a 2023 Xmas one.
i have really bad quad doms today- like wincing and needing support when I sit down- I also have now got a really sore backside from yesterday’s short but brutal arse session.

Hope the Doms has passed @BigButtons

i completed week 1 iron - loved some days hated others! Yesterday’s abs and triceps was mostly too difficult for me as I think my core strength is very poor.

@Gobacktotheworld sorry I am probably staying the total obvious but are you warming up before c25k with some stretches - I used to try and do c25k (never completed it though) and walking first wasn’t enough of a warm up; I always would get calf or shin pain or plantar fasciitis type things. Dropping and raising my heel on a step before and after was one thing I used to do that helped. I have also noticed the local running group in the park near us really go for it with stretches!! Or possibly your c25k running trainers could be exacerbating the problem with your calves? I hope it eases up soon.

@Gobacktotheworld I actually did the sissy squats, when I don't I subsitute with elevated bodyweight squats.

@Gobacktotheworld wow what amazing weights! Well done. I will never lift over 50 for glutes again as it really fucks my lower back up.

@samthebordercollie and @BigButtons Thanks for the suggestion to go to 12.5kg next. Do you have any recommendations for the best make/style of dumbbell as I start to move to heavier weights? I often feel I’m restricted by my tiny and weak (although getting stronger!) wrists and wonder if some types of dumbbell are better than others?

@Cherryblossom81 I'm not sure that the make of dumbells makes a lot of difference (I live in France and get mine from Decathlon and second hand[, but wrist straps would help if you struggle to hold the dumbells when doing lunges. I have the same ones Caroline uses, with hooks, they make lifting a lot easier.

So it’s Prime week and I have £20 in Amazon vouchers - I’m thinking of buying a bench. Does anyone have one? Any recs? I’ve never even used one apart from very rarely in hotel gyms so no idea what makes one good or bad. Is a cheap one fine?

Don’t buy neoprene- they have chunky handles- not good for those of us with small hands. Rubber coated iron is good- the bars are narrow

Glad it’s eased up @Gobacktotheworld. funnily enough I woke up this morning with tight calves but yesterday was triceps 😅 day 7 iron.

I am nowhere near the weights you all use, so in fact I just treated myself with some lighter hex weights for renegade rows 🤪 (from argos as was cheaper than Amazon despite prime day!) - went with neoprene so hope they are ok to hold during plank. I am phoning it in with some weights though so will try to increase where I can - it just means I need more weights out and ready to switch to and from though.

On a positive note I am so happy that I am now able to do full sets of unweighted Bulgarian lunges! I have also started using light weights for static lunges. For some reason seeing CG start her static lunges from the floor helped me to do the lunges - I think in the past I have been too obsessed with not letting my toes go past my knees and was overthinking things?

Sorry I meant knees go past my toes - clearly I was going more wrong with lunges than I thought …

@Gobacktotheworld I'm thinking of doing MAX for the summer, but I like to do workouts of 1 hour - 1h15 so would want to do 2 back to back, would this be possible if one heavy lifting day and one lighter? I can't rememeber which days are which!
How does it compare to PE? If not MAX I'll do PE again for the 3rd time, it really gave me the best results of all her programs.
You are indeed a beast with your weights. 78kg for hip thrusts 😱my max is 58kg preferably without a band! And 16kg chest press, I don't think I could lift that off the ground I struggle enough with 15kg and can't do more than one set without a long rest.
I'm up to 10kg for overhead press at last, but no other big progressions.
@AtomicBlondeRose are you after a flat bench or an incline bench? I really love my incline bench now. I bought this one but it was more than 20 pounds , there might be some deals on Prime Day at the moment
www.amazon.co.uk/PASYOU-Adjustable-Multi-Purpose-Foldable-Exercise/dp/B07S7NRZL4/ref=sr_1_23?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.p5Fd8M1LWCoEaNO5eddlld2aDFcwva_ySIYKXcxHXpAoUal6D4Sh_3SV3MZ_3hA_6ix7xis-fC2-eGUOtyYQsNQGA9ZweuLQZRx_paL1Gr8-EnpqD4TCF0SWAaPLDj55f0b1fhrCOSOIAdjXj4M9-vrxoG82OHT9qN-iyXG-WUm7cMUfvOOXwBdYKvVOKN3PeKJYljRa65s4a2_X9tCvbYitTnCjzs2lsFr8baAn8Fz5cV_wLxPmGJvkNGWKYfn65AxqZC75dnwsDlfu89ntGm8e_zaOLtpFESCRgg8aT1Y.TrxlQHZBdqm65Wtn6EvgeH0GESb9_yX2DYMLLevxGbw&dib_tag=se&keywords=Incline%2BBench&qid=1752067275&sr=8-23&th=1

Has anyone done Epic on YouTube? I've finished Iron which I enjoyed but Epic feels so hard! 😂

Yes, it’s very different to Iron. I did it last out of the YouTube programmes and I’m very pleased I saved it until the end! If you want the most similar programme to Iron do Endgame, then Epic 3, Heat or Epic 2 and go back to Epic 1 at the end. It’s nicely bonkers and fortunately Caroline doesn’t repeat a lot of the moves in her later programmes.

@Gobacktotheworldthankyou very much for the advice! I’m a bit scared by all the hip thrusts but I have more time in summer to get out and put away all the equipment and a lot of people in Reddit say they have had great results from Max. Reddit is actually quite good as you don’t get all the selfies from the usual suspects in the FB group.

For the many, many hip thrusts in Max, do you all use the 68kg barbell weight that CG uses? I have not got anything near has heavy and don’t have a barbell yet!

No. I really don’t want to develop my glutes too much. I use 20kg weights and a glute band. Sometimes just the band.

I’ve ordered this one from Amazon https://amzn.eu/d/epuhxFQ - it seems roughly the same as the one @samthebordercollie has but it was a bit cheaper! It arrives tomorrow so I’ll review once it’s set up. I’m actually sure I’d be fine to carry on without one but it’s also nice to add to my collection of workout gear and I’ve been doing rear delt flies and single arm rows on my piano bench! I do have the advantage of having room for it. It folds up but we have a crappy conservatory off the living room which is mostly used for propagating plants so it can live in there. Not sure I’d bother if space was limited.

My next purchase has to be a proper barbell. I’m using one that’s part of a convertible set so only holds 30kg max and I have about 26kg on it. I could definitely go heavier for hip thrusts but it means all new weights I think too so I keep starting to research then getting overwhelmed and giving up! Maybe it’s for my birthday wish list.

I will try one from End game tomorrow thank you 😁