Lifting and getting stronger with Caroline Girvan: 2025

[BigButtons]

New thread !

Decided on Unleashed as a follow up to Fuel. Certainly does get the heart rate up and the sweat out! I forgot about ‘DER-der DER-der der-der-der-der…’ etc.!

well done all of you who are keeping going. It's the first day of my summer hols and I have been full on. I hope to restart cg tomorrow . I find not very hard to stop working out because iI find it equally hard to start up again!

@Gobacktotheworld I did actually do a favourite back and biceps from unleash yesterday. Haven’t worked biceps for ages so they proper hurt today. I feel I bit lost with it all tbh so I might just do full body work- I dunno- still feeling wiped out. Have done a lot of heavy duty gardening so am getting exercises in.

@GobacktotheworldI think the 3rd full body day was my favourite if I remember correctly, 3 circuits with lots of different equipment and involved a lot of jumping around from one lift to another.
@BigButtonsive had 2 back and biceps this week with PE, usually not my favourite but these 2 were varied enough and not as boring as some I’ve done. PE just works, for me at least!

@BigButtons defo hard when routine changes. Are you planning to do the new app program in sep?

but summer is defo tricky, my kids are all mid-late teens and I like to exercise in the front room so now eldest is back from uni it’s even harder to find a time the room is free!

@Minesril good luck for next program

@Gobacktotheworld were the les mills step workouts on you tube? I really love step stuff even though I feel goofy 😂

@samthebordercollie people on the Facebook group were mentioning how hard pe is on the Facebook group recently! Well done getting it done!

so day 20 iron done - I sucked at this as there was a lot of ab work on the floor. I think week one was similar and I planned to try and work on planks and push-ups everyday in between workouts but just didn’t get round to it! But nearly there with iron, 2/3 done. I am thinking about strong and lean for a week afterwards but it’s all bodyweight so not my strong suit.

@ClearingaspaceI’m currently on my 3rd round of PE 😂 it’s my favourite programme!

@Clearingaspace I am intending to do it- I think it will heavier weights and longer rest- more traditional strength based training. I am just as flat as a flat pancake atm!

oh no, perhaps a break over the summer will help @BigButtons . Sorry if this sounds annoying, but would it be worth getting your bloods checked - when I had zero energy and went to Gp for some other issue it turned out I was low on vitamin D; it seems to perk me up a bit when I take it for a few days. Alternatively, do you think because you are exercising you might need to up calories?

@Clearingaspace thanks- but I take vit d etc every day . This is just end of term burn out. It happens every year. I had a hell of a class this year . I spent the first three days of the holiday in manic mode and I barely ate and now I have crashed.
I just need to wind down and start taking care of myself a bit x

Ah ok - my siblings are teachers and the long days they do are crazy, plus all the stress that goes with it. Hope you are rested and on top form as soon as possible so yiu can enjoy the summer!

And yes, definitely take care of yourself ❤️

Joining if I may - I have been farting about with dumbbells for a while on my own but I need someone to tell me what to do I think. Post meno, trying to get stronger and, having lost some weight, tone up all over and replace my arse which seems to have vanished completely. I also like running, yoga and a bit of tai chi. And have just had my bike serviced so hope to get out on that too. I have signed up to the CGX app and start UB tomorrow 💪
No idea what to expect!

👋 @NormaMajors1992coat Im halfway through UB as an newbie and loving it so far. I’m probably going to repeat UB with slightly heavier weights before moving on to Iron.

Thank you guys, I’m really looking forward to it. Have a slightly dodgy wrist at the moment but hopefully it will hold up ok.

Welcome @NormaMajors1992coatyou will find that following a structured programme works wonders! And Caroline’s latest programmes have definitely been glute focussed so building a bum should be no problem. I’m post menopausal too, didn’t start lifting until 3 years ago at age 57, loved it (having previously been an cardio queen, mainly running with cycling and swimming) and now lifting is my main activity. It’s never too late to build muscle, have fun!

Thank you @Gobacktotheworld that is so helpful, stupidly I hadn’t even thought of warming up or rehabbing the wrist. GP thinks probably calcification but wouldn’t refer me for an x-ray so just hoping it will start to improve eventually. If not our local private hospital will do an x-ray for £150 including consultation before and after so maybe that would be an option. Just a bit annoying.

It’s a lot easier working out with the cooler weather!
@bigbuttonshow are you feeling now?
Today was upper body, Day 14 chest, shoulders, triceps and I did the new 20 minute upper body 4 round, 3 exercises as an add on. Really enjoyed it, push ups, inverted rows and diagonal raises. Am hoping the inverted rows will go towards helping with my pull up goal for my 60th.

@Gobacktotheworld I have the dip bars so used them for the inverted rows, but a TRX type harness would be perfect. I used one once but didn't attach it properly and fell back on the floor quite hard when it detached 😂.
Today did Day 11 from PE, a good sweaty quad session with step ups. Plus a short curtsey lunge stand alone workout on the App - I love curtsey lunges!