Lifting and getting stronger with Caroline Girvan: 2025

[BigButtons]

New thread !

There is a very heavy American bias on the group now. I am also a member of another group for old people who weight train. It was a kind of spin off group from the main one. It is utterly bonkers. I never post but it is pretty well only chats about women feeling fat or photos of men in posing pouches or women in competition bikinis.
i don’t know a single other person in RL who lifts. No one has ever commented about my muscles.
must be said yesterday I had to do a lot of very heavy lugging of a storage shed with my partner. This consisted of three very large and heavy gazebo frames in a tiny space with uneven old floors. That’s the point of lifting surely? To be able to do that and not injure yourself in the process.
I almost never flex because I can’t see the point. I did it recently though because I was curious. Mostly I don’t look like I have any muscle definition in my arms - but I was really suprised with what I saw in the mirror.

Thoughts about the new series: she says she is going to decide on the weights set by set- although since their are all pre recorded sessions we will still know what to use as a reference. I think I will try to up my lunge weight just a tiny bit- I believe she is going up to 25kg?

Yeah two days later and I'm still denied access. That is nuts. The power has clearly gone to some people's heads!

I don't have kids but whenever I roll my mat out, both dogs and one of the cats immediately come in and lie across all the floor space. Then my boyfriend comes in and tells me off for lifting weights dangerously close to their heads. I'm like, WTF am I supposed to do? They wont get out of the way. Then he looks at the screen and says 'I hope you don't end up looking like that!' Fat chance. I've been lifting weights on and off for decades and I'm yet to see a visible muscle on my body yet 😂- I know they're there cos I can feel them working but abs are made in the kitchen, as they say, and I enjoy my cooking far too much! Also the spray tan and bottle blonde look is very far removed from my no makeup, grey hair and pasty t-shirt tan aesthetic. I am far too lazy and tight to make that much effort.

Working out for me is a menopausal rage release, stress release, and so I can get through life without avoiding stairs, hills, lifting things or 'having a fall'. As I also fell run, I fall all the time, so knowing you can go down and correct yourself mid fall to not cause any injuries is vital. I allowed myself to get quite unfit and fat a few years ago through not prioritising looking after myself. I tripped over one of the dogs on a walk, went down hard and was injured for months. I can really tell when that base level of strength is gone even though I can never see it.

Must be said - I think Caroline has a naturally sweet and attractive face- I would love to know what she would look like like with no spray tan , no implants and no bleach. I get it- it’s her business- she is selling a dream- - a possibility and of course many of us would like her physique and looks. Like you @Fibrous I am far too lazy to bother with those kinds of aesthetics.
i used to run all over the South Downs and loved it- then my right knee hated going down hill and I had to stop . The fell running sounds amazing- well done on that 🥸

Men are such morons, Fibrous. 😂 That is a great example of the benefits of strength training. My DH is into fitness as well so thankfully is under no illusions about me turning into Caroline from doing her workouts a few times a week.

Her weights are really quite impressive for her height and size. Sometimes I am smug if I do some lift heavier than her (like 0.5kg heavier 😁) conveniently ignoring the fact that I am nearly a foot taller and considerably heavier than her.

I forgot to add I did this short cued mobility one after my cgx workout this morning. It was just a random youtube suggestion the other day but proved a good one.

I don’t think she maxes out on her weights- I am guessing that is how she stays injury free. She said something interesting about her weight choices in the iron pro intro- that she sticks with 7.5 kg for bevels, triceps. Upright rows extra because this allows her to taget the correct muscle. She could techno go heavier but other muscles would be recruited.
This is a thought I have always have. People talk about matching her weight- what I would like to really know is how her weight choices are I relation to what she COULD technically lift but choses not to? Her weight choices for upper body in the app are very different to those in the epics. Makes me wonder whether I should reducce on body to concentrate more on form

Had to laugh. Just been on FB and someone is "literally beside myself with excitement" at the prospect of Iron Pro. Good grief.

"Literally beside myself" is a truly terrifying possibility ... are they replicating?

I did see one funny thing... is this implication that the YT workouts were more enjoyable and interesting the closest that Professor Matthew has ever come to criticising anything to do with Our Queen?

He'll be struck off surely!

😂😂
OMG! that is SOOO unlike Matthew A to say anything remotely negative about Caroline's programmes! Use of exclamation marks in honour of Mr A.

Let's hope that his message gets throught the wall of moderators back to Caroline and we get more of an Epic with some cardio days for the next programme

He's seen the error of his ways and written a nice fawning piece!

Wait. That's a full stop in the second paragraph. Absolute proof he's been taken by bodysnatchers.

Ok, I have now completed all of Caroline's programmes on YouTube, including lots of stand alone workouts.
Over the last few days I have been doing some Heather Robinson videos, which I do find very similar to Caroline in the way she trains.I have enjoyed the "change" and on looking she has bloody shit tonnes of free workouts.
I keep reading certain things about the App not being quite as varied as YouTube..
I am wondering if I should just repeat all the CG ones and add in HR too? I do however really like CG and already have FOMO where the App is concerned.
I take it there are quite long breaks between her programmes so in those lulls I could revisit past programmes or do the HR ones I haven't, of which there are soooo many.Just wondering really what made you all get and keep the app? and if you rate HR too?

I’ve not done Caroline’s app but, having got a bit bored with repeating her YT stuff, started to do workouts with Heather Robertson. I think she is excellent and her stuff suits my current fitness, so I’ll continue with her for a while. Though I also like Growingannanas. A little variety is good!!

@tesstickle0 phenomenal achievement! (I have never fully completed any CG programme mostly because I won't do delts workouts😃).

Heather's really brilliant IMO, plenty of cardio and inbuilt mobility. Her pilates and yoga fusion content is great, but her strength is also good, especially the lower body- she will mix in single leg deadlifts with the floating back leg rather than just staggered RDL (not every time but sometimes in the program) so there is balance work and variety, she will do modified elbow side plank with leg raise for the thighs, incorporate calves which CG no longer does etc, and I prefer her hamstring dumbbell curls to Caroline's stability ball rollouts (which is a tedious staple of her app workouts along with rear delt flyes and barbell hip thrusts; doing HR's move on a bench for greater range of motion is much harder). HR is great for building and refreshing your mental inventory of exercises and reminding you of the many other interesting ways you can move, providing alternatives sometimes when doing a CG workout. The lack of barbell stuff is a relief to me personally sometimes when generally fatigued (I only use it for RDL with Heather). Heather's Facebook community is pretty dopey sometimes (people posting pictures of their grandkids exercising with them, SMH) but it's not as histrionic and aggressively looks-obsessed as Caroline's.

I do love the cgx app workouts (not the app itself; it's got a poor interface and crap functionality) but am unsure about renewal. I just use YouTube too much. But likely if DH is visibly struggling for an effort-free Christmas present option, I'll offer cgx as a suggestion...😁

This morning I did a 30min Daniel PT kettlebell power workout when I got back from swimming through the soggy park with the dog. Tough and requiring some athleticism and mobility I clearly need to work on.

@Gobacktotheworld I don't like the endless stability ball rollouts either, I sub them for RDLs but often it isn't appropriate so the hamstring curls look like a much better alternative. What weight do you use to do yours?

Hi Sam, I do Heather-style hamstring curls with a 12.5kg dumbbell (used a 9kg previously when learning the movement) off an aerobics step- you don't need massively heavy weights here. I go slowly but also aim for high reps, so keep going through the rest periods if CG is doing consecutive sets of rollouts. It gives me hamstring DOMs like nothing else except staggered RDL with really heavy dumbbells.

I am so torn about renewing- one the one hand I am Aztec in that I like just being able to press play without tootling around for other trainers. Have been doing that with CG for years now.
one the other hand I am bored still with the same moves every single time and it is making me really not want to do anything. I mean what if this new series is the same exact exercises as all the other series but for 45 seconds a set and with slightly heavier weights? 🙁

I mean what if this new series is the same exact exercises as all the other series but for 45 seconds a set and with slightly heavier weights? 🙁

😂I'm pretty sure it will be, @BigButtons - I'm not excited in the least about it, just the fact it has Iron in the title it a turn off for me as I didn't love either of the 2 previous programmes

I’ve never completed a program, much like I never complete a tv series. I’m a perpetual starter. I did Iron day 7 this morning after a run - it was an upper body one. I’m aiming to roughly follow along the new iron pro but I’m trying to prioritise running so it’s whatever fits with that schedule. I enjoy doing some of the shorter sessions after a run if I have time. Definitely not the other way round!

I subscribe to the app so I can get the bleeps without the music. I usually listen to 6 music instead. It makes it go more quickly.

I’ve not done enough CG workouts to get bored yet. The last gym I went to basically recycled the same six movements over and over so I’m kind of used to that. I just zone off and think of what I’m eating next, usually!

@Gobacktotheworld thankyou for the tip of lifting the dumbell off a little platform, it's much easier than the floor. I'll definitely be doing those instead of the stability boring, sorry ball roll out in future.
There are only 2 programmes I haven't finished on YouTube and the App, Fuel and Max - both of which I barely started. Other than that I'm a bit manic about completing what I started, a bit like when I was doing ultras, I've never been a DNF not even when I fell over and broke my wrist 5km into a 26km trail race. But then TBF I didn't know I'd broken it until after finishing.
I also like the App because I find it quite easy to navigate around now and cast to the TV. I'm not a fan of CG's music and prefer to listen to Podcasts when working out.

For real @BigButtons. What's wrong with continuing with the former style (60 sec work, 30 sec rest, or supersets, or whatever) and maybe reminding people to hit the pause button whenever they require more rest, like sensible adults?

In her Iron pro guides he does go into "why she doesn't lift heavier", won't lift what she could for hip thrusts for 6-8 reps, won't use a barbell for RDL etc etc as she is apparently not interested in pure strength training as opposed to hypertrophic. That's fine and we knew that she is no powerlifter, but why the suddenly much longer rests? I could not see that she provided an answer. But then again she writes a lot, perhaps she did.

Anyway, you all sound lazy as shit and should emulate this Facebooker. In the 4.5 days till IronPro starts, this poster

• is finishing Intent
• wants to do the 2 x 75 minute workouts
• want to also squeeze in a 5 day series

Healthy approach to exercise?

I also see a danger in ( even gently) encourage people to lift heavier than they were. I know for a fact that my current shoulder injury will have been because I was careless with my weight and form. I can lift much heavier but that doesn’t mean I should.There is no one to watch or correct me and I done have a gym mirror.
i had a Quick Look at a HR one and although she lists her weights she doesn’t say what she is using for each exercise.

I had a Quick Look at a HR one and although she lists her weights she doesn’t say what she is using for each exercise

No, that annoyed me.
I would like to know but I go off what I usually use
(I'm a geek and have a list of the weights I use for certain exercises taped up in my garage \gym) 🏋️‍♂️ 💪

I’m pretty sure lifting too heavy has ruined my bum hole so I’m ultra cautious about going up too fast. Or trying to squeeze three programs into 4.5 days 😂

Just seen a preview of Iron Pro on Instagram and…..all the lifts were as predicted 😂. She has got a beautiful brown and gold incline bench too 😍