Lifting and getting stronger with Caroline Girvan: 2025

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New thread !

I agree the group doesn’t chime with CG’s values and that’s what attracted me to the workouts in the first place! I didn’t do yesterday honestly I couldn’t be arsed seeing as it was a day off work. I did it this morning and am considering not taking the Wednesday rest day but working through. But it’s more from a sense of doing the best for myself rather than because I have to, or feeling forced/bad/guilty for not doing it.

I always wonder how people would react to my half-hearted workouts I do sometimes when I can’t really be bothered but I started so I’ll finish - I read my kindle while doing stuff like body weight Bulgarians! And most of them are body weight because I hate doing them weighted. And guess what - my workout still counts as much as theirs 😂

I will die on the hill that bodyweight Bulgarians are the hardest, so you know, you're smashing it most spicily there actually Atomic. Sorry.

Yesterday’s workout out was 40 mins of just rear delts and body weight Bulgarians!
in the end I felt like that woman who is in the middle of having crap sex and is just going through the motions whilst wondering what she needs from the shops🫣😂( not that I would know you understand - I am just imaging what it may be like……..)

Thank you. (Also helpful to know you’ve also been asking this.)

@samthebordercollie Hope you’re having a good holiday. You look amazing!

Hi CG crew. I just got the app. It’s not the most logical for me to navigate though and I can’t seem to find any warm up or cool down sessions - does she have these? Also I have started the MAX. Day 2 today just refused to play for me. It does now but didn’t when I tried several times earlier so I had to skip to Day 3!

when you click on a workout it asks you if you want to warm up and then it takes you to a suggested warm up. Cool down is at the end of the workout. I do notice that sometimes I need to close the app and reopen it if a workout doesn’t want to play straightaway - that seems to be if the app has been open for a while so I always try to close it after a workout!

I did the max day with all the quad focused bulgarians two days ago and the front of my thighs still hurt despite doing the next day yesterday.

On the FB page: how narcissistic do you have to be to say things like ‘I’m going to be away for a few days so sorry if I don’t update’ - surely the only person who can say that is CG herself!

I think that fb page can be a bit damaging for some - I saw some woman posting distraught, full of self-hating descriptions about her body, because she didn't look like the ripped posers who spam the page with their endless pictures.

I agree.
Usually same posters day I'm,day out and hell I admire their dedication and bodies but I wonder just how disciplined they are...
I can't ever be like them because I love food and wine too much and I'm ok with that 😀

I can't ever be like them because I love food and wine too much and I'm ok with that 😀

Oh same, same. I can't imagine my life without treats and I don't want to 😂

Oh I saw that poster that Samthebordercollie mentioned. Posted loads of selfies of her back and some vainglorious wank praising her own "consistency, consistency, consistency." Well, the striation in her rear delts and traps and excessive vascularlity in her arms are consistent with PED use, but she oddly enough doesn't mention that. 🤔

And I saw that poor upset woman's post. Clearly the group is not a healthy place for her to be.

I hadn't done a Caroline workout since the weekend but unexpectedly found myself doing Max Day 24 for my workout today as it had staggered RDLs and push ups, both of which which I like. A really good workout, reordering the first combo so it was 3 x hip thrusts then 3 x shoulder press for convenience, though I did skip the hip thrust cluster sets finisher because bugger that, frankly.

I will probably do a Heather Robertson pilates video after work tomorrow and call it a week.

I do not recommend doing Iron day 6 (Quads) the running less than 24 hours after!
I have fallen behind with the long weekend, I was too busy eating and drinking and this is why I am not ripped 🤣 so decided back to back would be fine.... I am regretting my life choices

I did Max 24 today and thought it was a nice simple one, though noticed she’s gone up to 12.5kg on shoulder press which I’d like to do but I can’t lift them that high in the first place! 10 is more than enough for me.

Put on a blazer yesterday which I hadn’t worn for a year - it’s size 6 but an oversized one with no buttons so usually fits whatever size I am more or less. All was well except the upper arms where it was really tight! So I must have built up there at least a bit.

It’s not a healthy group full stop. It never used to be as bad as this.

Can I join please? I did iron last year and really enjoyed it, but have somehow not got back into it. I am determined to try again!

I don’t have the app- previously just used YouTube. Is the app worth it? How much is it?

The app is £79.99 a year (or you can pay monthly at £9.99 a month).

I really like the app. I like that the warmups and cool downs are built into the workouts (but you can skip them if you don't need them), and I like the form library. It also has Caroline's only 'true' beginner programme, which is what I started with, and learnt loads about proper lifting technique from. It's a couple of years old now, so there are a lot of programmes and series on there by now.

Agree that the FB group has some really unhealthy attitudes. Some posters are obsessed with things like counting macros and consuming ultra-processed protein, which is the total opposite of Caroline's approach of just eating a good general whole-foods and nourishing diet, and listening to your body. You can guarantee that when someone posts selfies that they'll get numerous comments asking about their macros.

Is that the one where one of the comments was simply ‘trust the process’. Yep she should definitely not look at that group (and come here instead)

I have literally just seen a post from some completely mental woman who says she has ‘cracked’ it- I would say she is cracked in the head more like. She says she goes to bed at 5pm everyday so that she can get up at 2am everyday I order to hydrate herself and get enough protein in and then do her work outs. Why the hell are the mods letting this shit go through?

I saw this! And one of the comments: 'I go to bed at 8pm, get up at midnight and workout for 3.5 hours, then nap during the day' ... WTF??

That's insane.

I liked this reply to someone asking what they did on their rest day. Especially that she edited in the bit about the funeral because the original comment wasn't quite attention-seeking enough.

I can’t stand it much longer. Next we will have silly boy and his silly wife gurning away. There used to be so many sensible, knowledgeable and genuine funny posters on that. I used to look for to seeing them post. Jennifer Batts and I regularly message each other when we have seen yet another toxic, ridiculous post.
i am on another fitness group- I never post- set up as a kind of off shoot from the main group. It has become absolutely bonkers. Pretty well all Americans. Men who think TRT and HRT is taking steroids. I really need to remove myself.

Well you know she had surgery so was taking it easy! 😂