Lifting with Caroline Girvan- keeping it real and having a laugh along the way!

[BigButtons]

New thread!

@Gobacktotheworld thank you so much for your detailed response - the barbell is 9.5kg, so will hopefully be okay!

Thank you for the help in decoding Heather's prices. I will stick with YouTube though may try her app later when she has more on there.

This morning I did Epic II FUN Full Body Day 15 with my 2 x 10kg. Stunning workout, was seriously sweating like a piggy by about 15% in. It was about the fourth or fifth time I did this, but not for ages, so it held some surprises (rainbow kicks, plank ladders, supermans, burpees). It helped that every circuit had an isometric hold, which I liked, and a tiny cardio burst every six exercises. Squat to press remains evil, though!

@Gobacktotheworld the Epic II full body workouts are some of her best work. Loads of variety. I was going to do the Iron Pro quad workout from yesterday but then compared it to a quad workout from PE which had far more variety so did that instead. I can see the point of longer rest periods with heavier weights in Iron Pro but she's using the same 15kg dumbells for squats as she has done in all other programmes so I don't know why longer rest is needed.

@samthebordercollie she seems to do the heavy lifting at the start of the session. I am a bit disappointed that it is not heavy throughout.
I think I will give it a go just because I am curious as to whether I can do the Bulgarians with 20kg. I loath heel elevated squats and goblet squats as they hurt my back- I will wear my weighted vest instead and hold a lighter weight . Which one day was it?

@Gobacktotheworld a pic 2 is the only prog I haven’t done. Was put off by the length but if the full bodies are fun I might check it out. She has a fun heat quad day iso plyo one- lots of great moves in it like lateral hops.

Agreed about Epic II full body days. @samthebordercollie . They're exhilarating.

I should do a quads one tomorrow! Did two from Heat recently @BigButtons and they were good fun. Might have a look at PE or Fuel for one that would suit my current limited weights selection.

Also, the men in the official group usually piss me off, but I feel a bit for this commenter, Daniel. He must feel like the child in the Emperor's New Clothes story, since all the other comments are YOUGOGURL, wow etc and no one else is mentioning how highly edited these images so obviously are. You can tell from the side/back view that she doesn't have the super low and likely unhealthy body fat she would need for the fake super-cut six-pack pic. As for Caroline herself, I can't remember her doing one of those body-checking pictures ever (looking at her own abdomen). Yet this is the rubbish that is approved on her group.🙄

I did the pro quads day just now. managed fine with 20kg bulgarians . The rest was tedious. I wore my weighted vest for the squats. I never seem to feel quad days in my quads fro some reason- but oddly I feel it more if I do body weight with half/2/4 reps more.

20kg Bulgarians though. 👏 Your quads may not feel it but your bum will tomorrow I should think!

@Gobacktotheworld ugh- that place is completely pointless now. just a lot of cliquey arse lickers and wannabes.
You all have me curious about epic 2 now.
It'll ve the cgxmas soon enough. I like those.

Wow at the 20kg Bulgarians. Now I feel guilty for sacking off the 100x bodyweight Bulgarians last night as I was in a rush to get to my glass of wine

What are the full body days like in Iron on the app (the first Iron)? I will be on day 4 tomorrow, so my first full body day. I'm guessing they don't have any of the fun moves from the Epics 🙁

What is the cgxmas?

I am struggling to understand Iron Pro. Like others have said, in a lot of exercises she is using the same weights she ever did then there's a tedious minute break. I end up faffing on my phone and missing the start of the next set.

😂 my kind of woman to be fair it was one dumbbell- but 4 sets a side.
@Gobacktotheworld my arse is already starting to hurt- which just goes to show that I don't feel it on quad day in the quads.
@ItsCoolForCats it's a series she brings out on dec 1st- has done since youtube days. 24 days - one per day. You have no idea before hand what it will be how long, but it is never more than 20 mins, sometimes only 10. Designed to fit in to the hectic pre christmas run up. They are as tough as f8ck but good fun . I will often choose one when I want an effective get in and out session

That certainly does scream ai to me. I might try to create one of my own tomorrow, so I can put it on my Christmas card.

Agreed, some of the workouts felt awkward and I didn't feel I would always get a good workout with the overall design especially when her weights were no bigger than her usual but the rests 2-3x longer. I can't remember abandoning a CG workout part way through through boredom before IronPro (though I have stopped a few times for time constraints or difficulty exceeding my ability!)- usually there is no time to think about it! It would be an improvement in app user experience if there were a button to skip to the start of the next set. Those who didn't need the long rest on that particular exercise at that point in the workout could click ahead and not be wasting time or getting bored.

Lmao hope I'm on your Christmas card list @Melassa. The young lady doubled down and insisted it was not editing, just the magic you can work with good lighting, but the fella was like, "Um, I'm a photographer, and no." Quite funny.

I did something a bit different for me this morning- a 30min Julia Reppel mobility & strength for runners one (I am not really a runner anymore but have been jogging along the waterfront a bit since getting here). It was like a PT session- in a good way.

@Gobacktotheworld thanks for the Julia Reppel link. I do a bit of running so will take a look at it. Today I did a Legs one from Iron Pro and that did make more sense as she increased her weights with each round and went heavier than I have seen her go. There was one odd part of the workout though - 3 sets of bodyweight step ups. They felt like a bit of a time waster!

I think Iron Pro would be a good programme for beginners or people coming back from illness with the 45 mins of effort and 60 secs of rest, obvs with "normal" weights and not trying to go really heavy.

Caroline is looking really different - like way more muscular - I had thought about aspect ratio on my tv etc but it’s not that. For me personally that is too much. Not that I will ever look like her of course. My my arse is deffo getting larger - my trouser tell me so 🫣

Ha oh no step ups are like catnip to me @Anjelika - perhaps I will rejoin IronPro this weekend and do that one. But I always hold at least one dumbbell, generally two, or as you say it's a bit of a timewasting nothing exercise. She used to do weighted step ups on YouTube. And you're right- IronPro would be great if returning to exercise or just generally feeling a bit crappier.

@BigButtons hope she's healthy. Probably the awful lighting and worse music choices play into how we perceive her, too- she seemed perkier in MAX I thought, but it was a well-lit and upbeat programme! Tough for women to be lean all the time, also a bit dangerous, which is why my DD and I inhaled a plate of chocolate cupcakes for tea. Can't be too careful you know.

@Gobacktotheworld oh she is very lean - just so much bigger

I thought today that those longer socks she's wearing in this series are not the most flattering. I know she is petite but they are making her legs look shorter. The decor is all a bit too dark for my liking too.

I can barely see what's going on it's so dark!

Did the app 60min Posterior Chain yet again first thing, mostly because I hadn't done Bulgarians for a few weeks. Tried them with 1 x 20kg today, inspired by BB. At home I used to do 17.5kg and felt the increase, only doing six slow reps each side. Hoping it helps offset the lack of barbell and kettlebell training! I much prefer the 60 sec work, 45 sec rest in this workout to the reverse that was in IronPro, and the fact it's 3 sets of everything rather than 4.

Do you all differentiate between the weights you use for real delt flyes and rear delt rows? She used to use heavier ones for rows.

@Gobacktotheworld well done on the weight 💪🏻💪🏻
tbh I use what she uses- the other day she did use 5s for rear delt rows.
there is so much rear delt work recently. I like rear delt work but feel that she is neglecting the biceps in this prog- whereas PE had loads of bicep work. I subbed the rear delts for various bicep curls yesterday .
i like the long rests cos i can tidy away the dumbbells and then sit and stare blankly into space 😂

Yes, I prefer the lighter colour schemes. I remember the seventies first time round and too much brown brings it all back!