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

[BigButtons]

New thread!

@Gobacktotheworld tempo week is great and yes- very clever at getting the most out of those weights
I felt I really need to get out of breath today so desire still feeling a bit sub par I did an epic heat dumbbell hiit. Tried to be sensible with pacing as it has a been absolutely yonks since I threw myself around like that and my left hamstring was not happy .
i am really going to make the effort to do one cardio/hiit session a week. Live the feeling afterwards and deffo need some cardio work.
@Fibrous and @SpaceRaccoon well done on sticking with pro💥

I arrived in the UK at midnight and did the hour long kettlebell workout on the App which is always my go to when staying at my Dad’s. it’s a good cardio workout, especially after just 5 hours sleep! He tried to lift my 16kg kettlebell and couldn’t, but then he is 91. I wish he had lifted weights, he’d probably be in slightly better shape although he still manages to walk his dogs twice a day so he’s a lot better off than some his age.
my RHR has amazingly stayed around 46 despite not being able to run now. I try and do spin classes 3 days a week and cycle as fast as possible for an hour on other days or a HIT workout and that seems to do the trick.

My RHR was in the hundreds when I had an overactive thyorid and it's been in the thirties for the last decade or so because it's underactive, so I place no truck with its readings, it just seems to be under external control rather than any fitness level. My fitness has varied a lot in that time, up and down depending on how busy I am with work, and it's not made an ounce of difference. Interesting that you guys can relate yours to cardio levels.

My GP has zero interest in my low heart rate. They were concerned about the fast heart rate alright.

I've bought way too many sweets and chocolates for the amount of trick or treaters I've had so far this evening. Need to step away from the sweet bowl!

Sam you are a machine for a midnight workout. I had a colleague who did a 4am workout every day regardless of what timezone we were travelling in. He was a military guy and insane.

@Fibrousi didn’t do a midnight workout, I’m incapable of that (definitely a morning dog) but i usually get at least 7 hours sleep, 5 isn’t enough before a workout (so my Garmin tells me!)

ha ok that makes more sense!!

There also seems to be a real ‘how big can my muscles get’ competition going on. It’s exhausting. Fine if that is the look you are after. It’s not for me though. Sure I could lean out a bit and have more visible muscle but then what tits I do have would disappear completely - I am not ga

If anyone is familiar with the trainer Ben Bruno he did a brilliant post on Instagram recently about how he doesn’t mind the term ‘toned’ unlike many trainers. He said a lot of women don’t want to get really jacked and bulky and a lot of the women he trains in their 40s and 50s prefer the lean look, as does he for his own physique. He said once you’ve been training 3 years there’s absolutely no shame in training for maintenance and any women lifting 35lb dumbells for lower body and a little less for upper were really strong no need to keep going heavier, not everyone needs or wants to constantly progressively overload. I think im with him on this, Iron pro is just too heavy for me and I know I’d injure myself so I’m happy with my 12 rep range using 15kg and getting full range of motion or 10kg for shoulder pressing. I prefer being lean with visible muscles rather than eating in a calorie surplus and getting bulky.

I’d just like legs that weren’t like turkey drumsticks. But I think after twenty odd years of running, I’d have had lean legs by now if I was ever going to get them. I have good hair, though. I’ll focus on that! Even if it is sprouting up everywhere these days.

I'm very pair shaped. I will never have lean, shapely legs but I've been at peace with that for a long time.

i think lifting heavier with pro has poked my tennis elbow back into complain mode.
@Gobacktotheworld agree about the youtube sessions being less rammed with rear delt stuff- same with hip thrusts. I don't want a bubble butt.
I never feel they work my glutes nearly as well as lunges and squats anyway. I have proportionally long femurs and that probably has something to do with it. I just did that tempo week one- felt it worked the back and biceps really well.
@Fibrous my legs are ok but the tops of my thighs have always built really quickly and can easily look bulky.
@samthebordercollie have not heard of that trainer but he sounds very sensible and it is a relief to have that discussed rather than the extreme people on the facebook group. I

I did the one hour kettlebell from the app today. Thanks for suggesting it @samthebordercollie

I love using my kettlebells, and this was a good, solid full body workout. And it got my heart rate up. So many swings 🥵 I nearly cried when there were 60 seconds of swings in the finisher, but then I realised she was using her lighter kettlebell for them. No way could I have down 60 seconds with my 16kg by that point 😄

Il.have to try some of her other kB workouts.

@ItsCoolForCatsglad you enjoyed the one hour workout, it’d s great cardio workout. I think Americans call it ‘conditioning’ now. But kettlebells make a nice change although I wouldn’t use them all the time.
@BigButtonsyes, Ben Bruno talks a lot of sense! He isn’t super jacked like a lot of trainers who are clearly on PEDs he is lean and very strong. I’m re at my t et motes to try some of his programmes as they can all be done at home.
@GobacktotheworldI’d like to be jacked like Caroline but no bigger. She’s very lean too, body fat can’t be more than 16%

Matthew A politely commentating today on Iron Pro “Actually Iron Pro hasn’t been my favourite….I prefer workouts with lighter weights, shorter rests and some cardio/HIT included! (Obligatory exclamation mark).
Hope Caroline listens to her number 2 disciple for her next programme.

@samthebordercollie epic three in particular is getting a lot of love on the group.
now I can’t unsee the pictures of those 2 mad fuckers doing a session dressed in batman outfits .

I quite like heavy lifting and longer rests, but I must admit I'm finding the three or four sets a bit much when it's two sides - some of the leg days really don't fill me with joy.

I'm actually missing Max in that regard - no relentless leg days and it felt quite varied. I never had the dread before a workout.

I've actually been running more as a workout avoidance thing.

Do you think Caroline will ever go back to her YouTube style workouts again?

I wouldn't say I'm enjoying iron pro either but it's the first program I've done so nothing to compare it to. I've just done individual ones from other programs. Not sure what to do after this one. I don't really want a cardio heavy one as I run for that (and much prefer to sweat outside).

I'm one of those rare people who actually has loads of time around the christmas period. No kids, family abroad, and work is really quiet. In fact, I'll be off from early december this year as I have loads of holiday to use up from being unable to holiday this year due to being tied to my own toilet by my fissure issues. So I don't mind the longer sessions.

When I do those type of workouts, I get quite bored, even though I know repetition is beneficial for building muscle.

So because I'm bored I end up watching TV whilst doing them or listening to a podcast. I never really get in the zone. I never had that with her YouTube series. I never got bored when she was throwing in sprawls or squat jumps or whatever. There was so much more variety and the time flew by.

I also loved Epic 3.
I wonder if some of her die hard fans stick around out of loyalty because they've been following her for years and because they've built up their own little fan base in the comments section, rather than out of enjoyment of her new output.