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

[BigButtons]

New thread!

This is the first year I have not been feeling christmas at all-family just left and it's been a whirlwind of meal prepping and washing up etc...not even opened any of my gifts yet!
Will have some mulled wine and cheese later and do it then.
But nope-do not enjoy christmas it's a faff and such an expense.
Back to a bit of normality tomorrow and will do the last few CGX left.

It's definitely normal to be a bit burnt out around now, Tess. Christmas has been quite stressful here too. I hadn't done a workout since Dec 17th.🙃 Oh well. Got some more hexes for Christmas so it was time to get back to it. Today I did cgx 4x exercises for the upper body (20mins) and IronPro Day 1 yet again (it has to be 6th or 7th time). I love the latter one- gets all the heavy lunges out of the way at the start and ends with my fave, staggered RDL.

Did anyone do Advent all the way through? Any stand out ones?

Morning! My routine went to shit when my mum arrived as she was sleeping in my living room, isn’t very mobile so was there the whole time, and had commandeered the tv to watch game shows at ear blistering volume (with subtitles 😂) so I gave up all hope of accessing my dumbbells. She has gone now but I’ve still not got them back out, although I just weighed myself and the Christmas lard has equated to a two kilo gain so I’m off for a run shortly and will do a cgxmas when I get back.

Im gonna pop off to the Asian supermarket later as well to restock as I’ll join DP in his veganism for January to try and reset after the endless cheese and sugar.

@Gobacktotheworld how are your hands? What a horrible experience to have.
bw what hexes did you get?
Hope you all managed a passable Christmas . There is sibling infighting here so not the most convivial of weeks.
i didn’t do all of CGX- have about three to do. Was going to do the final quad one today but felt like something more so foolishly did epic heat day three.
Jesus Christ but I had forgotten how brutal and amazing that prog is. Had to lower the weights big time- even body weight would have been punishing. Got hugely out of breath and thought I might be saying hello to my lunch. 🤮
My endurance and cardio is way down thanks to nothing being on the app and my not seeking it out for the sake of it.
play has cardio in it and a variety of training styles so I am hoping for something more like the epics 🙏🏻🙏🏻still nothing from Siily Boi and mrs silly boi . I reckon they have set up their own fb group and invited the arse lickers. Hooray I say🥳🎉

@Gobacktotheworld this sounds awful!

Bon réveillon to you all! Has anyone tried Jasper McDermott workouts on YouTube? The CG Reddit group are getting bored with the App and a lot have recommended him. His workouts look more varied than Caroline’s App workouts, I think I’ll give them a try for a change!

@samthebordercollie no I haven’t - will take a look.
i must say I was excited to get a dvd player for Xmas so that I could dust down the old Jillian Michaels dvds for some cardio work. I looked at one that used to kill me years ago and compared to Caroline it was absolutely tame. So disappointing.
i did another heat one today- upper body and my heart rate was silly high😬

Also I think the app needs shorter progs.1-6 weeks. If you don’t like the style of one that is 10 whole weeks wasted.

@BigButtonsher January programmes in previous years were both 6 weeks and I was surprised that Play is 10 weeks.

Has she said how much cardio will be in Play? Separate hiit days or just a bit of cardio sprinkled in throughout the workouts?

I'm on the cusp of cancelling the app due to lack of variety/cardio. I have found myself getting really bored and watching TV just to get through some workouts (usually the ones with endless varieties of hip thrusts). The other day, I did a Heather Robertson power hour that she uploaded to YouTube recently, and I didn't get bored or switch off, even though it was 60 minutes. And it got my heart rate up nicely.

@samthebordercollie
I have just read her play programme essay on the app- akin to war and peace. No there are no specific cardio days which is a HUGE disappointment. I am guessing the training styles will mean cardio will naturally happen- like it has for me with heat.
i loathe full body days and since there are 2 lower and 2 upper a week I might well swap one out for a seperate hiit/ cardio session . I do not want to be training glutes as much as she trains them.
i do like the bit in the article that talks about trying not to focus on ok heavy you are lifting but lifting properly and so being able to lift injury free. I think she is using 25kg for her lunges but my thighs build just looking at dumbbells so I might well just go lower because I do not want to have to buy loads of new clothes.
My app subscription renews in September. I was on the fence about renewing this year.
I am so ‘enjoying’ the switch up going back to the YouTube and have vicious doms even with much lower weights.

Goodness, her Play essay was interminable and very dull! I was half expecting to read “a woman came up to me the other day and asked me why I didn’t switch it up a bit and add more variety”. The lack of cardio seems to split people, some want it, others are happy there isn’t any. No doubt there will be endless hip thrusts and rear delt flyes whatever format the programme takes 🙄

@samthebordercollie I might do burpees instead of hip thrusts😂 but then that would make it like her duel prog which I hated. 🤔🤔

I couldn't get through the long Play screed on the app --haha. War and Peace indeed. I kept trying to make sense of this sentence:

"The fundamentals are present in every workout, but the physiological impact and adaptations remain similar, if not the same"

... and gave up. Caroline, this lady asks you, "Why don't you hire an editor?"

I might try the programme, unsure atm. I loved some of the other youtube trainers discussed on here this year- Tracy Steen, Courtney Anderson, Daniel PT, Yoga with Kassandra among others- and don't want to be a CG groupie to the exclusion of other types of movement.

Also- HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! 🍾 🥳 🎉

Going to usher it in quite soon here, so my eldest and I squeezed in one last workout for 2025- this Fitness KayKay one. I have done it before- death walk, woodchoppers, chainsaw to high row and good old squat jumps are fun moves!

Now off to get bladdered.😃

I love squat jumps, pop squats and just all the jumping moves. So much fun 😄 But after skim reading the mammoth outline to Play, I see there will be no jumping at all 🙁

I appreciate that some people don't like jumping, but in her YouTube series she often provided low impact alternatives. I wonder why she doesn't do this anymore?

And happy New year @Gobacktotheworld2 and everyone 🥳

Happy new year, everyone!

I presume she recycled a lot of that war and peace Play article - I skimmed it and it seemed very familiar. All I was looking for is the breakdown of how the days will be split and how long they’ll be. After a month of shorter exercises, I don’t think I can face 50 minute sessions.

I’m planning on doing it but just three sessions a week - one upper, one lower, one full body probably. I want to run four times a week in theory but if the weather puts me off I might switch that up.

My real focus for these next couple of months is diet. I said I’d join DP in his veganism for veganuary as I need to get back on the high fibre train. I’ve been taking fybogel every day through December to keep things moving but I only like to do that in emergencies rather than rely on it so back to the daily legumes I go and any mince pies in the house at midnight are going in the bin!

Happy New Year @Gobacktotheworld2and to everyone else! @FibrousI take a few teaspoons of psyllium husk powder in my skyr or Greek yoghurt to get an extra 7g of protein which takes me up to around 30g a day. 85% chocolate also gives a lot of fibre! (I started tracking my food and it’s been quite interesting) I lost a couple of kgs leading up to Christmas unintentionally because of all the work involve in getting my new kitchen finished so didn’t have time to eat much. Plus here in France there are no mince pies or other temptations and Christmas is just one day here, no Boxing Day.

Happy new year one and all.
After my dog ate a bit of mince pie and worry that caused they have all gone in the bin(teenager)
I hope there will be some cardio elements within the workout-thats how I like cardio,hate doing a actual dedicated cardio one but force myself(sometimes)
I didnt know that some of theworkouts would be 50mins! It will come as a shock,I've done all of this years CGX and am now doing what I fancy from CGX 24 so yep getting quite used to these shorter ones.
Can I just say I hate squats..hate them.
I feel it in my back sometimes so think it's maybe because im trying to lift too heavy? Though for me that's only 9kgx2(cant go any more)
So if the new play programe is mainly lunges and hip thrusts im happy 😊

@samthebordercollie hmm yeah you’re probably right, I should just take some everyday. My colorectal surgeon said it was okay to do so but he also said a pelvic physio isn’t on the recommended treatment plan for fissures and was very sceptical. I have never taken medical advice at face value - probably because loads of my friends are medics and I’m a biochemist so I question everything! I’m also just naturally suspicious.

Yeah it surprised me how little France shut down over Christmas when I lived there. I worked at an international facility, though, so that was pretty empty. We also got insane amounts of holidays working there, so most people spent it on the ski slopes. Certainly counteracted any chocolate eating!

@TessTickle0 Ive been in the same boat trying to remind my mum not to leave Christmas cake where the dogs can get it. I want to avoid the expense of an emergency vet trip at Christmas, I’ve had too many in the past as it is!

Ooh, my adored SIL is a biochemist. I have no idea what she does except that creepy crawlies are involved. I imagine all kinds of Frankensteinery!

Tess, squats can give you a sore back if too heavy, but could it also be your pelvis tucking under and taking your back out of neutral alignment? Is your core braced to protect your back? Maybe worth filming yourself to check your posture and compare it with trainer demos online? My squat had to be corrected so many times by an instructor before it clicked and now they don't feel so awkward. I definitely still prefer the hip hinge movements like RDL and bridges to the knee ones like squats and lunges, though.

New Year's Day 2026 - did Rev Day 1, an upper body day, only adjusting the first circuit so it was 10 push ups, 10 upright rows. Used the 18kg kettlebell for back rows and it was so awkward in a good way. Liked it. Contemplating doing the first day of Charlie Follows's new January 30 Day yoga challenge tonight, though there is some wine that needs finishing...🤔

Happy new year everyone!
I sat at home dosing and drinking far too much so am not sure if I will be in a fit state to do anything.
Hope you all saw the new year in the way you wanted to.
@samthebordercollie yes I have friends living in France and they say the same thing. I wish it were the same in the uk.
i see the Valentine’s Day cards are in the supermarkets- the Easter eggs won’t be far behind.

Happy New Year everyone!!!

I used to be a regular on previous threads, probably under a different name. I injured my wrist back in April and haven’t really worked out properly since because the injury progressed to tennis elbow and biceps tendinitis. Unfortunately the latter still lingers - despite physio I can’t seem to shift it, so I have to be careful to ensure it doesn’t flare up again.

I've been doing some stretches with Livinleggings, but I absolutely need to get back into a resistance based exercise routine. I’ve gained 11 pounds and feel like a couch potato. Being 71 doesn’t help… I’m planning to start again with Lucy’s Glutes & Thighs workout, some abs work with Rebecca Louise and Caroline, maybe planks, plus some gentle arm and shoulder workouts with a much lighter dumbbell for the affected arm.

Any suggestions or similar experiences gratefully received! 😎