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

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Ugh- the barbell is set to come out three times this week. That is ridiculous. I am not gonna do the leg day today and do one from heat instead ( there is a pattern there) just bloody endless heel elevated squats.

For me it isn’t even just the training style- it is the really limited moves she has now. I mean no matter how you wanna dress them up with clusters, drop sets etc- they are still heel elevated squats, partials, thrusts, bridges and Bulgarian lunges. There was one heat leg day that had a fab move where you are on the floor with one leg out to the side and the other tucked under your bum and you have to lift yourself up to kneeling. That one works my glutes far harder than the bridge and thrusts. I never get any doms from barbell work/

I have also decided that I need to do more pilates. I'm trying to finish Iron on the app, and I couldn't face another workout full of hip thrusts so I subbed it for a pilates glutes-focused workout (a Move with Nicole YouTube one) and OMG it was brutal 😂 I had forgotten how hard pilates can be, but it is so good for really feeling your muscles work and great for the core too.

I remember that move. I was sad it didn't make an appearance again. I loved Epic Heat.

Oh I will look that up. I got the app for the year ( September) which is annoying as now I am stuck with it. I will not be renewing in September unless she shifts direction- which I doubt .
i am also slightly irked by her stance on menopause and wight gain- something which she has yet to experience. It happens and it is way harder to get the weight back off again. She refuses to countenance this.

I’m definitely going to go back to some YouTube workouts with your reminders of the variety there used to be. Windmills, kneel to squat, squat to press, they are all missing from the App. I refuse to get my barbell out more than once a week, at my age I’m not interested in a peachy bum. Re the menopause you definitely get a different shape, more fat in the abdominal area.

Oh that's annoying. I never read the articles. Probably just as well! I have definitely noticed changes in my body in my early forties, even though I am fitter and do more exercise than I did ten years ago.

If I only followed her programmes on the app (rather than incorporate in some other stuff as I do currently) I would definitely lose fitness. I know Caroline has said she walks for a couple of hours everyday (I'd imagine vigorous walks over hilly Northern Ireland terrain), but I don't have time to do that on weekdays. I manage a half hour at lunch at most.

Yes Move with Nicole is great for Pilates, and her workouts can be nicely challenging. She does some yoga too.

Yes she does far fewer compound exercises in the app. As well as being good for arm strength, windmills are great for the obliques, the core, for stability, mobility etc.

I do feel I should show things up a bit. Looking for recommendations for stuff that is on Caroline level of challenging- but just different

@ItsCoolForCats - I’m interested in the pilates glutes-focused workout (a Move with Nicole YouTube one) you mentioned…… Do you have a link? I might also try Heather Robertson again, though I’m not sure I’m ready to pay for her app. Which of her YouTube series have you found most useful?

Re. Caroline’s views on menopause weight gain - what evidence does she cite? Millions of women who have found themselves gaining weight, especially abdominal fat, can’t be wrong! I’m long past the menopause but I think I gained nearly 30 pounds 😱

I’m sure a fair amount was due to getting more sluggish and eating rubbish, but I definitely need fewer calories now than before the menopause. I have also found that my TDEE calculation is inaccurate. If I were to regularly eat the 1800+ calories it comes up with I would gain weight. I don’t count calories religiously but, in my early 70s, my happy equilibrium is around 1500.

@Enrichetta I liked Heather Robertson's 4.0 the best as it's filmed in real time. Whereas for her other 12 week programmes, she filmed a library of exercises and then spliced them together to make the workouts. Her shorter series, her standalone workouts and all the stuff on her app are filmed in real time.

This was the Move with Nicole workout I did. It does abs as well. The only equipment used is a yoga block:

Her channel is great and there is lots of variety on there. Her express pilates workouts are good if you only have 30 mins or less.

https://youtube.com/@movewithnicole?si=kACOehjykHUrGoAF

Thanks @ItsCoolForCats - these look good. I might alternate between the two.

@Enrichettaall studies I have seen show that its not the menopause that’s responsible for weight gain, it’s the lack of activity and possibly eating more that causes weight gain. My DH has got fatter. I didn’t put on weight during the menopause but was running a lot and doing marathons at that stage so of course that helped.

That move is used quite a lot in all the epics. It definitely works your bum! I have to put my leg out quite slowly though or I risk cramp (bit embarrassing at only 42!).

I definitely hope that’s true - if I carry on what I’m doing workout wise the extra weight will stay away! I’m already a bit overweight so can’t really be doing with any more…

I don’t think perimenopause has caused weight gain in me but it’s definitely changed my weight distribution. I’ve always been an hour glass with big hips, legs and boobs, but I have to work hard to keep the weight off my waist now when I never did before, and I think my bum and boobs no longer have the same heft. I used to wear dresses a lot, with belts and boots (easier to shop for when petite), but they don’t seem to fit right anymore.

I wonder if some perimenopause weight gain is down to what women have going on in their lives around that age - perhaps caring for children alongside elderly parents whilst working full-time etc. There isn't always as much time for self care as there is at other life stages.

CG might not notice as much weight gain during perimenopause because keeping fit is her full time job.

Congrats on your kettlebell acquisition, Melassa. Swings are such killer cardio.

Good to see the Move with Nicole love!

Caroline has a lot of competitors on YouTube. If she has any gumption, she will provide us with more variety on the app and not drive us back there! :D I like Michelle Briehler, Daniel PT Fitness, Pavel Krotov, Chris and Edi, Fitness Kaykay, Courtney Anderson, Penny Barnshaw, Heather Robertson, Fitness Marshall...

Day 11 of Play was seriously all my most hated exercises and as tomorrow sounds like it's another circuit ("Round we go") I'll probably be camping out on YouTube this week.
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I never gained weight in perimenopause, but I was probably a lot more active as less wfh. Now I’m towards the back end of menopause I have put on some weight, which is annoying for me as I’ve always been slim and able to eat anything. But some might be due to HRT, some from lower activity from going into the office less, and some the fact metabolism slows down as you age but my appetite is the same. Like @Minesril my weight distribution has also changed, my stuffing has slipped so it’s mainly around my middle, plus my boobs have also got bigger. I think some is inevitable, I always thought it would never happen to me but hey ho.

Thanks for the alternative trainer suggestions @Gobacktotheworld2, I will definitely look them up.

Does anyone have any sugggestions for a total beginner? My DD wants to start weights but she thinks CG is too hardcore, plus she hates the music! Is there anyone on YouTube who is good for the basics for form she can follow? I did suggest Heather R but maybe there’s someone better? Currently she only does yoga so not used to anything super intense.

Heather Robertson seems to be mentioned a lot on here. Where do you start if you want a YouTube programme similar to the Epics?

@Melassa - what about Fitness Blender? Very focused on technique and showing the moves….. and clear explanations instead of music.

They have a huge back catalogue.

I did a heat leg day but did it be as I feel really rubbish with this sinus infection. How she did it with 15kg is beyond me. Mind you she was about 34 when she filmed it and I am 58😂

I don’t know either with such short rest periods it’s incredible she uses 15kg. Which day was it? I only did Heat once 3 years ago when I’d just started lifting and think it’s about time I revisited it!

I'm managing to just about hold my weight steady in peri but that's partly due to a lot of exercise and discipline around food, but also helpfully my appetite is far smaller than it used to be. If I ate like I did at twently I'd be huge.

it was day 37. a wonderful huge variety of moves and combos too!