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

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New thread!

What are Nordic hamstring curls. I like the ball now I have got to grips with it and like lying on my back!
but a change up is always good.
thanks @Gobacktotheworld i suppose another option is to use my weighted vest and 2x10kg weights?

Sorry that should have been just hamstring curls not Nordic hamstring curls, the Nordic version are extremely difficult to master!

That would also be great @BigButtons . I load up staggered ones a lot more than CG, and try to hover the other foot a small bit. Pushing the floor away, it almost feels like doing a one legged leg press at the gym. But I can't do loads of quad things like reverse nordics or sissies because of my knee.

oh- how much more do you load?

I've given up on stability ball rollouts for now as I feel them more in my calves and shins than in my hamstrings 🙁 I'm not sure why. So I do hamstring bridge raises as I find I isolate my hamstrings better with those.

For a staggered squat I use the max weight I have at home which is 23.5kg currently but only on the standing leg, nothing on the other shoulder. Unless it's a faster paced youtube one then I use the 17.5kg db. Ohhhg and now I'm sad that after next week my max weight will be a 9kg. I am going to turn into a fucking pilates princess, noooooo.

Hamstring curls with DB- all thanks for Heather Robertson for this move. You only need a light dumbbell

Day 23 PE for me tomorrow instead of iron pro day 8. A but more variety for a quad workout: Squats, quads wall sits, lunges and step ups.

Oh I've also done these before thanks to Heather Robertson and liked them (and definitely felt them in my hamstrings. I'll have to start doing them again

@ sam I have done that pe day 23 twice according to the notes It appress to be so brutal that I dropped the weights both times!

@ bb it certainly is brutal! Since I can’t run anymore I really enjoy beating myself up on a quad day

Iron pro day 7 for me today and managed to cook a rather tasty dhal in the rests. Winning!

those kearneys definitely have at least a life size cardboard cutout of Caroline to pay homage to on a daily basis. Surrounded by candles.

@Fibrous more like a Caroline blow up doll 🤮
I’ve got nasty trigger points in my thighs . Have enjoyed the pain of massaging them with a hard ball.

@Gobacktotheworld i might just start doing a few of her old full body workouts a couple of times a week…I think a full on programme would be a bit optimistic for me right now lol! The most of done over mat leave is a few buggy fit classes and running around my local park! Absolutely love Caroline but after having my girls I feel like a big wobbly jelly and even had to buy some little 2kg dumbbells lol! Will have to start off gentle I think! I remember last time I followed her workouts I got fantastic results, better than I ever managed at the gym and I even had mini abs!

I just started the epic beginner series. I’m 56 and it was tough! I couldn’t walk properly the day after the leg series ! But I know lifting is important so am determined to keep going.

Welcome, new folk! Yeah definitely listen to your body. I have often gone in too hard to begin with and it’s done me no favours, that’s where injuries lie. I’m having much better results these days by just being consistent and slow progression - that applies to my running too which I am terrible for upping too fast. I’m forcing myself to follow a modest plan for that too. As my physio said - I’m not 25 anymore!

I’m determined to finish a program for the first time so I’m going to stick out iron pro. It finishes mid November. I’ll need to find something to take me up to Christmas to keep the motivation up.

Candles and cardboard doesn't sound safe.
They would have a week of mourning if anything happened to their (cardboard)queen.

Yes! I do these instead of stability ball. I don’t have room for a giant ball!

I’m not training for absolute strength anymore so I’m much happier training in the hypertrophy/endurance camp these days! I think gym people can be a bit snobby with follow-along workouts but the results you get from CG speak for themselves. Saying that I tend to avoid her Fuel-style programming and stick to Iron and Max type of stuff on the app only (and I press pause for more rest)
plus all the new research says you can build muscle between 5-30 reps, so it’s what you enjoy most!

Can't remember if it's been discussed before on here but does anyone take creatine? My DP is vegan so even though I'm not, that makes up the basis of our diet. Every day is leg(ume) day! He was saying someone told him he should be taking creatine and I've had a quick look and it seems it might be good for me too, even though I do eat dairy and eggs, and have fish a couple of times a week. In addition if it helps my brain fog that would be a massive bonus.

I take creatine when I remember (probably 4 days a week). It helps me feel strong in my lifts and recover well IMO. It is such a researched, safe and helpful supplement that I surprised Caroline was so dismissive of it in her recent article. I'm a vegetarian so creatine like Iron, B12 etc is not somethingI would naturally get enough of.

A bag of this lasts us a couple of months, even though my husband (who also lifts and boxes and recreationally plays five a side) also takes big dollops of it in his coffee
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pure-Creatine-Monohydrate-Powder-Unflavoured/dp/B0DQQDZGCW/

I tried to take it, but it gave me stomach ache so I stopped.

I’ve tried to take it a couple of times but always stopped as I had the same—like trapped wind. I’m trying again but building up slowly (2-3G for now)and drinking lots of water to see if it’s different this time. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Ah interesting. I've had similar from taking progesterone after a very long break and only just coning out the other side of that. I'll go carefully. Although I find a bit of bedtime yoga good for the bloat.

I've been taking 5g of creatine monohydrate a day for the last few years. Never had any gastric problems, but I know some do. I never get DOMS or have recovery problems, but I'm not sure on the brain fog - I still have senior moments but then I'm pushing 60.