LOADED Glute, Hamstring & Back Workout / Posterior Chain | EPIC II – Day 37

Loaded Glute, Hamstring & Back Workout is Day 37 of Caroline Girvan‘s EPIC 2 program. The title alone sounds like an awesome workout and I knew Caroline would destroy whatever muscle group she is working. Having now done the workout, that is no lie. She destroyed my lower body. Before doing the workout I was very optimistic about how heavy a dumbbell I could use for the hip thrusts. I started with one 40 pound dumbbell. I got through the first 4 sets but that was it for me. I was struggling by the 4th set. I dropped to a lighter dumbbell for the remainder of the hip thrust exercises. BTW–this workout was kicking Caroline’s a$$, too. She took multiple personal breaks in the middle of an interval. My legs were wobbly by the end of this workout. This is an incredible posterior chain workout. But my quads are also feeling fatigued. I am not sure which exercise to attribute that to but I think it was the hip thrusts with the booty band around my thighs. The booty band made me feel that exercise everywhere in my legs. I’m not sure exactly how to classify this workout. Though the back is clearly hit the hardest, all of the rows also work your biceps and pullovers work everything in your upper body, so this is technically a total body strength workout, even though the back and the lower body are getting the most focus. On my Workout Types page, I am sticking it in all 3 categories for my own future reference (Lower Body, Upper Body and Total Body).

The hips thrust exercises are all done for 50 seconds followed by 10 seconds of recovery. Starting with the deadlift exercises you get 20 seconds of recovery. The interval times also change starting with the deadlifts and I note the different interval times next to each exercise. During the recovery, Caroline previews the next exercise. There is a timer in the upper right hand corner of the the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recovery, the next exercise is previewed in a small video in the upper left hand corner of the screen. There is also a little bar at the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage. Caroline’s intro is very important. She doesn’t just describe the workout but she also discusses form and how to perform the exercises to get the most out of them.

***11/15/21 Update: I have returned to this workout for the first time since I did it in March and, after doing Caroline’s workouts for 6+ months, my strength has greatly increased. Since this workout is part of a 7 Week Rotation I created that I just started today, I am updating the weights I used in the breakdown below, but because I want to keep track of my strength gains, I am leaving the original weights I used (so you can see how much doing Caroline’s workouts have made me stronger). Also, upon returning to this workout, I noticed that the interval timers are actually messed up. Some of the 50/10 intervals are actually 40/20 intervals–Caroline just didn’t change the timer. I have updated the interval times below as well.***

Loaded Glute, Hamstring & Back Workout / Posterior Chain is 54:15 minutes; 2:30 minute intro, no warm up and 4 minute stretch. I used Heather Robertson‘s Leg Day Warm Up. I felt like I needed a more thorough stretch but it is a work day so I made due with the stretch Caroline gave us. Equipment: dumbbells, a mat, a booty band and bench or step (Caroline uses her couch). Caroline is using 33 and 55 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used. I used my full step at 14 inches with a thick mat draped over it to protect my back. I also had another thick kneeling mat (looks like a miniature yoga mat) on my hips to protect my hip bones from the dumbbell. ***Upon returning to this workout I used my weight bench for the hip thrusts–much more comfortable.***

Most of the intervals below are 50 seconds followed by 10 seconds of recovery (50/10) unless otherwise noted

1. Hip thrusts (place booty band around thighs, lean back against your bench or step, one heavy DB on hips, knees bent and open so there is tension on band, and feet on floor, raise and lower hips) (one 40# DB)
2. Repeat #1 three more times
3. Hip thrust hold (hold isometrically at top of thrust for 10 seconds) (40/20 intervals) (one 30# DB; 11/15/21: one 40# DB)
4. Repeat #3 three more times
5. Staggered hip thrusts (remove booty band, get in same position as #1 except only one foot is flat on the ground, the other foot is out further with toe raised and heel on floor so that most of the weight is on the flat foot) (one 30# DB; 11/15/21: one 40# DB)
6. Repeat #5 with foot placement swapped
7. Repeat #5 & 6
8. Bodyweight single leg hip thrust (set DB aside and get into same position as #1, one foot is on floor and other leg is elevated for hip thrusts)
9. Repeat #8 with legs swapped
10. Repeat #8 & 9

Intervals of 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of rest

1. Romanian deadlift (35# DBs)
2. Repeat #11 three more times
3. 1 1/2 Romanian Deadlift (deadlift with a pulse at bottom of deadlift) (30# DBs; 1/15/21: 35# DBs)
4. Repeat #3
5. Staggered RDL (single leg deadlift, holding one DB in same side hand as the leg you are working) (one 30# DB; 11/15/21: one 35# DB)
6. Repeat #5 on other leg
7. Repeat #5 but add a pulse at bottom of deadlift
8. Repeat #7 on other leg
9. Repeat #5 but continue pulsing at bottom of deadlift (do not raise out of hinge forward position–Caroline does does take short breaks to reset) (11/15/21–I dropped to one 30# DB for these)
10. Repeat #10 on other leg

Back exercises: interval times vary so they are indicated in breakdown below

1. Bent over single arm row (40/20) (one 30# DB; 11/15/21: one 37.5# DB)
2. Repeat #1 on other arm
3. Repeat # 1 & 2
4. Supine row (bent over single arm row with palm facing forward) (40/20) (one 25# DB; 11/15/21: one 35# DB)
5. Repeat #4 on other arm
6. Landmine row (hinge forward, holding one DB by bar with both hands, do rows in this position) (40/20) (one 35# DB; 11/15/21: one 50# DB)
7. Repeat #6
8. Pullovers (40/20) (one 25# DB; 11/15/21: one 35# DB)
9. Repeat #8 three more times
10. Reverse crab (in crab/reverse tabletop, raise one foot, raise and lower hips, when you raise hips, also raise bent knee, bringing it into chest) (50/10)
11. Repeat #10 with leg positions swapped
12. Single leg plank lift (in reverse plank with one leg elevated, raise and lower hips) (50/10)
13. Repeat #12 on other leg
14. Single leg hamstring lift (lay on back with heels on floor (knees are only slightly bent), raise hips off floor and also raise one leg, pulse hips up in this position) (50/10)
15. Repeat #14 on other leg

Finisher: Landmine 5x + deadlift pulses 5x for 40 seconds (deadlift pulses = remain hinged forward, same position as landmine but with arms straight, pulse deadlift fashion) (one 35# DB; 11/15/21: one 50# DB)

For more info on Caroline Girvan’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.