BEASTMODE HAMSTRINGS AND GLUTES – Intense Lower Body Workout | Day 3

Hamstrings & Glutes – Intense Lower Body Workout is Day 3 in Caroline Girvan‘s Beastmode Series. I am loving these Beastmode workouts. This is only the second workout I’ve done in the series but it appears the theme is lots of sets–so repetition. In Beastmode Back & Biceps you do 4 sets of every exercise and in this workout you also do 4 sets of everything. This ensures that whatever muscle group you are targeting is thoroughly worked. I came to this workout with lots of DOMS. My glutes are still sore from Tuesday’s 1000 Rep Lower Body Challenge, my biceps are sore from yesterday’s Beastmode Back & Biceps and even my abs are a little sore from yesterday’s Tabata Cardio Abs & Booty workout. I considered swapping out this morning’s workout due to all of the soreness but since I plan everything out in advance, I decided I didn’t want to mess up my workout schedule at the last minute so I just went with it. This was a tough and excellent workout that fried my glutes and hamstrings. This workout has a staple exercise: a 90 second weighted hamstring thrust combo. It is the first exercise you do then you return to it 3 more times in the course of the workout. Since it was the very first exercise it felt pretty easy the first time through. But I know from doing a lot of Caroline’s glute focused workouts that was only an illusion. What followed was 8 minutes of glute frying hip thrusts with little rest. Then you return to the staple 90 second hamstring thrust combo for the second time. It felt completely different the second time through. When you get to the 30 second hold (holding isometrically at the top of the hamstring thrust), my glutes and hamstrings were trembling. Thankfully, you move on to exercises like deadlifts and sumo squats after that. All challenging exercises but, to be honest, they felt like recovery moves after 11 minutes of glute/hamstring thrust torture.

This was yet another excellent and super effective workout from Caroline. Now I want to do all of the Beastmode workouts! And I will eventually. The exercises in this workout are done interval style but the intervals vary so they will be noted in the break down below. There is a timer in the upper left hand corner of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recoveries Caroline previews the next exercise.

***The Beastmode workouts are an important part of the 7 Week Rotation I created. There are 2 Beastmode weeks in the rotation. So below, I am documenting the increase in weights I was able to lift the second and final time you revisit the workouts in the rotation. The first weight listed is frequently already heavier than what I lifted the first time I did the workout in September 2021. When I returned to it at the beginning of the 7 Week Rotation, I updated my weights in this review. So the first weight listed is what I used at week 3 of the rotation and the second weight (with the date 12/23/21) is what I used the 6th week of the rotation. If there is no date then I used the same weight both weeks.***

Hamstrings & Glutes – Intense Lower Body Workout is 45:12 minutes; 1:45 minute intro, no warm up and 4:20 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, a booty band/resistance loop, a chair or bench and a fitness mat. Optional is a towel to protect your hips during hip thrusts. Caroline is using 17.5kg/38.6 pound dumbbells and one 25kg/55 pound dumbbell. The weights listed below are what I used. I used my weight bench for the hip thrusts.

1. Hamstring thrust 30 seconds>hold 30 seconds>thrust 30 seconds (booty band is around thighs, lean back against your bench or chair, one heavy DB on hips, knees bent and open so there is tension on band, and feet on floor but further away from chair than if you were doing a regular hip thrust, knees are slightly bent, raise and lower hips for 30 seconds>hold hips at top of thrust isometrically for 30 seconds>return to full range hamstring thrusts for 30 seconds) (one 40# DB; 12/23/21 one 45# DB)
2. 30 second rest
3. Hip thrusts for 50 seconds (booty band is still around thighs, lean back against your bench or chair, one heavy DB on hips, knees bent and open so there is tension on band, and feet on floor (closer to chair than in #1), raise and lower hips) (one 40# DB; 12/23/21 one 45# DB)
4. 10 second rest
5. Repeat #3 & 4 three more times
6. Hip thrusts w/ no band for 50 seconds (same as #3 but remove booty band) (one 40# DB; 12/23/21 one 45# DB)
7. 10 second rest
8. Repeat #6 & 7 three more times
9. Repeat #1 & 2
10. Romanian deadlifts for 40 seconds (35# DBs; 12/23/21 40# DBs)
11. 20 second rest
12. Repeat #10 & 11 three more times
13. Sumo squats 1.5 reps for 40 seconds (lower all the way into squat, raise halfway, lower all the way back into squat then raise all the way) (one 50# DB; 12/23/21 one 55# DB)
14. 20 second rest
15. Repeat #13 & 14 three more times
16. Repeat #1 & 2
17. 1.5 rep staggered RDL for 50 seconds (single leg deadlift, lower to bottom of deadlift, raise halfway, lower to bottom of deadlift, raise all the way) (one 30# DB; 12/23/21 one 35# DB)
18. 10 second rest
19. Repeat #17 & 18 on other leg
20. Repeat #17-19
21. Good mornings for 40 seconds (deadlift except you are holding one DB at chest or behind neck) (one 25# DB)
22. 20 second rest
23. Repeat #21 & 22 three more times
24. Repeat #1 & 2
25. 2 sump squats + 2 deadlifts for 45 seconds (one 50# DB; 12/23/21 one 55# DB)
26. 15 second rest
27. Repeat #25 & 26 three more times (12/23/21 one 55# DB the first two sets and one 50# DB the last 2 sets)

35 second rest

Finisher: (90 seconds, no rests)

1. One sumo squat + one deadlift for 30 seconds (one 50# DB)
2. Repeat #1 but body weight/no DB for 30 seconds
3. 1/2 rep sumo squat burn out (no DB) for 30 seconds (lower to bottom of squat but only raise halfway)

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