BEASTMODE LEG DAY – Intense Leg Workout with Dumbbells | Day 1

Leg Day – Intense Leg Workout with Dumbbells is Day 1 in Caroline Girvan‘s Beastmode series. I am loving the Beastmode series! This was another tough lower body strength workout. Not as brutal as some of the her other lower body workouts (or some of the other Beastmode workouts I’ve done so far) but still excellent and challenging. You do 90 seconds of wall sits in this workout–3 times! Now that was brutal! I was definitely struggling near the end of the 90 seconds and on the last one, I had to stand briefly at the 60 second point. But it was burning Caroline out, too.

All of the exercises in this workout workout are done interval style. Most of the exercises are done for 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of rest, except for the staple exercise (wall sits); it is done for 90 seconds and has different recovery lengths framing it. There is a timer in the upper left hand side of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. There were some problems with the timers in this workout. Other than the recoveries framing the wall sits, you always get 20 seconds of recovery, but sometimes the timer said you were getting 30 seconds. You don’t actually get 30 seconds though–Caroline starts the exercise when there was still 10 seconds left on the timer. The timers also have a bar that circles the timer, closing the circle at the end of the recovery or interval. That always worked properly. So even if it said there was 10 seconds left on the recovery timer, the circle closed and the interval timer replaced it. During the recoveries Caroline previews the next exercise. There is also a little bar at the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage.

***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 October 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 12/25/21) is what I used the 6th week of the rotation. If there is no date then I used the same weight both weeks.***

***10/11/22 I used this workout in yet another rotation so there are more dated weight updates below. The ones dated 10/11/22 are for Caroline Girvan Strength & Muscle Building Rotation. I only added a date and weight when I lifted heavier than the last time I did the workout.***

Beastmode Leg Day – Intense Leg Workout with Dumbbells | Day 1 is 39:43 minutes; 1:20 minute intro, no warm up and 1:45 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, a chair, and a yoga block. Caroline is using 12.5kg/27.5 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used. I used a set of 8 pound dumbbells to elevate my heels. I used my square high step at 18 inches for the Bulgarian lunges and the step topper for the elevated rear step lunges.

1. 1.5 rep heel elevated squats (heels are elevated using the yoga block, lower to bottom of squat, raise halfway, lower to bottom of squat then raise all the way) (25# DBs) (10/11/22 27.5# DBs)
2. Repeat #1 three more times
3. Static lunge (stationary lunges) (20# DBs; 12/25/21 25# DBs)
4. Repeat #3 on other side of body
5. Repeat #3 & 4
6. 15 second rest
7. Wall sit/squat for 90 seconds
8. 30 second rest
9. Bulgarian lunge (back leg is elevated on chair, hold one DB at same side shoulder as front leg) (one 20# DB; 12/25/21 one 25# DB) (10/11/22 one 27.5# DB)
10. Repeat #9 on other side of body
11. Repeat #9 & 10
12. 1/2 rep staggered squat (single leg squat, back leg is in kickstand, lower to bottom of squat but only raise halfway, holding one DB at same side shoulder as front leg) (one 25# DB; 12/25/21 one 30# DB) (10/11/22 one 35# DB)
13. Repeat #12 on other side of body
14. Repeat #12 & 13
15. Repeat #6-8
16. Lateral lunge (hold one DB in one hand, when you step out into side lunge reach DB toward foot of bent leg) (one 25# DB; 12/25/21 one 30# DB)
17. Repeat #16 on other side of body
18. Repeat #16 & 17
19. Slow 1/2 rep heel elevated squats (heels are elevated on yoga block, hold one DB in both hands at chest level, lower to bottom of squat but only raise halfway) (one 25# DB; 12/25/21 one 35# DB)
20. Repeat #19 three more times
21. Repeat #6-8
22. Elevated rear step lunge (reverse lunges, front foot is elevated on yoga block)
23. Repeat #22 on other leg
24. Repeat #22 & 23 at a faster pace

Finisher: (90 seconds)

1. Wall sit march for 30 seconds(while holding wall squat, alternate kicking legs in front of you)
2. 1/2 rep elevated squat for 30 seconds (body weight/heels are elevated on yoga block, lower to bottom of squat but only raise halfway)
3. Wall sit hold for 30 seconds

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