CALISTHENICS GLUTES & HAMSTRINGS WORKOUT – Bodyweight Only | Day Three

Calisthenics Glutes & Hamstrings Workout – Bodyweight Only | Day 3 is a body weight strength workout from Caroline Girvan. And she proves with this workout (and many of her others!) that you do not need dumbbells or any other equipment (other than a mat and a chair) to completely fry whatever muscle group she is targeting. This workout is intense! Not cardio-wise; in fact, it is not metabolic at all. The intensity comes from working the targeted muscle group for 3 minutes without a break. And it burns! In fact, my glutes and hamstrings are still burning! Another excellent glute and hamstring workout from Caroline. She excels at working your posterior chain.

This workout is made up of giant sets, which is 4 exercises done back to back without any rest. Each exercise is done for 45 seconds (3 minutes of work total w/ no breaks). Between each giant set you get 20 seconds of rest. There is a timer in the upper left hand side of the screen counting down your intervals and recovery. During the recovery Caroline previews the next giant set. There is also a little bar at the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage. This workout is done to music with plenty of visual cues as well as “dings” to keep you on track.

Calisthenics Glutes & Hamstrings Workout – Bodyweight Only | Day 3 is 47:26 minutes; 2:30 minute intro, no warm up and 4 minute stretch. Equipment: a chair or other support for hip thrusts and a fitness mat.

Giant Set 1:

1. X over (on forearms and knees, extend one leg straight behind you, lift straight leg and tap it to floor out to side, lift leg again and when you lower tap floor out side of other leg)
2. Pulse (same position as #1 but keep leg lifted and pulse upward)
3. Diagonal lift (on knees and elbows, extend one leg out straight behind you and on a diagonal, raise and lower straight leg)
4. Diagonal pulse (same position as #3, keep leg raised on a diagonal and pulse it upward)
5. 20 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5 on other side of body

Giant Set 2:

1. Donkey lift (on knees and elbows, raise one bent leg and push heel to ceiling)
2. Hold (same position as #1, keep leg raised at top of lift and hold isometrically entire interval)
3. Donkey X over (same position as #1, raise one bent leg and push heel to ceiling, when you lower, bring knee down on other side of other leg, push to ceiling again and lower normally)
4. Pulse (same position as #2 but pulse-push heel up to ceiling
5. 20 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5 on other side of body

Giant Set 3:

1. Hamstring lift (lay on back, one leg is extended on the mat, knee slightly bent, heel pressing into mat, other leg is raised, raise and lower hips)
2. Hamstring hold (same position as #1, but keep hips lifted isometrically entire interval)
3. Reverse plank lift (with hands on mat, one heel on mat and other leg lifted, raise and lower hips)
4. Reverse plank hold (same position as #3 but keep hips lifted isometrically entire interval)
5. 20 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5 on other side of body

Giant Set 4:

1. Single leg hip thrust (lean back on your bench or chair, one leg is bent with foot on floor, other leg is raised, raise and lower hips/glutes)
2. Pulse (same position as #1 but keep hips lifted and pulse them upward)
3. Hold (same position as #1 & 2 but keep hips lifted isometrically the entire interval)
4. Hamstring lift (same as #1 but foot on floor is further away from you and weight is in heel)
5. 20 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5 on other side of body

Giant Set 5:

1. Feet together glute squeeze (lay on stomach on mat, knees wide and insoles pressed together, use glutes to raise and lower legs)
2. Legs extend lift (still on stomach, extend legs straight and wide, use glutes to raise and lower straight legs)
3. Pulses (same position as #2, keep legs lifted and pulse them upward)
4. Open & close (same position as #2 but keep legs raised, open and close legs)
5. 20 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5

Giant Set 6:

1. Sumo squat 1.5 rep (lower to bottom of sumo squat, raise halfway, lower to bottom of sumo squat, raise all the way)
2. 1/2 rep sumo squat (lower to bottom of sumo squat but only raise halfway)
3. RDL to sumo (alternate one sumo squat with one deadlift–hinge torso forward tapping fingers to floor)
4. RDL to sumo with no standing in between (same as #3 but do not straighten between the two exercises)
5. 20 second rest
6. Repeat #1-5

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