30 Min Legs Cluster Sets Workout is Day 11 in Caroline Girvan‘s Fuel Series. Another tough lower body workout! This one is very metabolic, too. The intervals are shorter than what Caroline normally gives us but so are the rests. My heart rate was getting very elevated. My legs were burning, too, but the short intervals made it somewhat easier. Those calf raises tho–I swear it felt like it the interval timer slowed down for those! They always felt like more than 30 seconds!
This workout is made up of “cluster sets”; you will do 3 intervals of the same exercise, one interval of similar exercise that works the same muscle groups and a calf focused interval–so 5 intervals in each cluster set. Most of the exercises in this workout are done interval style: 30 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest. Between each 5 interval cluster set you get a 30 second rest. There is a timer in the upper right hand side of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recovery 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. Caroline spends a little longer in the intro encouraging you to make her workouts your own. By this she means modifying or doing an exercise differently rather than trying to do it exactly like she performs it.
30 Min Legs Cluster Sets Workout is 38:20 minutes; 3:30 minute intro, no warm up and 3 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells and fitness mat. Due to the short rest periods, Caroline also has a step out to set her DBs on during the rests. Caroline is using 15kg/33.1 pound and 30kg/66.1 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.
- Sumo deadlifts (with legs in sumo position (wide w/ toes turned out), hinge torso forward deadlift style as you squat) (one 60# DB)
- Repeat #1 two more times
- Sumo deadlift 1/2 reps (lower to bottom of sumo deadlift but only raise halfway) (one 60# DB)
- Constant calf raise squats (body weight, raise onto toes and do squats, never lowering heels)
- RDLs (Romanian deadlifts) (40# DBs)
- Repeat #5 two more times
- RDLs 1.5 reps (lower to bottom of deadlift but only raise halfway) (40# DBs)
- Repeat #4
- Rear step lunges (reverse lunges) (25# DBs)
- Repeat #9 two more times
- Static/stationary lunge (25# DBs)
- Single leg calf raise (balance on one leg (Caroline is holding wall w/ one hand for balance), holding one DB in same side hand as working leg, raise and lower heel) (one 25# DB)
- Repeat #9-12 on other side of body
- Lateral lunge (stationary side lunges, hold one DB in one hand and lower it toward foot when lunging) (one 30# DB)
- Repeat #14 two more times
- Lateral lunges w/ 10 second hold (lower into lunge and hold for 10 seconds, rise and repeat) (one 30# DB)
- Repeat #12 (one 30# DB)
- Repeat #14-17 on other side of body
30 second rest
Finisher: (3 minutes and 40 seconds; no rests/recoveries between exercises)
- Suitcase squat for 60 seconds (squat with legs close together and holding a DB in each hand) (25# DBs)
- Calf raise for 70 seconds (raise and lower both heels) (25# DBs)
- Body weight close squat for 60 seconds
- 1/2 rep body weight squats 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.
