CGX: Iron Program Day 33: Lots of Unilateral for Glutes

This is a workout from Caroline Girvan‘s CGX app. For more info on Caroline’s App, see the CGX App page. Another tough glute and hamstring workout from Caroline. I am trying to lift heavier on lunges. I don’t know why I struggle more with lunges than other lower body exercises but I do. I am slowly increasing my hip thrust weight, too. By the end even the bodyweight exercises were frying my glutes and hamstrings. And using that glute band is so fatiguing!

Most of the exercises in this workout are done interval style: 60 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest. When the interval times are different it will be noted in the breakdown below. So if note noted, it is a 60/30 interval. 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 workout time as a percentage.

Lots of Unilateral for Glutes is 37:59 minutes (this time does not include the optional 9 minute warm up or the 2:10 minute intro, also optional) with a 2:30 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells or a barbell, a chair or bench, a booty band, a high step or box, and a fitness mat. Optional is a towel to protect your hips from the dumbbell or a barbell pad. Caroline’s barbell is at 48kg/105.8 pound and she also uses 15kg/33 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

1. Banded hip thrust (booty band is still around thighs, lean back against your bench or step, place barbell on hips, knees bent and open so there is tension on band, and feet on floor, raise and lower hips slowly) (86# barbell)
2. Repeat #1 two more times
3. Forward tilt lunge (stationary/static lunge, torso is hinged forward over front leg) (30# DBs)
4. Repeat #3 on other leg
5. Repeat #3 & 4 (25# DBs)
6. Forward tilt Bulgarian lunge (stationary/static lunge with back leg elevated on step/chair behind you, torso is hinged forward over front leg) (one 30# DB)
7. Repeat #6 on other leg
8. Repeat # 6 & 7 (one 25# DB)
9. Step up with lunge movement for 75 seconds (no DBs, step up onto high step/box and when you step off, lower into lunge w/ front foot still on step/box)
10. 15 second rest
11. Repeat #9 on other leg
12. 15 second rest
13. Repeat #9-12
14. Bodyweight forward tilting Bulgarian lunges for 75 seconds
15. 15 second rest
16. Repeat #14 & 15 on other leg
17. Repeat 14-16
18. Single leg hip thrust for 45 seconds (bodyweight/back is leaned again chair/bench behind you, one foot is on floor with knee bent at 90 degrees and other leg is raised, raise and lower hips/glutes)
19. (no rest) Repeat #18 on other leg
20. (no rest) Same position as #18 but keep hips elevated at top of thrust and pulse upward
21. (no rest) Repeat #20 on other leg

50 second rest

Finisher: (90 seconds; no rest/recovery between exercises)

1. Weighted hip thrust for 45 seconds (booty band is still around thighs, lean back against your bench or step, place barbell on hips, knees bent and open so there is tension on band, and feet on floor, raise and lower hips) (86# barbell)
2. Bodyweight banded for 45 seconds (same as #1 but no barbell)