CGX: Unleash Day 18: Glutes

This is a workout from Caroline Girvan‘s CGX app. For more info on Caroline’s App, see the CGX App page. This was an excellent but brutal glute workout. I have been using an 88 pound barbell for hip thrusts for a while now and I knew it was time to increase the weight but the right workout hadn’t presented itself. Well, this was it. The first exercise is a hip thrust for 45 seconds followed by a 45 second rest and repeated 4 times. Perfect. But then later you do more hip thrusts for a longer interval and shorter recovery. I didn’t lighten my barbell and OMG. But I did it! What is funny is heavying up for me still isn’t as heavy as Caroline’s lighter barbell weight! But we’re all different and I am working my way up, slowly but surely. When I first started doing her workouts back in 2020 I was using a 40 pound dumbbell for hip thrusts and today I used a 95 pound barbell, so I am definitely making progress. Anyway, it is not just the hip thrusts that are killer. The whole workout will burn out your glutes. Though the stretch at the end is shorter than I would like, it was a good one. She has you do pigeon pose, which deeply stretched out my glutes. She also has you do a figure 4 version that, for me, did not hit my glutes as good as the way I normally do it but it did recruit other muscles into the stretch.

This workout is done interval style. The interval and recovery times vary so they are noted below in the breakdown. There is a timer in the upper right hand corner of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recoveries Caroline previews the next exercise. There is also a progress bar at the bottom of the screen, counting down the workout time as a percentage.

Glutes is 45:46 minutes (this time does not include the optional 6 minute warm up or the 2:22 minute intro, also optional) with a 3 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, a barbell with a barbell pad, a glute/booty band, a heel wedge, a bench and a fitness mat. Caroline is using a 78kg/172 pound and 48kg/105.8 pound barbell. She also uses 15kg/33 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

1. Hip thrust for 45 seconds (lean back against your bench or step, place barbell on hips, knees bent and feet on floor in line with knees, raise and lower hips slowly) (barbell @ 95#)
2. 45 second rest
3. Repeat #1 & 2 three more times (final recovery is 75 seconds)
4. Forward tilt Bulgarian lunge for 60 seconds (stationary/static lunge, back leg is elevated on bench behind you, front toe is elevated on heel wedge, torso is hinged forward over front leg, hold one DB in same side hand as back leg) (one 30# DB)
5. 30 second rest
6. Repeat #4 & 5 on other leg
7. Repeat #4-6 two more times (final recovery is 60 seconds)
8. 1.5 Banded hip thrust for 60 seconds (place booty band around thighs, lean back against your bench or step, place barbell on hips, knees bent and open so there is constant tension on band, and feet on floor, raise hips to top of hip thrust, lower partway, raise hips back to top of thrust then lower all the way) (barbell@ 95#)
9. (no rest) Band only for 60 seconds (remove barbell and do hip thrusts)
10. 30 second rest
11. Repeat #8-10 two more times
12. Paused forward tilt Bulgarian lunge for 60 seconds (body weight, stationary/static lunge, back leg is elevated on bench behind you, front toe is elevated on heel wedge, torso is hinged forward over front leg, pause briefly at bottom of lunge)
13. (no rest) Continue #12 at a faster pace for 30 seconds (no pause)
14. 30 second rest
15. Repeat #12-14 on other leg
16. Repeat #12-15 two more times
17. Banded bridge for 45 seconds (place glute band around thighs just above knees, lay on mat with knees bent and feet close to glutes, legs are open so there is constant tension on band. barbell or dumbbell rests on hips, lift and lower hips in bridge) (one 80# DB)
18. (no rest) Continue #17 at a faster pace for 15 seconds
19. 30 second rest
20. Repeat #17-19
21. Repeat #17-19 w/out the band

Finisher: (2 minutes; no rest/recovery between exercises)

1. Abduction for 15 seconds (place band around thighs just above knees, lay on back on mat, knees bent and feet on mat close to glutes, open legs wider against band)
2. Bridge for 15 seconds (same position as #1, raise and lower hips)
3. Repeat #1 & 2 three more times