CGX: Unleash Series Day 24: Full Body

This is a workout from Caroline Girvan‘s CGX app. For more info on Caroline’s App, see the CGX App page. This was another killer workout in the Unleash Series. This week in particular Caroline has kicked my butt. The theme of this workout is makers–lots of them. A maker is a total body exercise, so that exercise alone is giving you a full body workout, but since there are lots of other exercises in this workout, all hitting different muscle groups, your entire body is very well worked by the end. And you are getting cardio, too! This workout is very metabolic. According to my Apple watch, I burned nearly 500 calories and spent a total of 12 minutes in my peak heart rate zone. The first part of the workout is straight sets of squats and pullovers. Between those two exercises you are already working your entire body. Then the supersets begin. You get a long circuit that contains two straight set exercises and four supersets. Three of the supersets include makers. You do that circuit twice. The second time through the circuit I had to hit the pause button twice. I needed a longer recovery than 30 seconds!

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 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.

Full Body is 45:55 minutes (this time does not include the optional 4:40 minute warm up or the 2:57 minute intro, also optional) with a 2:20 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, barbell, bench and a fitness mat. Caroline’s barbell is at 48kg/105.8 pounds. She is also using 30kg/66 pound, 17.5kg/38.5 pound and 10kg/22 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

1. Squats for 60 seconds (done sumo style, stand with legs slightly wider than hip width and hold one heavy DB with both hands by bar in front of body, lower DB toward floor as you squat) (one 75# DB)
2. 30 second rest
3. Pullover for 90 seconds (one 45# DB)
4. 30 second rest
5. Repeat #1-4 two more times
6. 1.5 rep hip thrust for 90 seconds (lean back against your bench or step, place barbell on hips, knees bent and feet on floor in line with knees, raise hips, lower halfway, raise hips again and lower all the way) (barbell @ 95#)
7. 30 second rest
8. Maker for 60 seconds (start in plank, do one renegade row each arm, jump feet into DBs so you are in squat, do a double arm bicep curl, stand w/ DBs at shoulders, do one overhead press, squat and place DBs on the floor, jump feet back to plank and do one push up) (20# DBs)
9. (no rest) High squats for 30 seconds (hold DBs at shoulders) (25# DBs)
10. 30 second rest
11. Supine row for 30 seconds (double arm bent over row, palms face in front of you) (30# DBs)
12. (no rest) Alternating reverse lunges for 60 seconds (20# DBs)
13. 30 second rest
14. Repeat #8 (Makers)
15. Tricep push ups for 30 seconds (Caroline’s hands are on DBs, legs wide and DBs together under chest)
16. 30 second rest
17. Bulgarian lunge for 90 seconds (quad focused) (no DBs, stationary lunge, back foot is elevated on step/chair behind you with top of foot on chair/bench, legs are closer together than they normally are)
18. 30 second rest
19. Repeat #17 & 18 on other leg
20. Repeat #8 (Makers)
21. Renegade row for 30 seconds (alternate arms) (30# DBs)
22. 30 second rest
23. Repeat #6-22

Finisher: (4 minutes; no rest/recovery between exercises)

1. Weighted crunch for 60 seconds (lay on back, knees bent and feet on mat, hold one DB at chest just under chin, crunch upper body) (one 20# DB)
2. Toe reaches for 60 seconds (lay on back, legs extended straight to ceiling, crunch upper body while reaching hands to toes)
3. Repeat #1
4. Repeat #2 for 30 seconds
5. Crunch pulses for 30 seconds (lay on back, knees bent and feet on mat, hands behind head, lift head/shoulders into crunch and hold, pulsing at top of crunch)