This is a workout from Caroline Girvan‘s CGX app. For more info on Caroline’s App, see the CGX App page.
This was a tough upper body strength workout. Most of the workout is done superset style. The first part of the workout pairs opposing muscle groups (back and chest) and the rest of the supersets are shoulder focused. I feel like you get 2 finishers in this workout. There is”official” finisher at the very end, which is a core complex, but right before that you get two minutes of diamond press! Choose your weight wisely! I had initially planned to use one 40 pound dumbbell until I saw the length of the interval. Then I changed my mind and used one 35 pound dumbbell and still had to pause once in the second minute to let my arms and shoulders thaw.
This workout is done interval style. Most of the exercises are done for 60 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest. If the interval or recovery time is different, then it is 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 bar along the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage.
‘Quality Over Qty’ Upper Body is 46:26 minutes (this time does not include the optional 4 minute warm up or the 4:06 minute intro, also optional) with a 2:50 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, chair or bench, push up bars and a fitness mat. Caroline’s weights are 30kg/66 pounds, 17.5kg/38.5 pound, 7.5kg/16.5 pound and 4kg/8.8 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.
- Pullover (one 40# DB)
- Deadstop chest press (lay on back on floor, at bottom of press the back of the arms/triceps rest on the floor briefly before pushing DBs back to ceiling) (30# DBs)
- Repeat #1 & 2 two more times
- Bent over row (landmine row–hinge forward at waist w/ back flat, hold one heavy DB by bar with both hands, row DB to chest) (one 60# DB)
- Deep push ups (Caroline is using push up bars for additional depth, you can also use yoga blocks or heavier DBs, I used DBs)
- Repeat #4 & 5 two more times
- Upright row (15# DBs)
- Arnold press (Caroline is seated in chair w/ a high back) (20# DBs)
- Repeat #7 & 8 two more times
- Seated lateral raise (Caroline is sitting on bench, palms face the floor at top of raise) (9# DBs)
- Rear delt fly (palm behind) (sit on bench or chair, torso is hinged forward over thighs, palms face behind you) (9# DBs)
- Repeat #10 & 11 two more times
- Diamond press for 2 minutes (lay on floor, hold one heavy DB by bar with both hands over chest, push DB to ceiling then lower back to chest) (one 35# DB)
Finisher:
- Small tuck for 20 reps (lay on back on mat, legs are raised with knees bent at 90 degrees, raise hips bringing knees to chest, head/shoulders are also elevated)
- Reverse crunch for 30 reps (still on back, legs are raised to ceiling and open in a V, lower legs until they are a few inches off the mat, raise legs keeping them straight and lifting hips pushing legs past head, head/shoulders are elevated)
- Repeat #1 & 2 as many times as possible within 4 minutes
