CGX: P.E. Program Day 36: ‘Transient hypertrophy definitely occurring in the finisher!’ (Upper Body)

This is a workout from Caroline Girvan‘s CGX app. For more info on Caroline’s App, see the CGX App page.

Wow! The title is no joke. My biceps were pumped after (and during!) this workout. This is an excellent back and biceps workout. Caroline fries your biceps with pulses that pre-fatigue the biceps before getting into any actual curls. When we got to the finisher, I was so relieved that the pulses were only done for 15 seconds!

This is a superset workout. You will do 2 exercises back to back before you get a 30 second recovery. 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 superset. There is also a progress bar along the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage.

Upper Body is 46:42 minutes (this time does not include the optional 3:56 minute warm up or the 4:21 minute intro, also optional) with a 1:50 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, chair/bench, yoga block and fitness mat. Caroline is using 40kg/44 pound, 15kg/33 pound, 10kg/22 pound, 7.5kg/16.5 pound, and 5kg/11 pound. The weights listed below are what I used.

1. Landmine row for 60 seconds (stand with legs wide and torso hinged forward with back flat, hold one DB in both hands by bar, row DB up to chest) (one 60# DB)
2. (no rest) Pullover for 90 seconds (one 35# DB)
3. 30 second rest
4. Pulse hammer curls for 30 seconds (raise DBs halfway into hammer curl so elbows are at 90 degrees, hold isometrically while also doing small pulses up and down) (16.5# DBs)
5. (no rest) Full range hammer curls for 30 seconds (16.5# DBs)
6. 30 second rest
7. Repeat #4
8. Alternating full range hammer curls for 30 seconds (16.5# DBs)
9. 30 second rest
10. Repeat #1-9 two more times
11. x1 arm row for 60 seconds (rest one knee and same side arm on step/bench) (one 40# DB)
12. (no rest) x1 arm renegade row for 60 seconds (other hand rests on yoga block) (one 27.5# DB)
13. 30 second rest
14. Repeat #11-13 on other arm
15. Repeat #11-14
16. x1 arm rear delt fly (palm behind) for 60 seconds (rest one knee and same side arm on step/bench, hold one DB in other hand, palm facing behind you) (one 10# DB)
17. (no rest) Sweep for 60 seconds (same position as #16, sweep arm/DB up behind you, arm is close to side and elbow is slightly bent) (one 10# DB)
18. 30 second rest
19. Repeat #16-18 on other arm
20. Repeat #16-19
21. x1 arm diagonal curl for 30 seconds (single arm bicep curl with palm facing ceiling, arm is open on a diagonal with elbow against side) (16.5# DBs)
22. (no rest) Repeat #21 on other arm
23. (no rest) Repeat #21 & 22
24. 30 second rest
25. Repeat #21-24

Finisher:

1. Hammer pulses for 15 seconds (raise DBs halfway into hammer curl so elbows are at 90 degrees, hold isometrically while also doing small pulses up and down) (16.5# DBs)
2. (no rest) Full range hammer curls for 15 seconds (16.5# DBs)
3. (no rest) Alternating full range hammer curls for 30 seconds (16.5# DBs)