CGX: Intent Program Day 41: ‘Tension to the Quads’ Lower Body

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

This is a high rep, endurance level workout with long intervals and lots of pauses to really fry your lower body. There is a lot of quad focus but you are working the glutes and hamstrings, too. Only 3 of the exercises use dumbbells and they are lighter than usual because of the long intervals. But Caroline proves that even body weight exercises can work you well!

This workout is done interval style. The exercises are done for 90 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest. 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.

Lower Body is 47:42 minutes (this time does not include the optional 6 minute warm up or the 3:51 minute intro, also optional) with a 2:30 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, chair/bench, glute band, yoga block, stability ball, heel wedges and a fitness mat. Caroline is using 10kg/22 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

1. Paused heel elevated squats for 90 seconds (heels are elevated on heel wedges, hold DBs at shoulders, pause briefly at bottom of squat) (25# DBs)
2. ‘Power out of the hole’ elevated squats (lower slowly into squat then “power” quickly out of squat back to standing) (25# DBs)
3. ‘Power up’ banded hip thrust for 90 seconds (glute band is around thighs above knees, lean back against chair/bench, knees are bent at 90 degrees and feet are on floor, raise hips/glutes with power and lower slowly while also keeping legs open so there is constant tension on the band)
4. Stability ball roll out with hold for 90 seconds (lay on back on mat, place calves on stability ball, raise hips and keep them raised as you roll ball in towards glutes then back out for 15 seconds then hold isometrically with hips raised for 15 seconds, continue alternating rolling and isometric holds every 15 seconds)
5. Close lunge for 90 seconds (stationary/static lunge w/ front foot on yoga block, legs are closer together than with a traditional lunge) (25# DBs)
6. Repeat #5 on other leg
7. 1.5 rep Bulgarian lunge for 90 seconds (body weight static/stationary lunge w/ back leg elevated on step/bench, lower to bottom of lunge, raise halfway, lower to bottom of lunge then raise all the way)
8. Repeat #7 on other leg
9. x1 leg hip thrust for 90 seconds (lean back against chair/bench, raise one leg and do single leg hip thrusts)
10. Repeat #9 on other leg
11. Repeat #1-10

Finisher: (4 minutes)

1. Heel elevated squat, 20 reps (no DBs, heels are elevated with heel wedges)
2. 1/2 rep regular squat, 20 reps (squats on the floor, lower to bottom of squat but only raise halfway)
3. Repeat #1 & 2 as many times as possible in 4 minutes