CGX: P.E. Program Day 45: ‘The bodyweight version of lunges will make you deadstop literally!’

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 very hamstring/glute focused lower body workout and it got tough for me. In fact, I am definitely will be ready to take things down a notch tomorrow for a recovery day workout. There is a lot of glute band work and by the finisher I was struggling to keep tension on the band during the stability ball roll outs. You will notice in the breakdown I did not identify the finisher like I normally do. That’s because it is really just a continuation of the last exercise before the finisher. It was easier just to write like I did. But #21-25 are actually the finisher.

This is a superset workout. You will do 2 exercises back to back before you get a recovery. The interval and recovery times vary and will be noted below. 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.

Lower Body is 46:58 minutes (this time does not include the optional 5:55 minute warm up or 2:59 minute intro, also optional) with a 2:40 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, chair/bench, stability ball, heel wedges and fitness mat. Caroline is using a barbell at 58kg/128 pounds. She is also using dumbbells 15kg/33 pound and 10kg/22 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

1. Banded hip thrusts for 60 seconds (lean back against your bench or step, glute band around thighs just above knees, legs open so there is constant tension on band, knees bent with feet on floor and knees in line w/ ankles, barbell rests on hips, raise and lower hips hips) (barbell @ 90#)
2. (no rest) Upright abduction for 60 seconds (sit on floor with step/bench at back, knees are bent with feet on floor, band is still around thighs, open knees against band)
3. 30 second rest
4. Banded RDL for 60 seconds (Romanian deadlift, glute band is still around thighs above knees, stand with legs wide enough so there is constant tension on band) (hex deadlift bar @ 100#)
5. (no rest) Diagonal abduction for 15 seconds (band is still around thighs, step one foot back on a diagonal then back in)
6. (no rest) Repeat #5 on other leg
7. (no rest) Repeat #5 & 6
8. 30 second rest
9. Repeat #1-8 two more times
10. Bridge for 60 seconds (lay on back, knees bent and feet on mat, barbell or one heavy DB on hips, raise and lower hips into bridge) (barbell @ 105#)
11. (no rest) Stability ball roll outs for 90 seconds (lay on back on mat, place calves/heels on stability ball, raise hips and keep them raised as you roll ball in towards glutes then back out)
12. 30 second rest
13. Repeat #10-12 two more times
14. Forward tilt lunge for 60 seconds (static/stationary lunge, torso is hinged forward over front thigh, toes of front foot are elevated on heel wedge) (22.5# DBs)
15. (no rest) Body weight deadstop version for 60 seconds (same starting position as #14 (no DBs), lower back leg until knee is on mat and rest briefly before rising out of lunge)
16. 30 second rest
17. Repeat #15-16 on other leg
18. Repeat #14-17 two more times
19. Banded hamstring roll out for 90 seconds (repeat #11 with band around thighs and legs open so there is constant tension on band)
20. 30 second rest
21. Rep it out for 30 seconds (repeat #19 at a brisker pace)
22. 15 second rest
23. Repeat #21
24. 15 second rest
25. Repeat #21