This is a workout from Caroline Girvan‘s CGX app. For more info on Caroline’s App, see the CGX App page.
This lower body workout will fry your legs with all of the pausing and slower tempos. Thankfully in the beginning she gives you longer recoveries. Then when she fries your quads with heel elevated squats, she lets the quads recover while she fries your hamstrings and calves with stability ball roll outs. Still, by the end everything is fried. Including your abs thanks to the finisher. I needed a longer lower body stretch than Caroline gives us.
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 progress bar along the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage. During the intro Caroline gives some good form information on the ab finisher.
Lower Body is 49:16 minutes (this time does not include the optional 6 minute warm up or the 4:01 minute intro, also optional) with a 2:15 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, barbell, bench, glute/booty band, heel wedges, stability ball and a fitness mat. Caroline’s barbell is at 58kg/129 pounds. She is also using 40kg/88 pound, 17.5kg/38.5 pound and 15kg/33 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.
- Pause sumo squat deadlift for 60 seconds (legs are wide w/ toes turned out, hold one DB by bar with both hands, torso is hinged forward deadlift style as you squat, pause briefly at bottom of squat) (one 70# DB)
- 45 second rest
- Repeat #1 & 2
- ‘Slow the lowering’ banded hip thrust for 60 seconds (glute band is around thighs above knees, lean back against bench, knees are bent at 90 degrees and feet are on floor, raise hips/glutes with power and lower slowly while also opening legs so there is constant tension on the band) (barbell @ 90#)
- 45 second rest
- Repeat #4 & 5
- Repeat #1-5
- Repeat 4 w/out the band
- 45 second rest
- Paused heel elevated squats for 75 seconds (DBs are held at shoulders and heels are elevated on wedges, pause briefly at bottom of squat) (30# DBs)
- 30 second rest
- 1.5 rep heel elevated squats for 75 seconds (hold one DB in both hands at chest, heels are elevated on wedges, lower to bottom of squat, raise halfway, lower to bottom of squat, raise all the way) (one 30# DB)
- 30 second rest
- Slow release stability ball roll out 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 roll ball back out slowly)
- 15 second rest
- Repeat #12 for 75 seconds
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #10-17
- Staggered RDL for 90 seconds (single leg deadlift, front/working toes are elevated on heel wedge, back leg is in kickstand, hold one DB in same side hand as back leg)
- (no rest) Paused Bulgarian lunge for 90 seconds (no DBs, stationary/static lunge w/ back leg elevated on chair/step behind you, pause briefly at bottom of lunge)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #19-21 on other leg
Finisher: (4 minutes)
- Toe reach to leg lower, 10 reps (lay on back w/ head/shoulders elevated and arms reaching to ceiling, straight legs are also raised to ceiling, lower legs until they are a few inches off the mat, raise back to ceiling then crunch upper body while reaching hands toward toes)
- Crunch pulses, 30 reps (lay on back w/ knees bent and feet on mat, hands behind head, raise head/shoulders and pulse crunch upward)
- Repeat #1 & 2 as many times as possible in 4 minutes
