CGX: Intent Program Day 50: Finale/Upper Body

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

And this is it! The final workout in the Intent Program! I’m not going to lie–I am glad it is over. This was a tough program and this workout is a great way to end it. It is an upper body strength workout that hits the shoulders, chest, back and core. Almost every exercise is done for 3 sets. I had back up weights nearby for every exercise and I was definitely eyeing them, but I persevered and I am feeling every muscle group worked.

The exercises are 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 corner of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recoveries Caroline previews the next exercise. There is also a progress bar at the bottom of the screen, counting down the workout time as a percentage.

At the end of the work, just before the stretch, Caroline’s sweet dogs–a dachshund and a beagle (I think)–run out for some love. The stretch is super short–less than a minute. But the final 2:30 minutes is outtakes/bloopers from the entire Intent program. They are all from the intros, not the workouts, but if you think Caroline is perfect, this shows you she makes lots of mistakes!

Upper Body is 47:34 minutes (this time does not include the optional 3:55 minute warm up or the 6:58 minute intro, also optional) with a 45 second stretch. As mentioned above, the last 2:30 minutes is bloopers. Equipment: dumbbells, chair, bench, and fitness mat. Optional is push up bars. Caroline is using 17.5kg/38.5 pound, 15kg/33 pound, 10kg/22 pound, and 4kg/8.8 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.

1. Seated lateral raise for 60 seconds (9# DBs)
2. 30 second rest
3. Arnold press for 60 seconds (still seated in chair) (20# DBs)
4. 30 second rest
5. Repeat #1-4 two more times
6. Pre-exhaust push ups for 45 seconds (Caroline is using push up bars, I used DBs)
7. 30 second rest
8. Chess press for 60 seconds (27.5# DBs)
9. 45 second rest
10. Repeat #6-9 two more times
11. Single arm row 60 seconds (one arm and knee rest on bench) (one 45# DB)
12. 30 second rest
13. Repeat 11 & 12 on other arm
14. Repeat #11-13 two more times
15. Rear delt fly (palms behind) for 60 seconds (sit in chair or bench, torso is hinged forward over thighs) (9# DBs)
16. 30 second rest
17. Frontal raise for 60 seconds (sit on chair or bench holding one DB in both hands, legs are wide, do a double arm front raise) (one 18# DB)
18. 30 second rest
19. Repeat #15-18 two more times
20. Rear delt partials for 60 seconds (same as #15 but only lift arms/DBs partway) (8# DBs)
21. (no rest) Seated lateral partials for 60 seconds (same as #1 but only lift arms/DBs partway) (8# DBs)

30 second rest

Finisher: (4 minutes)

1. Reverse crunch, 20 reps (lay on back on mat, start with legs raised to ceiling, lower legs until they are a few inches above the mat, raise straight legs to ceiling, lifting hips into a reverse crunch)
2. Tuck to hollow, 20 reps (still on back, extend legs straight in line with hips and elevated off mat with arms extended overhead, pull knees into chest and touch hands to ankles, head/shoulders remain elevated throughout)
3. Repeat #1 & 2 as many times as possible in 4 minutes