This is a workout from Caroline Girvan‘s CGX app. For more info on Caroline’s App, see the CGX App page.
I was dreading this lower body workout. I previewed it and it looked like a nightmare to me. I don’t mind lunges but the bulk of this workout (the first 70% + the finisher) is lunges–all quad focused and lots of Bulgarians. It did not disappoint. This workout kicked my a$$. Caroline appeared to be struggling, too. During the paused Bulgarian lunges my legs started shaking! I assumed when it was over I would need to add a longer more quad focused stretch but Caroline gives us a really nice quad focused stretch at the end.
This is a superset workout. You will do 2 exercises back to back before you get a 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.
Lower Body is 46:17 minutes (this time does not include the optional 5:55 minute warm up or 4:05 minute intro, also optional) with a 2:45 minute stretch. Equipment: dumbbells, chair/bench, heel wedges and fitness mat. Caroline is using 20kg/44 pound, 15kg/33 pound, and 10kg/22 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.
- Static lunge for 60 seconds (stationary lunges) (30# DBs)
- (no rest) Knee traveling forward lunge for 60 seconds (bodyweight, heel of front foot is elevated on heel wedge, at bottom of lunge knee is past toes)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #1-3 on other side of body
- Repeat #1-4 two more times
- Paused quad emphasizing Bulgarian lunge for 60 seconds (static/stationary lunge, back leg is elevated on bench/chair/step, legs are closer together than a traditional lunge, heel of front foot is elevated on heel wedge, hold one DB at same side shoulder as front leg, lower to bottom of lunge and pause briefly) (one 25# DB)
- (no rest) Bodyweight regular tempo for 60 seconds (same as #6 but bodyweight and no pause)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #6-8 on other leg
- Repeat #6-9 two more times
- Goblet squat for 60 seconds (one 40# DB)
- (no rest) Bodyweight close stance 3/4 rep squats or jump squats (also close stance) for 30 seconds
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #11-13 two more times
- Heel elevated squats for 60 seconds (hold one DB in both hands in front of chest, both heels are elevated on heel wedges) (one 30# DB)
- (no rest) 1.5 rep bodyweight for 30 seconds (heels are still elevated on wedges, lower to bottom of squat, raise halfway, lower back to bottom of squat then raise all the way out of squat)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #15-17
Finisher:
- Quad emphasized Bulgarian lunge for 60 seconds (static/stationary lunge, back leg is elevated on bench/chair/step, legs are closer together than a traditional lunge, heel of front foot is elevated on heel wedge)
- 15 second rest
- Repeat #1 on other leg
brilliant! Selfishly pleased if you do renew cgx as your reviews are so great to read. It doesn’t hurt that we have similar tastes and strength levels (though you are definitely overall fitter!) as I get a very good idea what to expect from a workout from your honest reviews
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I cancelled my cgx subscription and have gone back to YT for the variety there. Perhaps I might give Heather’s app a go if she offers a free trial and monthly sub option? But I also love a variety of others on YT- notably Juice and Toya, Daniel PT and good old Fitness Blender, plus the myriad yoga and pilates options- so I find it more convenient to hang out there.
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I actually planned to do something similar when my year subscription to CGX ran out in January but her new program Iron Pro changed my mine. I am very excited about that. If I like it as much as I think I will I’ll renew for another year.
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Hey there! Did you see that Heather is apparently going under a paywall as well now? Not sure if it’s going to be like Sydney Cummings’s Sydney Squad where workouts are free but you pay for more on-hands attention or if it’ll all come at a cost like Caroline. Caroline posted one of her CGX Iron workouts on YT a couple weeks ago as a celebration for hitting 4M subs which is crazy since she doesn’t post anything on YT anymore (except for the very occasional workout like she did here).
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
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Yes, I get newsletters from Heather when she sends them (which isn’t very often). I will not be signing up for Heather’s paid service. She has THOUSANDS of excellent workouts on YouTube that are free. I did see Caroline’s free workout–the first workout in the Iron Pro program, which I VERY excited about. I will definitely be doing that program but not for a few more months. I still have to get through my current rotation then do a few weeks of easier/recovery workouts. I see Iron Pro being a program I return to a lot.
Like Heather. Caroline has a huge YT library of excellent workouts so I’m sure its word of mouth + YT recommending her workouts to people its algorithm thinks will be interested in that keeps her subscribers growing. The same will happen with Heather I’m sure once she starts a paid app. People will still find her thousands of free workouts through recommendations from someone–human or AI.
What are your thoughts about it?
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I won’t sign up for it. I love Heather but I’m not going to a paid service to get more of her. I have the same feelings about how she has enough online for free for me to stay satisfied. I’ve shifted over to Sydney who is still putting out lots of free new content and says she has no intention of moving from that. Fingers crossed!
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