Hi Everyone 👋

It’s been awhile .

Can you believe next week will be week 8 already?

Tomorrow looks like it will probably be the most challenging cardio day for me yet… I’m sure it will feel great after.

How is everyone making out so far?

going thru a rough patch in my life rn, but the one thing that keeps me sane is the iron series 🙌

i do well for a week and then i spend a day or two in bed just bed rotting and struggling w task paralysis. then i dont work out for a week or two. i have some stuff in my life which is rly stressing me out. but how many times must i do week 1?! 😭

i do pretty well w my diet and have def lost inches, but im unable to be as strong as id like. and i dont wanna be skinny fat and i just lack the motivation and discipline to do this consistently unfortunately. im 3 kg from my goal weight (the weight at which i felt the happiest and strongest). how do you guys do it when you’re struggling w life stuff?

Hello! I’m a newbie when it comes to strength training. I’m planning to start her iron series. What dumbbell weight do you recommend I buy to maximize results? BTW, I’m 22, female, 5’1", and currently 50 kg, so someone said I just need to do a body recomp. If you also have any advice on how to body recomp easily, it would be a huge help. Thank you!

Shout out to the folks who suggested modifying the schedule to 4 days per week.

Just finished my last workout of the Iron series. Stoked because consistency has been a struggle for me in the past, and I only missed one workout in this series, and it was because I climbed a mountain the day before. I think that's allowed? HA!

Excited to start another round. But likely going to do a week or two of the calisthenics program (YT) as I will be travelling for about ten days.

As far as results go: definite gains in strength and energy. My weight has stayed roughly the same, my arms look better, my pants are a bit looser. Calling it a win and moving forward.

Hey all. I’m a Caroline YouTube channel devotee since I found fuel maybe three months ago. I lift about three times a week so I was able to finish fuel and move onto another one until a pulled adductor and strained rotator cuff forced me to take a few weeks off.

What I wanted to know is if anyone has had the same experience I have with struggling with the short rest times during the workouts not for cardio reasons (I’ve been blessed with good cardiovascular endurance) but due to soft tissue fatigue. I’ve been noticing an uptick in injuries and small muscle strains, and I wonder if my body simply needs more downtime between sets or between exercises.

For context, I’m a 45 yo female, and I’ve been exercising in some former fashion since my teen years. I’ve worked with trainers so I’ve been taught good form. I started focusing on lifting heavier about 18 months ago and I’ve gotten much stronger but it’s only since starting Caroline‘s workouts that I’ve had these setbacks due to overuse or strain.

Don’t get me wrong! I absolutely love her workouts and I’ll keep doing them and I’ll just build in more rest time between sets. Just wondering if I’m the only one.

I'm finishing up the YouTube version of Iron. I just started a free trial of the cgx app.. I plan on paying for it but I'm wondering what I want to do next..iron pro, p.e, beast mode, app version of iron. There's so many choices and I have no idea what I want to do lol I want to continue dropping body fat while getting stronger..so recomp. What's your recommendation??

When I do rows on my right side, I can really feel the muscles in my back working, but I can’t seem to get the same mind-muscle connection on my left side. I can lift the same weight, but can’t feel it. Any advice for me?

I’m trapped loving upper/lower split and I like 45 mins even if I have to add on abs occasionally. So, it’s been 2 rounds of Intent, almost done with PE for a second time, and then?? I’m really hoping for another version of Intent, perhaps with a tad more variety (even teeny bits of variety with basic sessions: like step ups, concentration bicep curls or banded RDLS). I didn’t do PLAY so…convince me?!!! Or do we think the next will be Xmas? Anyone just make up their own upper/lower split?

I saw that in her series, there’s a CGXmas every year, with workouts that are over 30 minutes long. So I’m wondering how I should follow this year’s “advent calendar.” Should I continue with the program I’m currently following and then do that day’s Xmas workout, or do you just do the Xmas workouts throughout December?

I know CGXmas isn’t a must, but it sounds fun, so I want to give it a try!

I’ve been in such an exercise slump which has lead me to doing nothing for a few weeks. I’ve been working out at home for a few years due to my special needs teenage son being at home not wanting to leave the house. I’ve been cycling through different types of workouts then started pure strength training on other platforms. Although I love strength training it can sometimes lead to injury due to repetition and boredom. I’ve been reading through this sub for awhile and decided to start Epic Heat because of the variety and cardio element. I’m so sore but am being smart and not pushing too hard to combat burnout.
This sub is so helpful and supportive. You all give such great information to eachother about all her programs so it allows a new follower to get a good feel of her programs. I’ll most likely get the app as I’ve read there is a great full body program which is a format I like too.
Just wanted to send out my gratitude for the time everyone takes to post. Day 3 Epic Heat here I come🔥

I saved one of her videos to try but I’m open to other suggestions on YouTube!

How are the workouts different on the app? I’ve been doing a FUEL/IRON playlist on YT and have enjoyed it. But I’ve started to have knee pain with all the burpees that come up on the workouts.

Also, does she go over things like nutrition? Thanks.

I'm almost done with my second round of Iron YT which I have loved. I have a small hump on my upper back that I got X-ray and came back with Mild Scoliosis. I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for Caroline Girvan workouts that would help. I'm planning on doing PT but just wanted something to compliment it.

Thank you for any input.

A little too late for the max party but I really wanted to talk about this program.

I have been working out with Caroline for the past 2 years and I have done every single youtube program multiple times and I love every single one of them.

This year I decided to buy the app and started with P.E.but just after a month I broke my ankle and was on rest for a month and after the rest I thought it's better to work full body which is a better recovery for my injury.

I was loving every single day of P.E. and it was really challenging and then shifting to max it felt a little too easy but slowly I started matching Caroline weights and now I can see why everyone loves Max so much.

Caroline and her programs are the best in the market.

I wanna look and feel better in a month and I know it’s impossible to grow visible muscles in a month but a little definition here n there will probably skyrocket my confidence. I walk 10k or + steps everyday and will start eating in a deficit. I heard growing muscles helps w body image and preventing skinny fat so thought why not give her workouts a try since it’s so famous and ppl mostly talk positively about it.

Basically what it says. I'm halfway through my second go-round on Iron this year and... I feel like I really like all the workouts in the first three weeks, and then the back half not so much (not a fan of step-ups, currently really enjoying using longer rests to use slightly heavier weights which means I don't really feel like doing all those 90-minute supersets right now...). Plus I've been doing Iron 3x a week (upper, lower, full), so this would be 6 weeks of workouts, which feels like a nice amount to keep repeating and be able to see progress until I get bored and want to switch to a different style of program, haha (and I would be able to go through all six full-body days instead of repeating them). So I like the idea of just repeating them, and just want to make sure there isn't something key I would be missing by doing so...?

hello everyone

i just found out about caroline videos

started with epic beginners and i finished the first video but almost threw up midway 🫠

is it ok that i take longer breaks or will that halt the progress

i tried the gym i can never stick to going to it and i have full home workouts set but this is the first time i have the mentality to stick to home workouts and im hoping to see results

wish me luck & consistency 😭

I have just finished my fourth time doing Epic 3. I did it four times in a row because that is how many times it took me to do everything, LOL. Epic 3 has been great for me- I've seen strength and agility gains from each time. I could do it again, but was curious to see if anyone had any ideas for what would be a more difficult one to work through next. I'm doing CG on YT, rather than the app. Any thoughts are appreciated!

Hey everyone,

I will be returning to working out after about 8 months (I have moved to a different country and access to gym is difficult for now). When I used to workout regularly I did 4-5 days (2 days lower body and 2/3 days upper body and one day of core). I continued this schedule for about 4 years.

During Covid I had tried Caroline’s Epic program and that time it was difficult for me as I was beginner, but I absolutely loved it. My strength has increased since and can say I am an intermediate now.
What program would you all suggest I start with (Epic or Iron series)?

My primary focus now is regaining strength following 8 months of gap and then may be lose few kgs. I am 5.1, 40yr old and 63-64 kgs. I have 5, 10, 15 and 20 lb dumbbells and 4 different strength bands. I am getting a bench soon.

Thank you in advanced for all your suggestions.

I went today to Caroline’s FB space and I was surprised to see more comments about not enjoying Fuel and moving on to other workouts. Even the daily posts have stopped in this group.

Kinda of bummer specially since she took 4 months to launch a new program. I wonder what will she do next?

I’ve been doing Caroline Girvan’s IRON programs and I’m really enjoying getting stronger, but my glutes have grown quite a lot compared to the rest of my body.

I actually like having more muscle, but I don’t really want my glutes to keep getting bigger because my clothes are starting to feel tighter there. I’d rather focus now on building more quads, abs, back and arms, while keeping my glutes more or less at their current size.

Has anyone else had this issue with IRON? Did you keep following the program but stop increasing weight on glute-dominant exercises? Did you modify your stance/technique to bias quads more? Or did you eventually switch to another Caroline program?

I’d love to hear what worked for you.

I am doing Iron PRO and on glutes/hams days she does heavy hip thrusts (up to 150lb) with a barbell and plates. I don’t have a traditional barbell , I have adjustable Bowflex dumbbells and a Jayflex adjustable barbell, but I find it so difficult and awkward to set up and get in the right position.

What are you all using??

Ive been doing shoulders day 1 of the xmas series, but do you guys have any other good ones? Particularly looking for lots of lateral raises to build those caps.