THE HOUSE IS SO QUIET. A is at gymnastics and everyone else is camping! I can’t remember the last time I was home and things were just . . . still.
I don’t even have any horrific impending deadlines or anything.
It’s great. Also a little weird.
Last night, A + I a) watched half of People We Meet on Vacation (cute!) and then b) set our alarms for 2:50 AM so we could buy pajamas. YES, she wanted in on the Roller Rabbit x Target collab and while it was slightly painful in the moment, it went very quickly, we got what we wanted, and indeed everything WAS sold out in the light of day.
(We got two pairs each for me, A, and G — including one that is all matching, so we can be just like the family below. Yay! Except I did not buy for J/C because I don’t think they would be into these.)
Thus far this morning, after sleeping ~4 hours post the aforementioned shopping, I have worked out, walked, and read. That’s about it. I did finish #30 — the final workout in the Iron Series!!! I am debating buying some 30-35 lb weights vs getting an adjustable set (so if you have an adjustable set you LOVE, can you share which)? I haven’t totally maxed out on many exercises (and I may never on most of the upper body stuff!) but things like deadlifts are definitely not challenging enough for me with 2 x 25 lb.
My overall review of the series is that it’s a great set of strength workouts! And I find Caroline herself rather charming. It’s kind of boring/basic, but since they are short (30 min) it’s fine. Plus, I felt they were less boring when I carefully tracked the reps/weights — it felt more like a project, and kept me busy.
I did modify the workouts to make them a little more heart-friendly by making one simple shift — I cut most of the sets off at 12-15 reps rather than attempting to fill the 45-60 second time frame. Sometimes my reps DID fill the time frame, but other times I embraced the extra rest. This also allowed me to lift heavier than if I knew I had to keep things going for a full minute with only 30 seconds.
I still think from a pure hypertrophy standpoint, longer workouts and rest periods and heavier weights would be IDEAL, but these sessions are quite convenient and I do feel like I was able to progress some in terms of strength and muscle mass. I did take some progress pix but you will have to imagine them because they are a little too embarrassing. (LOL.)
Oh, and it took me from January 1 until now to finish whereas they are designed to be done in 6 weeks (5 workouts/week). So I definitely spaced them out! I generally did Pilates or yoga or nothing on the off days, plus a moderate amount of walking.
SOOOO what’s next? I am going to just . . . do it again! HOWEVER I’ll use my Apple Notes tracking sheet from the last round to challenge myself to up some of the weights. (Hence my dumbbell question above).
Okay! Off to figure out what else I will do in this incredibly quiet house. (Probably mostly just savor it because IT IS NOT GOING TO LAST.)
16 Comments
Well done on the strength training! Do you have any recommendations of a Caroline Girvan series for beginners? I have been doing some light strength training with hand weights at home but I’d like to start a more structured program that would hit more body parts. Is the Iron Series suitable for beginners?
Enjoy your quiet weekend. Sounds like a good break for you after your stressful week.
You COULD try as a beginner if you used light weights, as none of the exercises are really complicated. But I’d say the difficulty level is pretty high! I’ve heard she has a beginner program on her paid app, but I haven’t tried it. I used to love Autumn Calabrese from BoDI – the 21 day fix was a great entry level program for me. (The company is or was an MLM so not ideal, but her workouts were/are great.)
I have recently found Heather Robertson on YouTube and I am LOVING her workouts!! She has a whole bunch of different 12 week long programs that incorporate both strength and cardio plus other shorter ones. She also has 3 programs called Fierce which are 14 days each so if you did all 3 back to back would be 42 days total of strength workouts right there. I think it would be pretty easy to adapt any of her workouts to more beginner level by just modifying a bit as needed. You could check her out! I really really like her!
Thanks!
I hadn’t heard of this designer but it’s good to hear that Target has a buzzy collab. I feel like it’s been a while since they’ve had one. I know Target is problematic/made poor decisions but it’s my hometown company so I do want them to succeed since I have friends that work there and they are a big part of our local economy.
I was going strong with the CG iron workouts but then upgraded to an unlimited OTF membership in late January. Now that I go to OTF 3-4 times/week, I have barely done any of her workouts! I might need to change my goal of doing iron twice this year. It’s great that you can bump up weights for some of the moves. I’ve slowly bumped up the weight for several moves like chest presses. I get another body scan for muscle/fat composition data in a few weeks – I like having access to that kind of data.
Enjoy your quiet house(!) The PJs are too cute. There’s a Roller Rabbit x Target commercial that keeps coming up on you YouTube and features a Cranberries song (Dreams). It stops me in my tracks. Every. Single. Time. I wasn’t familiar with the brand but was like, “Oh, I am so the target demographic for this” lolol.
I am 5 workouts behind you in the Iron Series! I’ve spread mine out to accommodate a carpal tunnel flare and think it’s a great CG series to modify & track progressive overload. Chuckling now because I just painstakingly typed out my own little “planner peace” segment…and realized I forgot to mention the Hobo A6 monthly spreads are where I plan & track my workouts. Ah well, it’s a journey 🙂
For adjustable weights, I have and love the Tempo Home Gym. The plates are easy to add/subtract, and the storage cabinet is reasonably aesthetic (mine sits out). Link: https://tempo.fit/move-gym?bundle=move-plus
ha!! I am going to check out your planner peace! Those weights look pretty but I want ones that go to 50 each (and I see they are on some kind of subscription model – interesting! But probably would prefer to just buy outright)
Nuobells adjustable dumbbells
Have you tried the Ladder app for strength training?
We have Powerblocks that go to 50lbs and eventually we bought the two extra sets to go to 90lbs for my husband. I wouldn’t want them in place of my smallest weights (they’re larger and more awkward than a 10 or 20lb dumbbell) so I wouldn’t purchase these in addition to anything you have and use them primarily for the heavier weights (or if anyone ever works out with you so you have a second set!). It’s an expensive purchase but a good workout gear investment. Also check if your health insurance does a fitness reimbursement, this might count!
I thought People we Meet on Vacation was super cute. For the weights I doubt I am the right person to ask, but I just got a bunch of dumbells. If I were organized I would rack them… but I’m not. They live in my basement. I have sets up to 45lbs for things like deadlifts, RDLs, and farmers carries. 40 is where I’m at currently but I like to have an aspirational set, and there was a time when I was using a single 45 for a goblet squat. I think either way you should get some heavier weights.
it’s true since i already have up to 25 (i have 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17.5, 20, 25) maybe adjustable is dumb? since i really just need like, 30, 35, 40 etc. ours are just lined up in a row, no actual rack but it’s fine . . .
I thought it was super cute too. (I liked the book too!)
Hi Sarah! I have CAP adjustable dumbbells that go to 55 each and they do the job when I need heavier for lower body.
I like Carline Girvan too…I do a workout 5 days a week, but I have not tried one of her series specifically. I just alternate leg/arm/full body days. And I modify exercises that won’t work for me. I don’t really like the music, so I listen to something else on my phone.
Congrats on finishing the entire Iron series! And having a quiet house!
5 a week is awesome! And yes the music is very repetitive — somehow I don’t really mind it but I can see how it might eventually get grating!
I have had the ironmaster adjustable dumbbells for 6 years, use them regularly and love them! No regrets!
Those pajamas are cute! I have to admit that I saw the website photo in your thumbnail for this post and I thought it was your family! Anyway, I love that you woke up at 2:30 to get the jammies together. Sometimes those little concessions make such a big difference to the kids.
We have some adjustable weights that I like just fine, but I think I would prefer a barbell for the heavier things. This is based only on speculation, but anything above 30 in a dumbbell feels too hard to grip for a full set. (Which, probably, is something I should work on too.) I feel like a barbell would distribute the weight in a way that would make it easier to hold.