Fitness

7 Caroline Girvan Workouts That'll Test Your Strength

Including a 20-minute full-body session and a lunge challenge.

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Caroline Girvan workouts from YouTube that bring the burn.
Caroline Girvan

If you’re in the mood to challenge your body with some spicy strength training, look no further than one of Caroline Girvan’s ridiculously tough workout videos. As a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach with over 11 years of experience, Girvan knows exactly how to target your muscles in a way that builds them back stronger.

Girvan has a popular YouTube channel with over 600 videos to date — and each one brings the burn. She has them broken down into playlists, including some six-week-long fitness programs, bodyweight training, HIIT sessions, and kettlebell-based workouts, as well as classes that zero in on specific muscle groups like the abs and core or legs. Whichever video you go with, you’re going to be in for a major sweat session.

Girvan, who’s from Northern Ireland, kicks her videos off with a thorough explainer so that you know just what you’re getting yourself into. After that, some upbeat music starts to play, a countdown timer appears, and it’s off to the races.

Of course, it’s essential to fully warm up before a workout, especially one that’s extra demanding. Before you click on one, head over to Girvan’s 10-minute warm-up video to get your blood pumping and your muscles primed for movement.

Ready to “sweat a bucket,” as Girvan says? Keep scrolling for a selection of Caroline Girvan workouts to try the next time you hit the gym.

1

30-Minute Bodyweight HIIT

This super-tough workout only uses your bodyweight, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. You’ll feel all your muscles light up as move through short 20-second intervals followed by longer 60-second durations for a challenging HIIT routine. It features moves like alternating kick-throughs, plank shoulder taps, forward-leaning reverse lunges, and burpees — because it wouldn’t be a tough workout without burpees.

All you need to get started, according to Girvan, is your mat, a bottle of water, and a towel to sop up your sweat. Oh, and a lot of energy to spare.

2

45-Minute Full-Body Calisthenics Workout

While this calisthenics workout is difficult, Girvan emphasizes the importance of staying “calm and collected” so you can maintain good form and make the most of each move. To do so, she recommends relaxing your breath and focusing on the movement patterns of each exercise.

Each round lasts 30 seconds with four exercises combined to create one set. The first two exercises are repeated, she notes, so that you have time to perfect your technique. (Girvan also shares a preview of each upcoming move during the rest period so you know what to expect.)

For this workout, you’ll need a mat, a chair, and a yoga block or stepper so you can perform diver push-ups, Bulgarian lunges, saw planks, and elevated squats. As a finisher, brace yourself for 100 crunches.

3

30-Minute Full-Body Dumbbell Circuits

As part of Girvan’s Iron series, this video is all about pumping some, well, iron. It’s set up in a slow circuit format that allows you to focus on each exercise. Girvan recommends doing each move in a controlled way, ensuring you aim for quality over quantity.

The timer is set for 40 seconds of work with 20 seconds of rest in between. Girvan uses two different sets of dumbbells: a heavier set for the first five exercises and a slightly lighter set for the final four. You’ll do three rounds of bent-over rows, static lunges, chest presses, and rear lunges that’ll make you feel like you’re on fire.

4

35-Minute Full-Body Cardio Workout

Click on this video if you’re up for a true cardio workout. You’ll do an exercise for 30 seconds, another one for 30 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest to equal one superset. It all adds up to 43 different exercises that don’t repeat. Girvan recommends going at your own moderate pace so that you can maintain your energy as you do moves like mountain climbers, skaters, plank jacks, and more. Again, all you’ll need is a mat, a towel, and a bottle of water as you “sweat, smile, and smash these supersets.”

5

20-Minute Full-Body Dumbbell Workout

Tend to feel bored during your workout? Then go for this full-body routine that never repeats a move. In it, Girvan shows you how to do compound exercises that light up more than one muscle within each rep so you effectively work your legs, core, shoulders, and arms.

Grab a pair of dumbbells and keep an eye on the timer in the corner of your screen as you do single-arm bent-over rows, goblet squats, alternating dead bugs, and more. Each move lasts 40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of rest.

6

1,000 Rep Lunge Challenge

If you’re down for a challenging leg workout, try this video that features 10 lunge variations — like the elevated lunge, rear step lunge, and lateral lunge — that you’ll perform 100 times to really work your hamstrings, glutes, and quads.

To get the most benefit, Girvan recommends performing each lunge as smoothly as possible through your full range of motion. If 1,000 seems like too much, there’s also the option to aim for 500 reps instead. Girvan is all about pausing for breaks whenever necessary and modifying moves to make them work for you.

7

10-Minute Ab Workout

Follow along with this tough ab workout to really ignite your core. Girvan notes that 10 minutes is really all you need to train this area and gain a little extra strength. “Consistency, intensity, correct form, patience, and control of every movement will contribute to overall improvements in fitness levels and training,” she says. Brace your core as you do toe-reach crunches, bicycles, reverse crunches, and alternating-side crunches.

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