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Caroline Girvan Review: 1 Hour Hardcore Hiit Full Body Workout
1 Hour Hardcore Hiit Full Body Workout is seriously challenging cardio Hiit and bodyweight strength workout. I found this routine very intense and was completely drenched and worn out by the end of it. (I have included the YouTube link HERE).
If you read my previous Caroline Girvan review post (click HERE for details), you will know that I only recently discovered Caroline’s workouts and was rather intimidated by the cardio routines. They all seem to have a lot of burpees and high impact plyo moves so I wasn’t sure whether I would get through them. I am also not a big fan of burpees but then who is?! I also mentioned that I didn’t know how many reviews I would write, for her workouts, as the moves are often listed in the comments below the video. However, as I decided to try this one and survived, I thought I would write one just in case anyone else is on the fence about giving one a go! So despite Caroline having plenty of 15 or 30 minute Hiit workouts, I decided to go all in and try the hour long version (and no I have no idea what I was thinking either!) and wow did it deliver! The sense of accomplishment once you finish is definitely worth the effort to complete it.
This workout consists of 2 circuits of intervals and there are 30 different exercises. You do each exercise for 20 seconds and the first time through you go straight into 20 seconds of burpees, after each move, then have a 20 second rest. In the second round, you do forward and back squat jumps after every move instead. The intervals are a mix of cardio moves, such as, squat jumps and split lunge jumps, and bodyweight strength moves, such as, push-ups or planks. Therefore, there is quite a lot of up and down, from the floor, as you transition between the intervals so be prepared for that but that is part of the challenge. None of the moves are rushed and Caroline keeps a nice even pace throughout so it is not all out crazy (with the exception of the push-ups, which are fast). However, the strength work still kept my heart rate up and this is particularly so as you transition straight into cardio after every move. You will definitely appreciate those 20 seconds of rest!
The trick with this workout, at least in my opinion, is to just take it one interval at a time – just think I can get through this 20 seconds and then you are on to the next. You will see Caroline take extra “breather” breaks throughout so just do as much as you can and then take a breather and get right back into it. She also mentions that you can take the jumps out, if you prefer, or just do half of the workout – so just do the first circuit rather than both. This allows you to work up to the full hour, if necessary.
In regard to the burpees - Caroline suggests doing burpees with a release push-up at the bottom. So you come down completely, with your stomach on the ground, take your hands off the floor for a moment, and then push back up and do a jump at the top. Now I will admit I did modify my burpees, as I don’t like going right to floor, so I did a burpee with a plank jack at the bottom and then jump in and up. I found that in 20 seconds I did 5 of these, which I found useful to know as if I needed a few extra seconds to get up and in position, from the previous move, I knew that I still just had to do 5 reps and then I had completed the 20 seconds. I found this just helped me feel less stressed about trying to really rush quickly to the next move (maybe that’s just my psychology but it works for me!)
Note towards the end of the circuits there is a lot more core work so you are having to get up and down each time. However, I did rather like lying down for some of the moves at that point!
The workout ends with a very brief stretch so I added a few extra stretches on the end, particularly for the calves (Update**: I had some serious calf DOMs for days after this workout so I would suggest stretching your calves really well after this one!)
(One thing to note is that the routine does not include a warm-up but Caroline provides a link in the comments to a 5 min warm-up routine. I did some lighter kickboxing cardio before this so I just went straight into it).
Overall, an intense cardio Hiit workout that will really challenge the whole body. This is also a great travel workout, as you only need a mat, if you are on a hard surface.
(In case you are interested, Caroline has also just recently launched her free 10 week "EPIC Workout Programme" plus a 5 Day Beginner version on her YouTube channel. For more details click HERE).
The Workout
1 Hour Hardcore Hiit Full Body Workout is a cardio Hiit and bodyweight strength workout consisting of two rounds of 30 different intervals each performed for 20 seconds followed immediately by 20 seconds of burpees or forward & back squat jumps and then a 20 second rest.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
1 Hour Hardcore Hiit Full Body Workout is 65 minutes long (63 mins workout time). There is no warm up included with this routine but Caroline provides a link to a 5 minute warm-up you can do beforehand. There is a 2:30 minute intro, before the workout starts, where Caroline explains what is coming, tells you what equipment you need and ideas on modifications that you might need to make this workout your own. (The workout starts at 2:30 minutes).
Each Interval below is 20 seconds of work followed immediately by 20 seconds of burpees or 20 seconds of forward & back squat jumps and then 20 seconds of rest.
Round 1 – 20 seconds of Burpees after every move below
Squat jumps
Lunge, lunge, squat
Static lunge jumps
Static lunge jumps (other side)
Lunge, squat, lunge
Push-ups
Shoulder taps in straight arm plank
Plank up & down (walk down from straight arm plank to elbow plank & back up)
Crab kicks (in reverse plank; reaching to alternating foot)
Pike shoulder taps
Plank tucks (start in straight arm plank & jump feet into hands & back out)
Straight leg marches (reaching opposite arm to foot)
Butterfly sit-ups
Crunches
Hollow to toe reach
Lunge to kick
Lunge to kick (other side)
Forward & back squat walks
Lateral squat walks
Squat pulses
Elbow plank alternating leg raise
Elbow plank hips up & down
Rotating side planks (start in elbow plank & rotate to side plank then back & over to other side; reaching arm up)
Plank walkouts (start standing; walk out to straight arm plank & walk back in to standing)
Elbow plank hold
Reverse crunches
Leg opener (lying on back; raise straight legs up & lower then open / close legs)
Heel taps (lying on back w knee bent off floor; tap feet down & up)
Single leg lower
Single leg lower (other side)
Round 2 - Repeat above with 20 seconds of forward & back squat jumps after every move.
The workout ends with a 2:30 minute cool down and stretch.
Take Action
Try it today! Check out Caroline’s YouTube channel HERE.
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