For the past few weeks, I wanted to try a workout series not on Beachbody On-Demand. So I decided to try out Caroline Girvan’s Iron series, a free 6-week workout series on YouTube.
Looking at her tight tummy and muscular arms and legs, I felt really good about my decision. She has to know what she’s doing right?
Here’s the Breakdown of the Iron Series:
- It’s led by creator Caroline Girvan
- The printable workout calendar shows this is for 5 days a week for 6 weeks
- Her weights are in KG but she provides the lbs on screen.
- Equipment needed: a variety of weights (light, medium, heavy), a sturdy chair wide enough to lay on for glutes days), a gym mat. Also helpful: an adjustable workout step, mirror, and a big fan (because whew! it gets hot!).
- You can stream the workouts for free from her YouTube channel.
- Each video is about 35-38 minutes, but that includes her talking intro and cooldown time.
- This could be considered a low-impact workout. The only modification would be to lessen your range of motion or lower your weights.
Everything above you can learn online. If you know you want to get started but might need some equipment, start here:
Dumbbell Set (variety of weights)
Bowflex Adjustable Dumbbells (up to 52.5 lbs)
Large Fan (because you’re going to sweat!)
Adjustable Aerobic Step (I used in lieu of dip bars or chair)
Exercise Mat (I prefer 1/2 thick for extra cushion)
Below is my honest review and feedback of Caroline Girvan’s Iron series workouts after going through the entire program.
PROS
- As stated above, she is in great shape, which is motivating on its own.
- She has a great smile and seems like a really friendly lady, so it’s like you’re just working out with a buddy.
- The moves are pretty basic, easy to follow.
- No talking. You can play music or whatever as long as you can hear the beeps. I listened to Bridgerton Books on audiobook (woohoo!)!
- These workouts are a high volume of reps to really get your muscles burning!
- Sometimes she drops weights early and takes a quick break. It’s great to see she pushes herself and is human too.
- Since she doesn’t talk, so I focused on stabilization and activation of muscles during moves.
- She varies the format of the workouts. Some are a few moves then repeat, some moves you do 3 sets then move on, some workouts have a burnout move.
- The “iron finisher” at the end is basically one big burnout, but it helps you end a workout REALLY feeling you gave your all.
- She does offer a little motivation on screen with phrases like “You do you!”
- By the end of almost every workout, I had sweat dripping!
- The screen shows a move timer and a progress bar so you always know how much longer is left.
- It’s free!
CONS
As I went through the program, these were what I personally experienced that I didn’t love. These aren’t necessarily “bad” but just not my preference.
- She has a strong accent. What little direction she gives at the start of each video, I usually don’t understand either what she’s saying or what move she’s describing.
- Her glutes days are basically laying half on a chair and doing hip thrusts. So tedious! I did two of these and then replaced with A Little Obsessed’s Booty Day. Just wasn’t my jam.
- When the timer starts, she doesn’t start a move. That’s when she picks up her weights.
- Other than a few reminders on screen or at the start of a video, she doesn’t give much direction. If you don’t know how to do a move, you could easily hurt yourself.
- Sometimes they’ll provide direction on the screen during a move, but if you don’t keep watch on the screen, you can miss it completely.
- The music she plays is mostly techno or the same few songs throughout the series.
- The weights she lifts are like 30s, 40s and 60s. It’s insanely impressive but also is very humbling and confusing when trying to pick my weights.
- There is no warm-up. She talks and then gets started so I just warmed up while she talked, so add that time when you plan your workout.
- While she does change things each day, the workouts themselves can get monotonous. For example, one workout was 6 moves total, done 3 times each.
- While these workouts get your heart rate up, I felt like I still needed more cardio. I made sure to incorporate cardio on my off-days or even with a 10-minute bike ride after.
Overall, I’m glad I tried Iron Series. It was a good change from my regular Beachbody On Demand workouts. I took a few extra rest days when I really needed my cardio fix, so I got through the 6-week program in 7 weeks.
Sidenote: She finishes EVERY workout with two moves:
- Collapse to the floor in exhaustion for a few seconds before the stretch.
- “Thank you for joining me” words and a giant stretch up to the sky on her toes.
And then, of course, a big smile and wave goodbye.
What were my results? I didn’t lose weight but that wasn’t my goal. So maintaining weight is a win.
The repetitive burnout of certain muscles helped me really have to push myself through some of these workouts, but I’m not sure I got much stronger versus just maintaining what strength I had before. But again, a win because maintaining is still great!
My goal was to make it through the program and do my best, which I did. Mission accomplished!
Would I do the Iron Series again? Probably not. I’d rather try another one of her series than repeat this one.
The Iron series workouts were decent, but I didn’t feel like it was anything special. Overall, they were not my preference. I had to motivate myself to do them just to get through the series. But, they were free, which was nice!
Interested in trying out these workouts for yourself? Go to Caroline Girvan’s YouTube Channel »
Have you tried any of Caroline Girvan’s workouts before? Or do you have another free, YouTube channel you follow for workouts? Please comment below. I’d love to give them a try too!
Thank you for reading.
Update: I’ve turned off commenting because:
1) This is a review of my experience. I never said I was a professional. I’m an average person who thought someone else might appreciate a non-professional opinion when looking for a workout.
2) As stated above, there are many positives to these workouts, but in the end, it just wasn’t my preference and I gave reasons. Because it’s a review, I bucketed them into pros and cons for easier scanning but as noted, they aren’t really “cons,” just something that’s not my personal preference.
3) I know not everyone will agree with my thoughts, which is totally understandable. But in the end, this is just a review post of a workout series. Some people are taking this way too seriously.
mel says
Not sure you are certified to give any real opinion on workouts here.
I teach my kids if you have nothing nice to say don’t say anything at all!
This is a free program that Caroline Girvan does at no cost – so just don’t do it if you aren’t a fan- why the negativity?
Debbie says
Hi Mel, Thanks for your question. I definitely never pretend to have any type of fitness certification, I’m just a regular person doing a workout series and posting for others to read if they’re interested. Most of what I say are just facts– an overview of what to expect if they try it too: little to no talking, free!, she uses impressively heavy weights, etc. I don’t feel that most of it was negative, it just wasn’t my jam. But I tried it to give it a chance and I’m glad I did! If you’ve tried it and have different thoughts, I’d love to hear them. It might make me think differently!
I’ve heard great things about her programs, which is why I wanted to try it. If you’ve tried any of her others and like them, I’d love to get your thoughts on which might be good to try next.
Shelley says
Hi I’ve done nearly all her workouts and at 57 I can say they are the best I’ve come across and I’ve done a lot from Jane Fonda to Jillian Michaels and she definitely is at the top for workouts, attitude, keeping the pace going. I love her workouts and cannot wait to see what new workouts she has for us.
Debbie says
That’s so awesome to know! Iron series was the first one I’ve done of hers but I’m currently going through the next series. She definitely has a style to her workouts but they’re effective for sure!
Laura says
I happen to really enjoy these workouts but totally respect your opinion. Everyone has different preferences. One thing I do feel the need to point out: you said you didn’t lose weight. Losing weight doesn’t come from working out it comes from a calorie deficit. If you’re not in a calorie deficit, you won’t lose weight. That has nothing to do with Caroline’s workouts.
Debbie says
You’re right! I wasn’t on a calorie deficit. I didn’t lose weight but I also said I wasn’t trying to either. I guess I assumed that if someone was looking at a post about a workout, they might want to know if I lost weight while doing it, which is why I said that. Her workout didn’t come with an accompanying food plan either, which some do, so I guess I’m used to addressing weightloss in these posts by default.
I’m glad you like her workouts. I can tell a lot of people do, which is why I tried it. She clearly is getting results for herself and others, which is the best part! I am finishing up another one of Caroline’s programs now which I like more, but you’re right, it’s a personal preference and opinion! Thanks for sharing yours!
Kellye M says
Hi! Which is the other of her workouts you liked more? (curious) I personally love her Epic Series workouts (I think there are 3? Though I’ve only had experience with maybe one of them). Also her FUEL series is so so tough (omg). I am doing this one now because I wanted something to get me back into focusing on form and pure weight training and building strength. I think the Iron Series is more focused that way and about pushing yourself with a heavier weight and fewer reps. Theres no real cardio involved at all even in the cadence of the workouts either.
I’ve recently put on some weight (15lbs?) so in this colder month looking forward to focusing back on the more traditional training I’ve done in the past to get strong… and doing separate cardio (even if its 20-30 min treadmill walks or occassional other 20-30 min HiiT workouts thrown in after a lift or on an active rest day). I prob won’t “lose” much weight but I may return to EPIC or FUEL after this when I’m hopefully more overall strong! 🙂
Debbie says
Hi! I just finished Fuel! I’m working on getting the post together but I liked that much more than the Iron series. Agreed Iron didn’t have as much cardio or variation, but I noticed I got stronger during Fuel and wanted to push myself more. I haven’t done any others though. Thanks for mentioning the Epic Series; I’ll look into it!
Lorraine says
Thank you. I love the no talking and her style. The fact that she has a progressive focused sequence in her program is really good
Debbie says
That’s great, I’m glad you enjoyed her workouts! I’m still getting used to her no talking, but it’s understandable that others love it! Thanks for reading 🙂
Michelle says
Thank you for your review. I think some of the above comments are not nice! This is YOUR review, seriously… but anyway, I have done many of Caroline’s workouts and they are not for everyone. I too get bored with them and prefer talking. I DO love lifting heavy (as heavy as I can) I just came across your review now so I haven’t looked into what all you have done, but do you have any other instructors that are streamed that you enjoy?
Debbie says
Thanks Michelle, I appreciate it! There are so many trainers and programs out there and no one style is right for everyone! Most of what I’ve streamed are from BODi (previously Beachbody On Demand) so Caroline is my first trainer outside of my BODi box beyond what I’ve done off Peloton. But I’m a huge fan of Autumn Calabrese, Joel Freeman or Chalene Johnson workouts. I do like Caroline’s style of more lifting though; I’m getting used to her no-talking style. Do you have other instructors you’d recommend that you do enjoy? I’d love to try something new!
VICTOR MCDOWELL says
A review should come from a professional or at least experienced view to give to others. It appeared to me that you judged her based on your lack of knowledge of what she was trying to teach. Your response is common coming from a client of a personal trainer. It’s youtube. It’s very easy to scan the workouts prior to view the movements before you lift. She clearly states the purpose of her workouts. The Iron series is not a cardio driven program. It’s for muscle development. Any trainer will tell you that you have to get cardio in other ways when doing strength training. Cutting up a professional trainer because it’s “Not your Jam” appeared to me to be a bit rude.
Debbie says
Thanks for your comment. Very interesting interpretation of my review post. Yes, I’m an average person (not a professional) who provided an opinion based on my experience of going through her program, and I understand that you disagree with it. I’m providing insight for those who might want some extra background on her workout series before doing it so they know what to expect. To say she doesn’t give a lot of direction (so you need to know what you’re doing before working out), that I needed to add in my own cardio separately or that she lifts very impressively heavy weights (which is humbling for someone of my strength level) isn’t cutting her up at all, in my opinion. Nor is saying that I don’t like the music or that I wouldn’t want to do the program again.
There are hundreds of thousands of people out there who LOVE her programs, format, and probably music too, which is so awesome! They inspired me to try it too. I liked a lot of things about her workouts as well, as noted in the review post. Great point that people can scan the workouts prior if they aren’t experienced enough with exercise to know how to not hurt themselves. Thanks for the addition!