Name: Playbook - Caroline Drury - W4/D6 Hamstrings & Glutes (RPE 9)
Uploaded: 2025-10-13T05:44:55.129Z
Duration: 45 min
Description: W4/D6 Hamstrings & Glutes (RPE 9)

Leslie

Wowza! This was a great block! Made some great progress with increasing weights.

Amanda

I PR’d with my deadlifts today.😳
This Block 9 had me really digging deep. All the years I’ve spent the gym trying to figure it out on my own, I’ve never put more than 20 pounds on an Olympic bar because I convinced myself I wasn’t strong enough.  I’ve surprised myself often in the last 9 months & I love surprises.🙃🤭

Kimberly Yamamoto

A day dedicated to the back of the legs, the hamstrings, and the glutes.

3 sets
10-12 reps
controlled tempo
45 seconds rest

- Begin the movement by bending at the waist and pushing your hips back towards the machine 
- Keep a neutral spine throughout the entire movement 
- Keep pushing your hips back until you feel a nice stretch in your hamstrings 
- Pause for a second and reverse the movement by driving the hips forward 
- Ensure that you squeeze and activate your glutes at the top of the movement 
- Keeps the hands and arms stable and uninvolved in the motion. They are there to simply hold the rope.

Cable - Pull Through

2 sets
6 reps 
controlled tempo
rest 90 seconds

- Warm up to a working weight: your working weight on this exercise will be approximately 30% less than your standard deadlift weight

- This is NOT an exercise on which to aim for PRs. This is a technical exercise designed to work on a specific element of the deadlift: Staying tight at the bottom portion of the lift.

- Most people lose body tightness as soon as they start the deadlift action. This is a lift to help you build the body tightness at the bottom portion of the lift.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTION:
- Approach the bar so that it is centred over your feet
- Take a big breath and then lower your hips and flex the knees until your shins contact the bar
- Look forward with your eyes
- Keep your chest proud and squeeze the armpits to maintain upper back tightness
- PUSH into the floor with your legs to drive the motion, do not pull with the back
- Pause for one to two seconds with the weight plates 1" to 2" off the ground, holding the pause with the legs and glutes, NOT the back
- Lower the bar by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor
- The bar path should be straight up and down in the pull, and as you lower the bar

**For more thorough guidance on the deadlift, please watch the expanded explanation in the Strength Training 101 course. 

SUBSTITUTION:
- Dual dumbbell paused deadlift

Barbell - Paused Deadlift

3 sets
10-12 reps 
controlled tempo
60 seconds rest

WARM-UPs:
-Warm up to a working weight, then perform the prescribed reps and sets

-Warm-up sets do not count towards your working sets

-Warm-ups at this range can follow this protocol:
1. Warm-up set 1: 5 reps at 50% of your working load
2. Warm-up set 2: 3 reps at 70% of your working load
3. Warm-up set 3: 1-2 reps at 90% of your working load

EXERCISE DESCRIPTION:
- Approach the bar so that it is centred over your feet
- Take a big breath and then lower your hips and flex the knees until your shins contact the bar
- Look forward with your eyes
- Keep your chest proud and squeeze the armpits to maintain upper back tightness
- PUSH into the floor with your legs to drive the motion, do not pull with the back
- Lower the bar by bending at the hips and guiding it to the floor
- The bar path should be straight up and down in the pull, and as you lower the bar

**For more thorough guidance on the deadlift, please watch the expanded explanation in the Strength Training 101 course. 

A list of substitutions is below if the barbell deadlift is not available to you or too advanced for your current abilities:

1. Block pull
2. Rack pull
3. Dual dumbbell deadlift
4. Banded deadlift

Barbell - Deadlift

3 sets
10-12 reps 
3111 tempo - 3 second slow descent
60 seconds rest

- Keeping the bar glued to the legs, slowly lower the bar with a slight bend in your knees, "tighten the armpits," hinge at the hips, and keep your back straight (neutral).
- Lower the weight until you feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings
- Drive your hips forward and use your hamstrings to power back to standing
-The goal of the Romanian deadlift is to extend the hips BACK as far as they can safely go, not to get the chest lowered toward the ground

SUBSTITUTION:
-Dumbbell Romanian deadlift

Barbell - Romanian Deadlift

3 sets
10-12 x 1.5 reps
controlled tempo
60 seconds rest

- Perform a full rep and a half paused rep on any leg curl machine of your choice, sitting or lying on your belly.

Machine - 1+1/2-Rep Hamstring Curl

A "superset" is an exercise sequence where you do the prescribed exercises one after another. 

In this superset, you will do:

A - Back Extension
10-12 reps
controlled tempo
No rest; go directly onto B

B - Banded - Seated Hip Abduction
30 reps: 10 x leaning forward, 10 x sitting straight, 10 x leaning back
controlled tempo
60s rest, then got back to A

Repeat this superset 3 times.

- Perform back extensions with control, beginning the movement by squeezing the glutes, not pulling with the back
- Maintain total body control through the exercises, and watch that you don't hyperextend the back at the top position

Back Extension

- Start seated with a band around both knees
- Then slowly extend your knees away from you until it hits a 45-degree angle
- Then return them to the starting position

Banded - Seated Hip Abduction

Glutes Superset 2

W4/D6 Hamstrings & Glutes (RPE 9)

Lydie

W1/D0 🎉 Welcome to Block 9!

W1/D1 Cardio

Back at it…had to step away for a couple of days…feel much better getting it done!💪🏼 Have a great day ladies!

Tina

Back un rthe saddle for real training 😁

Sarah

Wishing for some text about an alternative, if there is no leg press machine. I always what I can do and it’s hard to look up while working out.

W1/D1 Quad Focused (RPE 7)

W1/D2 Cardio

The cues on the stability ball finally clicked!  Thank you Caroline!

Diamond pushups are no joke! That was a tough workout but I feel great!

Remedios

Good.  I need to work on push ups.😰😰😰

W1/D2 Chest, Triceps & Core (RPE 7)

I had a wonderful run, sun is shining, endorphins running and life is good!
😍

W1/D3 Cardio

Barbell paused squat says to do three sets, and also two sets in the same page. I’m getting back on the train here and really enjoyed the gift of time series, though it was hard to participate as I was traveling

I’m definitely not hating repeating lifts & working on form.  THANK YOU!!🤗

W1/D3 Glutes & Shoulders (RPE 7)

W1/D4 Active Rest Day

W1/D5 Back, Biceps & Core (RPE 7)

W1/D5 Cardio

W1/D6 Cardio

Great!  I took it a little lighter today…still a little sore from earlier this week.  Felt good!!😎

W1/D6 Hamstrings & Glutes (RPE 7)

W1/D7 Active Rest Day

W2/D1 Cardio

Holy cow! Sissy squats… need I say more?!?! 🔥

Lisa

Great!  I love the 6 rep slow tempo before the 12 reps for squats.  I feel like it helps get my mind right for the high rep sets.👍🏼

W2/D1 Quad Focused (RPE 8)

W2/D2 Cardio

Good.  Only because I knew what I was doing…I’m pathetic with upper body, but determined to progress.😤😤😤

W2/D2 Chest, Triceps & Core (RPE 8)

W2/D3 Cardio

W2/D3 Glutes & Shoulders (RPE 8)

W2/D4 Active Rest Day

W2/D5 Back, Biceps & Core (RPE 8)

W2/D5 Cardio

W2/D6 Cardio

Did this workout at the gym and really loved it!  I could even handle the back extensions!! Thank you Caroline!! 🏋️‍♀️💪💗

Doris

Rough, but got it done.  So glad that I know the lifts & I only have to focus on execution.  Even 8 months in, I’m still feeling the challenge.

W2/D6 Hamstrings & Glutes (RPE 8)

W2/D7 Active Rest Day

W3/D1 Cardio

Awesome! First time doing the gym circuit.

Jamie

It’s been 5 months and I’m back. This quad workout was TOUGH but reminds me how strong I am and can be. 🦵🏽🙂

W3/D1 Quad Focused (RPE 8.5)

W3/D2 Cardio

Had to adjust for R shoulder, but excellent workout!! 💗

Good…if only my upper body would just catch up with my lower body.🫠

W3/D2 Chest, Triceps & Core (RPE 8.5)

Bike ride in the warm Arizona weather🤗

W3/D3 Cardio

Good!  Love the focus on form in this workout with squats & hip thrusts.  Haven’t progressed with upper body weight, but I have with tempo/reps.👍🏼.

W3/D3 Glutes & Shoulders (RPE 8.5)

W3/D4 Active Rest Day

I found this to be a bit smoother today…week 3, I’ll take it as progress.👍🏼

W3/D5 Back, Biceps & Core (RPE 8.5)

W3/D5 Cardio

W3/D6 Cardio

My favorite workout of the week! 🦵🏽

W3/D6 Hamstrings & Glutes (RPE 8.5)

W3/D7 Active Rest Day

W4/D1 Cardio

Sweaty!!  Progressed with most!
Leg day just hits different.😎

W4/D1 Quad Focused (RPE 9)

W4/D2 Cardio

W4/D2 Chest, Triceps & Core (RPE 9)

W4/D3 Cardio

Challenging…even on week 4. I made small progress with barbell hip thrusts with more weight, but I’ve learned that progression comes in various forms, not just adding weight.  My barbell squats didn’t have extra lbs, but I could squat deeper & really focus on the pause.
😁

W4/D6 Hamstrings & Glutes (RPE 9)

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