I’m writing this while I wait outside the pool for my session to start. It’s a Sunday and I’m back for another swim, second week in a row. And I had another perfect Freeletics week. So I’m feeling pretty smug right now.
Week 2 of my Freeletics Journey was pretty similar to week 1. Two short-ish runs (an interval and a 2.5km run), and a HIIT Bodyweight workout. For both of the runs I gave Coach feedback that it could be working me harder. The runs are fine, but I reckon I could be running for longer.
My HIIT was Metis. I’ve done it many times before, but am seriously out of practice so I added nearly 3mins onto my PB. I’m not used to doing burpees (forgotten how much I hate them). I took it slowly — I wanted to focus on technique rather than speed. Even though it’s only 8mins or so I still felt exhausted and sweaty at the end.
This consistent approach seems to be working for me too. Not trying to do too many workouts a week. Just Monday, Wednesday and Friday and a bonus weekend freestyle, hence today’s swim.
I’ve also stuck with the intermittent fasting this week, which is getting easier.
So far, so good then for 2022. Going to do my best to keep going.
I’m one week into a new Freeletics Journey. It’s the start of the year and I have a renewed motivation to stick to my fitness plan this year.
And the first week went well. I’ve decided to do Freeletics on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with a bonus weekend workout that could be a swim, a run or a Freeletics workout. Last week I had two runs – a 3km interval run and a 2.5km run. Both pretty straightforward. It was good to be out in the morning before work and to get them out of the way.
Friday’s workout was 2x Athena, which is lots of climbers, sit-ups and squats. My PB is 14mins, but last week it took me almost 20 minutes. I felt pretty out of practice. And I had sore quads for a couple of days.
I’m liking the mix of bodyweight and running. My weekend workout was a swim – first time doing lane-swimming since well before the pandemic. It was more tiring than I remember, but I liked the feeling of stretching my arms and chest.
And then this morning was another interval run which took longer than I thought it would (was a bit laete for work – oops).
My training kind of went out of the window in the latter part of last year. We moved to a new office and I had a longer commute – by bike – that meant I was usually a bit tired after work. I falsely decided that my cycling could partly take the place of training. And so I wasn’t running as much, I wasn’t swimming at all, and as my Freeletics journey was running only, I’d stopped bodyweight exercises altogether.
This blog has become a series of false starts for a while. I seem to return to it when I want to be accountable but then quickly slip out of the routine again. So 2022 is another attempt at consistency.
Do New Year’s resolutions work?
I’ve put on weight. I’m 6ft 0in, and I now weigh 88kg – which according to the NHS website is overweight. When I’ve put on weight in the past, It’s mostly been muscle mass. I used to be skinny and starting Freeletics meant that I quickly gained muscle. But this time it’s just excess fat. My body is less toned, my muscles have waned and I’m feeling achey and ungainly.
Some people don’t like New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve always found them really useful. I like to have that moment of reset – a chance to start again and build better habits and 1 January feels like as good a time as any, especially as I’ve often over-indulged over Christmas.
So I abandoned my previous journey on Freeletics and I’m starting a new one HIIT & Run Weight Loss.
How Freeletics Coach works
If you’re new to this blog, or have stumbled across this post because you’re thinking of starting Freeletics, here’s a quick run down of how it works.
I pay an annual subscription to Freeletics, which means I get access to tailored programmes that coach me through a series of workouts over around 12 weeks. You can set the number of days you want to train per week, and as you move through the journey you can give feedback on how difficult or easy you’re finding the work-outs.
I’ve always liked the ‘impersonal accountability’ of Freeletics. I’ve never fancied the idea of an actual personal trainer (or being willing to spend the money), but I’m not disciplined enough to lead my own workouts regularly, so I like that there is structure and that the app gently encourages you to be consistent and complete every workout.
My new journey – HIIT and Run Weight Loss
HIIT and Run Weight Loss feels like the right journey for me at the moment. It combines bodyweight exercises and runs/sprints, so I mix it up through the week and combine it with other exercises like swimming and cycling to work.
I’ve also decided to structure my week so I train in the morning (I think I’m more likely to train if I can get it out of the way first thing), and that I’m doing Freeletics three times a week. This leaves me with a fourth day at the weekend that I can use for swimming or a free run or something else. I think I was putting too much pressure on myself to exercise five times a week and that’s unsustainable.
So I’m starting tomorrow with a pretty easy 3km run, split into two 1.5kg runs.
Here’s a funny story. My workout mat has basically been disintegrating and my Freeletics resistance band snapped, so I decided to order a new one. I noticed that Freeletics have bundles – mat, jumping rope, resistance band and kettlebell. I thought, why not? The ‘advanced’ bundle had the same resistance band as I’d had before so I ordered that, not really paying attention.
It arrived with a 20kg kettlebell! So heavy. The mat and everything else were great, but I could hardly lift the kettlebell, let alone do most of the exercises on the app.
So back it’s gone to Freeletics – I need to order the, ahem, beginners bundle now.
I was into the idea of the kettlebell because my running journey doesn’t have any strength training in it and I’d been wanting to keep the muscle I’ve built recently.
So while I’m waiting for the new Freeletics order, I’m bringing in some bodyweight exercises alongside my running (and in some cases instead of – I have a longer cycle commute to work now so often feel less like running before or after the work day). I’m enjoying the flexibility actually of choosing my workouts and doing them whenever alongside a coaching journey.
In other news I’ve been experimenting with intermittent fasting. A couple of friends of mine have been doing it and getting great results so I thought I’d give it a go. I’ve signed up to an app (Simple), which is brilliant – a great interface and loads of features and content – and I’m bascially doing 16:8 – usually stopping eating around 7pm and not starting again until mid-morning the following day. I actually quite like it – I feel lighter and more focussed and I’m learning how to work through hunger rather than just give in.
I started well on Run and Burn. Did a few good weeks back-to-back. And then there was a heatwave. And I had a holiday. And I got out of the habit. And so I ended up having a week for a couple of weeks. Frustrating because I was so enthused at the beginning. But it happens. Never mind. Move on.
So today I did some interval running as part of my coach week. I got almost the whole way through (had done 3x 200m and 1x 1.5km) when I accidentally cancelled the workout while fiddling with my phone on a break. So I ended up doing the final two 400m ‘manually’, and inputting the whole thing in to the app with a guess at roughly how long it took.
Anyway, it was good to get out again. I do actually really like running – especially at the beginning or end of the day. It helps clear my head.
So this post is a bit of accountability. I read someone somewhere say that you should never miss more than one workout. And someone else said never go more than one day without exercising. As that’s when you slip. So I’m trying to do that. Not more than one day off. So that means four days training a week. Which feels manageable.
Pretty pleased with myself. I powered through Hell Week at the end of my last Coach Journey. Almost missed a day but forced myself to do it. And when I finished I had a real sense of achievement. Lots of squats, and lots of burpees. Tough but worthwhile.
And now I’m in Week 1 of Run and Burn. I had about a month off running because I was focusing on Freeletics Bodyweight workouts. So I’ve been easing in gently.
So far I’ve had a 2.5km run, and today 3km split into two 1.5km. It’s been nice to run within my comfort zone, not pushing too hard. Getting back into my stride. I’ve got some interval runs coming up next, but nothing too strenuous.
And I’m liking some of the new(ish) features on the app — particularly the streak badges. They’re good motivation to keep consistent.
And I’m also enjoying how the warm ups for run and burn are thorough. You do genuinely feel like you’ve warmed up – heart beating a bit faster.
Looking forward to building distance and speed over the next few weeks of runs.
This morning I had to check that I didn’t have a setting that was excluding upper body exercises, because I’ve been so many squats, jumps and burpees.
I’m noticing a difference in my legs though. They might be aching a lot, but they feel stronger and they look bigger.
It’s also been nice to bring back a bit of discipline. I’m determined to do this week consistently. And this morning’s workout was with a slight hangover 😳
I’d kind of forgotten how much regular exercise lifts my mood and makes me feel more energized. It’s great. I’m even kind of looking forward to the next three days’ sessions.
I’ve also been out and about a bit more on my bike, so getting some extra cardio exercise in.
Once this week is over I’m going to have a day off and then start a new running journey. Can’t wait.
My latest Freeletics journey has been a bit of a flop. Rather like my belly hitting the mat when doing burpees. I started with enthusiasm a long, long time ago and it’s just kind of slowed down to a crawl. I’ve only really been working out once or twice a week, running a couple of times, but it’s fair to say I’ve lost my mojo a bit.
I’m also not shifting the lockdown weight I’ve put on, which is making working out feel a bit more onerous. I don’t feel as nimble as I used to.
So I have one more session to do in this journey, which I’m going to do tomorrow. And then I start hell week. Which strangely, I’m up for. I’m also on a 6 day COVID self-isolation because the track and trace app pinged me. So a good excuse to get the mat out and break a sweat.
And then I think I’m going to choose a running journey. Give the bodyweight exercises a rest for a little while. Try and pick up my pace and do some longer distances. I’ve been trying to combine free running with a bodyweight-only journey and I just haven’t been doing either of them very well. So I thought I’d focus on one thing for a while and see how that goes.
I’ve also recently subscribed to an organic vegetables box and that’s really helping my diet. I tend to eat better in the summer anyway, but it’s nice to be eating lots of fresh produce.
So yeah. Yet again, here I am on this blog pledging a new start. Let’s see this time.
So in a bid to get back on track, I’ve been trying to do Freeletics exercises with correct form. I realised that quite often I’m just racing through workouts to try and get them done.
I tried this men’s health pushup routine this week that aims to build your chest. It’s tough. And that led me to realise that my push-up form was sloppy.
I tend to let my whole lower body touch the floor, meaning that when I push back up I’m only really lifting my upper body as I’m able to push my lower body up itself.
I re-watched the Freeletics instruction video and then did 10 with correct form. Knees and hips not touching the floor. It’s hard! But feels like I’m actually making a difference.
So that’s my week – correcting a form that I’ve been getting wrong for years.
I feel like I’m mainly using this blog as a way of trying to motivate myself to train. Most of my posts these days are about me feeling like I’m not making the most of Freeletics, not training enough, not seeing results etc etc
And here I am again.
Here in the UK the clocks have gone forward, the nights will be getting lighter and the weather warmer. Out go the carbs and the red wine, in comes salads and gin and tonics.
And today, Sunday, I’m at the end of a week off, ready to go back to work and I noticed that my Freeletics coach has just renewed for another year.
So in the spirit of using this blog as some kind of accountability, here’s where I’m at:
Switching up the diet again and focusing on fewer carbs, less calorific booze and more vegetables
I’ve been consisent with my running so I’m going to keep up with that and continue trying to run further, faster. I’m also going to research getting a new training programme for running as that tends to keep me on track
I’ve been consistently doing Freeletics twice a week. Needs to be three times minimum. Fridays have slipped so I’m bringing them back
A Freeletics Journey 