Things to do before I’m 40

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:

1. Switching up the diet again and focusing on fewer carbs, less calorific booze and more vegetables
2. 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
3. I’ve been consistently doing Freeletics twice a week. Needs to be three times minimum. Fridays have slipped so I’m bringing them back
4. Need to build strength again so I’ve started this Men’s Health Pushup Programme which is tougher than it looks.
5. Lots of water
6. Less sugar
7. Good sleep

I’m 40 in July. My goal is to have lost the lockdown belly and feel healthy and full of energy by then.

Let’s go.

Kicking those bad habits

If I could eat this every day, I would. Photo by Peter Bravo de los Rios on Unsplash

I think I’m starting to use this blog as some kind of accountability tool. Here I am again, after a weekend of eating and drinking a little much, blogging that I feel behind on Freeletics. That I didn’t run at the weekend. That I missed a workout on Friday. Blah Blah.

But then I did run twice and workout twice. So that’s not all bad. But weekends do seem to be one big blow-out at the moment. Me and my partner behaving like Friday night to Sunday night is one big treat day. Snacks. High calorie food. Not much exercise. Too much alcohol.

So I think next week I’m going to try harder to eat better. Less shit food, get out in the fresh air (it’s going to be a bit warmer too). And maybe cool off on the booze, as that’s what derails me.

Meanwhile in Freeletics-world I’ve been adapting a few of the sessions as I don’t have a box to jump over (it’s frustrating becasue they seem to be pushing those exercises and I live in a tiny flat). And the cardio has been tiring me out, but that always feels good. Lots of leg-work last week which, coupled with running, made my quads ache!

Today I have a 1.5km run and some pistol squats (which I’m getting much better at!). And then on Wednesday it’s Orpheus and Negative Handstand Pushups (which not only can I not do, I also don’t have space in my flat to do them properly, so that’s another switch-out).

I hope I write again next week having stuck to everything I’ve just written. Let’s see.

In the zone

I think it’s fair to say that I’m in the zone at the moment. I’m in a routine where I’m either doing Freeletics or running every day apart from one rest day. It feels manageable, not too much and I even look forward to it to break up the somewhat stationary nature of home-working.

I’m 9 sessions into my new Freeletics journey (Weights-Free Gain) and it’s pushing me a bit more than my previous journey was. I’ve been trying to be as honest as possible with my coach feedback and it seems to be working. Lots of chest/arms exercises which is really helping as I’m also doing the pullups training e-book.

I’ve also tweaked my diet a little. I’m drinking less (partly because my partner has stopped drinking altogether so it’s less tempting to drink regularly), and I’ve been upping the protein in my diet and trying to cut down on fats/carbs.

Yesterday I did a quick 3.5km run after finishing work (seven hours of back-to-back zooms – I practically sprinted out of the house blinking into the early evening gloom). I really noticed I was able to sustain a faster pace – around 5 mins per kilometre, much faster than I was running.

And I’m noticing a slight change in physique. All those chest/arms workouts and pullups are giving me a little more definition, which is great.

Blimey – this is a smug post. Just wanted to celebrate a little at the end of the week. Onwards.

Getting real about drinking

Yesterday I watched a documentary on BBC iPlayer that Adrian Chiles made about his drinking. More specifically about how if you’re a regular social drinker, it’s not really seen to be a problem. You know, a few pints here, a couple of glasses of wine with dinner, big nights out at the weekend.

I’ve massively cut back on my drinking over the past few years. I’m much more moderate and don’t often drink to get drunk, which I used to do when I was in my twenties. But I definitely identified with Chiles, particularly around how drinking is such a social lubricant (“alcohol is the only drug you apologise for not taking”).

It made me download the Drink Aware app, and to start logging my drinking, in a bid to cut down. I have to say I think the 14 units recommendation is a little draconian. That really isn’t very much alcohol in a week. But I’m going to see what it’s like to try and stick to it. Because I know I don’t want to give up drinking. I enjoy it. I like wine. I enjoy trying unusual cocktails or tasting whisky. And I’m able to stop. So perhaps massively reducing the amount I drink will help me enjoy it more.

I had to work last night (a Saturday), so I after watching the documentary I was thinking that I wouldn’t drink after I finished work. But true to form I caved immediately. And ended up going out until about 2am. Strong work. Although I didn’t drink a huge amount and I stayed clear of beer.

But this morning I wasn’t about to let myself off the hook, so I went to the park and trained. It was the final workout of my Coach week – Ares. A quick workout so it wasn’t too painful. I replaced the pull-ups with jumping pull-ups though. Not quite there yet.

There was a little kid with his grandma in the park. About five years old. He came over and wanted to chat. Asking me what I was doing. Peering at my screen as Coach counted down from 5. Was a bit distracting, but kind of cute. He asked if he could join in!

Later today, after training, I cycled to the swimming pool and managed 42 lengths (I do two more every time I go). I hadn’t really eaten much so was pretty tired by the end. Rewarded myself with a massive bowl of salads and quiche from my favourite cafe near the pool.

It’s also nice to have my bike back. It’s been broken for a while, so I’ve been getting the bus and walking everywhere. Today I cycled for over half an hour just getting from A to B.

So actually I’m pretty pleased with my slightly hungover Sunday. Lots of physical stuff. And I went to someone’s birthday drinks just now and didn’t drink, and it was FINE. Didn’t even feel like I needed to.

Always feels nice when you have a good start to the new week/month. Hoping I can keep up the good work.

A bad week

I had such good intentions. But this week didn’t go so well. This is mainly due to having a friend/colleague visit from another country. I’ve been on tour-guide duty, making sure she met the right people, saw the sites and ate at the right places.

It started well. I did a good swim on Sunday and I did fit in a Freeletics workout on Wednesday morning. But the rest of the week has been pretty lazy. And I’ve been eating out and drinking alcohol.

I’m trying to save money at the moment, so both of those things aren’t supposed to be on the agenda.

But I guess I’m going to cut myself some slack. It was important to be there for my guest. And I’ve had a really nice week.

Today is Friday, and I’m working from home. I’m going to get a good few hours work under my belt and then do a workout later on. And I have to get up super early on Saturday to go to London for work so it’s no drinking and an early night tonight. Lots of water.

You can always reset and start again. And next week is all fresh and new.

Mind games over a pint of beer.

 

This is a quick post to say that I very nearly fell at the first hurdle today. It’s so easy to make all these promises about what you’re going to do in the week on a Sunday. And then on Monday, a colleague said casually, “My meeting has been cancelled, so if anyone fancies a pint in the sun after work, I’m game”. It was on the tip of my tongue to say yes. I’d submitted a big proposal, had a productive day and the sun was shining.

But then I played a mental game with myself. I fast-forwarded to later in the evening. I’d arrrive home a bit tipsy after drinking on an empty stomach (one pint would no doubt turn into 2 or 3). I’d eat a big bowl of pasta (because it’s quick and easy).

Then I fast-forwarded to tomorrow morning, when I’d wake up a bit groggy and not want to exercise. So I’d miss another day. And then I fast-forwarded to the end of the week. I wouldn’t have been able to tick off my ‘no alcohol’ and ‘Freeletics’ goals on Coach.me.

Did I want to set that train in motion, or did I want to come home, exercise and then cook a healthy dinner? Early night, up early tomorrow morning for another Freeletics session?

I knew that the high of a cold beer in the sun wasn’t worth as much as the feeling of accomplishment if I stuck to my plan.

So I stuck to the plan. And now I’m sat at home, having had a delicious low-fat, high protein stir-fry after Freeletics, feeling pretty. damn. smug.

I have one thing to say about my work out today. Can anyone actually do Jackknives like the guy in the photo/video? I mean really? I can barely lift my shoulders off the floor. When does that get easier? I feel so ungraceful when I do them.

And that, my friends, is Monday. Over and out.

Freeletics Bodyweight 4.0 Review #2

I’ve now done two more days of the new Coach. And I have to say I’m really enjoying it. The workouts are shorter and more intense, and I’m finding that they’re really working my muscles a lot harder (I’m have more of that satisfying soreness – is it satisfying?).

Yesterday I did:

10 Jumps
Poseidon

The jumps, pan, no problem. I did Poseidon in 04:09, but no star because I still can’t do perfect form pullups.

And then today, the final day of my three-day Coach week, was

Conditioning
Interval: Core, Upper Body.
3 rounds of:
Commando Pullups Left x10
Side Plank Twists Left x15
Side Plank Twists Right x15
Commando Pullups Right x10
Plank Switches x10

Taking each in turn:

Commando Pullups
I found these relatively straightforward although I’m not doing them correct form. I could just about do 3 the other day and it was the same this time. Then I started having to give myself a little jump start.

Side Plank Twists
I liked these. I could feel that they will be good for core strength, but they were also nice stretches. They got more testing later on in the workout.

Plank Switches
I also enjoyed these. They were fairly tough later on, but they were a nice change from pushups.

I’m really liking how the workouts are quite quick, but work your muscle groups really hard. I am finding it much easier to do before work. And not racing against the clock means that I’m much more likely to concentrate on whether I’m doing things right, rather than trying to beat a PB.

I’ve set the next Coach week to 2 workouts which I’ll do later this week, as I’ve now done four days in a row (including two swimming sessions and an hour’s bike ride).

While I’m here, a quick update on nutrition…

I’ve been making some really conscious changes to my diet. These include:

• Cutting out bread as much as possible
• Low carb lunches (usually a chicken salad or similar)
• Porridge or overnight protein oats for breakfast
• As much fruit and veg as possible, certainly more than five pieces a day
• Shit-loads of water
• Cutting down on beer and wine in favour of spirits, and cutting down my drinking alcohol at all to one or two nights a week.
• Higher protein content in most meals (last night’s steak was delicious!)

10 Things I’ve Learned From a Year of Freeletics

It’s almost exactly a year to the day since I joined Freeletics. You can read my first post here.

I’m currently on Week 24, so give or take I’ve taken about twice the time I should have done to get this far. I stopped for a month, and some weeks I just can’t fit in the workouts (or can’t be bothered!).

But this week, something switched. I’ve hit PBs on every single workout so far. Today I had three sets of 50 burpees and I found them pretty straightforward – did them almost continuously without stopping and beat my PB on each set. And then I did 2x Morpheus, which was fun. Yes, FUN.

I’m noticing I’m much more flexible, have more energy, my body shape is changing significantly (particularly noticeable on my thighs, shoulders, biceps and chest), and I find myself looking forward to workouts. And as I get quicker and my form gets cleaner, I find that I want to work outside more. Freeletics clears my head.

At the beginning of this journey, I read the evangelical blogs and transformation videos with a degree of scepticism. I doubted that working out could feel so good. But now I get it. I totally get it.

So what have I learnt this year?

1. Pull-ups are really hard

   
   If you haven’t worked out regularly before doing Freeletics, and you’re slim, you’ll probably find doing correct-form pull-ups really hard. Impossible even. I’ve been trying all year and still can only do Jumping Pull-ups. But I’m doing at least 10 every day and recently I’ve noticed that I’m almost doing proper pull-ups now. Keep at it. As for the other skills you need to unlock on the Bodyweight app, sheesh. I’m nowhere near those yet.

2. Burpees are hard, but effective and are over quite quickly

   
   I found burpees really hard and very exhausting at the beginning, but I think they’re by far the most effective exercise, as they target lots of muscles at once. It’s really satisfying when you get faster, and they never last that long.

3. Exercising outside is by far the best way to do Freeletics

   
   It took me a while to pluck up the courage to work out in my local park despite it being less than a minute from my front door. I was worried about people giving me funny looks, or that my sweaty, red face would scare children. I was also anxious that people who also used the park to work out would be critical of my form (which was also a reason why it took me a while to work out at the gym). But actually, no one gives a shit. I certainly don’t look at other people when they’re working out. And the fresh air makes you feel really good. Can’t recommend it enough. Here are 7 tips from Freeletics about training outdoors in winter.

4. You won’t see a big transformation if you don’t make a radical shift with your nutrition

   
   I started Freeletics because I noticed I was getting a slight beer belly. And while it has certainly reduced it, I haven’t seen the huge transformation that the YouTube videos promise. And that’s because I really enjoy red wine and beer. My diet has changed. I eat more protein, less carbs, more vegetables. I drink less, I’ve cut out sugar in coffee and I eat almost zero junk food. But I haven’t radically shifted my diet. I haven’t bought the nutrition coach. I still drink alcohol. But I’m okay with that. I’m fitter, more healthy and my body has changed.  
   

5. I find it really hard to get up first thing in the morning to exercise

   
   I’ve tried everything: setting a timer on the TV to come on, going to bed earlier and so on, but I still find it really hard to get out of bed and exercise before work. But when I do, blimey it feels good. You feel like you’re ahead of everyone in the day, it gives you energy, a sense of achievement and forces you to have a good post-workout breakfast. Basically it sets you up for the day. But for some reason all of that still doesn’t make me jump out of bed.

6. Don’t sit down on the sofa!

   
   And if you didn’t work out before work, then avoid sitting down on the sofa when you get home at all costs. I make myself strip out of my work clothes and change into my workout gear straight away otherwise it’s so much harder to get going.

7. You won’t stick with it if you don’t buy the coach

   
   I tried doing Freeletics without Coach and I think unless you have superhuman discipline and motivation, it’s really hard to stick at it unless you stump up. Coach pushes you to do harder work-outs, it makes sure you work out your entire body, and it you get the satisfaction of ticking off days and weeks as you go (and no, I don’t get paid by Freeletics to say this!).

8. Form trumps speed

   
   The app foregrounds beating your PB with each work-out, but often taking your time and making sure that all your exercises are correct form is far more important. I seem to get better results doing that and in the long run it helps you get quicker too. 

9. Stretching works

   
   And finally, stretching works. It might be boring, but it really works. And it makes you feel much more flexible and strong. And reduces muscle pain when you push yourself. Why would you not?

10. The community works

    
    I don’t feel like I’ve properly tapped into the Freeletics community yet. I followed some people by reading the sub-Reddit, and by looking at other people’s followers. Hardly any of my Facebook friends are on Freeletics and those that are are all at Level 1. And there isn’t a Freeletics group in Bristol, so I don’t have a crew of people who I train with (although I am considering starting one). But when people who follow me give me a #clapclap or comment on and like this blog, it’s a real boost. Thanks guys!

 

 

 

Sunday Swimming

Image from unsplash.com (Artem Verbo)

Had a big night out last night with some friends. Cutting back on drinking is often hard on the weekends when you want to socialise, and when the social norm is to get absolutely shitfaced.

But what’s been really helping me cut back isn’t so much the obvious health benefits, but the thought of having a nice Sunday with a clear head.

So last night I had friends over to my place for pizza and pre-drinks, and then we headed out. I had a few glasses of white wine at home but then once we were out I just stopped drinking. It helped that the club was the packed and only seemed to serve Red Stripe in cans and tiny G&Ts in flimsy plastic cups.

I hung out for a bit and watched some of the live performances that were on, chatted to some friends and then headed home about 2am. By that time the effects of the wine were wearing off, and I slept soundly for a full eight hours. Bliss.

And then today has been about good food, relaxing, doing washing and my weekly swim. 

I’ve blogged about this before, but I find swimming a real head clearer, and it uses my body in a very different way to Freeletics. I’m not a very strong swimmer so a quick 20 lengths is about all I do, and then I go to my new favourite coffee shop and watch the world go by. So much better than lying on the sofa nursing a hangover and eating junk food.

Check out these articles:

Being teetotal is intoxicating
8 reasons you should be in the pool

Also, I’ve recently discovered The Greatist, which has really good articles on health, fitness and nutrition.

I completed Freeletics Hell Week and this is what happened…

That was tough. I’d had a month away from Freeletics and when I picked up where I left off, I realised I had one week left of the initial 15-week programme. So I didn’t feel like I was entering Hell Week at peak form. My diet hadn’t been great, I’d been drinking quite a bit and I hadn’t exercised for ages.

But I made a promise to myself to complete the week in the correct time (i.e. not leaving any gaps between days) and I bloody well did it!

Here are my observations on the rest of Hell Week:

• I read somewhere that your mind underestimates what your body can do. This is totally true. So many times throughout the week my mind was telling me that I couldn’t do any more, but if I just pushed my body one step further, pressed go on the next set, forced myself to do just 10 more burpees, it was amazing how much I could achieve. I really didn’t think I’d be able to do all the exercises back-to-back, but now it’s done it doesn’t feel so daunting. And now I look at next week and think ‘what a breeze’
• Sleep really helps. You can do so much more when you’ve had a good night’s sleep
• I don’t think I’ve ever drunk as much water as I have this week, and yet I seemed to always be thirsty. Maybe like 3 or 4 litres a day.
• My appetite was also huge. I tried to make sure I ate well this week.
• There were a lot of pull-ups in my workouts this week. I still can’t do the correct form, so replaced them all with Jumping Pull-ups. I’m getting stronger though
• It’s a clever trick of Freeletics to give you Hell Week at the end of Week 15. I saw my body transform more quickly that it has been, and I reckon if I’d stuck to good nutrition and done the programme in 15 weeks rather than 25 I think I’d have been submitting my transformation photos to Freeletics. But I still feel like I’ve got some more work to do.
• I like Krios. It’s a nice workout
• I hate 3x Metis Strength. Hate it.
• I really like working out in the open air rather than inside. Especially in summer.

I also downloaded the Freeletics Nutrition app this week and signed up for the Coach. But then I have to say that on looking at the recipes, I got an immediate refund. I just didn’t like the look of the programme, and have seen better and more tasty lean recipes elsewhere. Food is just too important to me. So I’m going to continue eating lean and healthy, but I don’t really want to have that level of control over what I eat. It’s enough to have a work-out routine. Sorry Freeletics. Not for me.

So there we go. 15 weeks down and where am I?

• I am much stronger, fitter and in much better shape than when I started
• My stamina and endurance has increased hugely
• Freeletics has had a positive effect on my mental health, reducing anxiety and giving me a cheap, enjoyable way of escaping work
• I have more self-esteem and more pride
• I have a better diet, drink less and look after my health in ways I never used to before.

Here’s to the next 15 weeks! Who knows where I’ll be then!