Spring is beginning to make itself known, and this week was my first full week after Covid. Three workouts – Metis, a bodyweight interval session and a 4km run. I’m just back from the run and it felt good, despite choosing a route that included quite a lot of uphill running and having to cross a main road. Side note – it would be good to be able to pause Freeletics runs, in the same way you can do on Strava, so that when you’re waiting for traffic your clock isn’t still ticking.
Other highlights this week included being able to do perfect form assisted pistol squats, which I haven’t done for ages and thought I’d be rubbish at, and finding Metis way more difficult than I remember. I did it much slower than I’ve been used to, but I’m not beating myself up about that.
I find that Covid has meant that I have a bit less lung capacity than I before. Trying not to let that worry me, but I do notice I am more out of breath more quickly, so I’m building back up more slowly.
Next week I have a 4.5km run and some interval stuff, including some sprints which I’m looking forward to and will be a good test of recovery.
I got the badge! My first 5-week streak of perfect weeks on Freeletics. Achieved. I’ve been doing Freeletics for over six years now and I have periods of consistency, but they tend to be sporadic. There’s something this time about how I’ve structured my routine that means I’m consistently training. And it’s got to the point now where I really don’t want to break the streak.
I trained again on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and did a run, an interval run, and a HIIT workout again. I’m marking my runs as not being difficult enough, and this week (week 6), the distance and intensity have increased a little.
I’m also noticing that I’m feeling like I have more energy, that I am a bit more flexible and I’ve lost a couple of kilos too. I’m still doing intermittent fasting for most of the week and that’s proving really helpful. I’m sleeping better because I’m not going to bed trying to digest food and alcohol.
So all, in all, it’s going great. Feeling proud of myself.
Will hopefully be writing again next week having done another perfect week…
My previous streak on Freeletics is 4 perfect weeks. I like that they now have similar badges that Apple Watch offers. Here I am at the end of my third perfect week on Freeletics. I’m now determined to get my next badge – six perfect weeks.
Meanwhile, this week was another two runs and a HIIT session. Wednesday’s run was a 4km interval run. I kept walking in between runs and so my total distance was 5.6km which felt good. I also cycled to work and back twice which is a 30min round trip. The HIIT was Persephone – burpees, leg raises and lunges. I don’t think I’ll ever love burpees, but they do work. I was a sweaty mess at the end, even with adding 3mins onto my PB.
I’ve lost 3kg in three weeks, which feels good. I’ve been combining a consistent Freeletics schedule with 16:8 (or just about) intermittent fasting, and so I’m mostly exercising when I’m in a fat-burning state and I think that is making a difference.
So on I go to week 4. Hoping for more sunny, frosty winter mornings
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.
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.
A quick post today as I haven’t posted for a while. Last week I didn’t train at all. No real excuses – I had the time, I just didn’t prioritise it. And I didn’t swim either.
So today I cleaned the flat, went and bought lots of fruit and veg, did all my washing and planned when I’d train and when I’d swim this week and I’m going to try and stick to it. So here I am trying to be accountable by posting it here.
Interesting email today from Freeletics too. They’re about to launch a completely rebuilt app based around five key values. Look forward to seeing how it works.
*Insert inspirational quote about roads and autumn here* Photo by Chad Madden on Unsplash
It’s been a while. I haven’t been slacking, I promise. Just busy.
Although I have taken a couple of weeks off my Coach programme to swim more regularly and to do the pull-up e-book that Freeletics published recently.
Now summer is over, it’s tempting to slack off training a bit though. You know, our bodies are covered up by more clothes, it’s colder, you want to eat more, it’s harder to train outside. But I’m trying to stay motivated and to remember that exercising helps my mental health during the winter.
I did do one of my Coach training sessions last week. This was:
10 Strict Pullups
10 Hanging Knee Raises
Interval: 3 rounds of 10 x squat jumps, 10x elevated split squats (both sides), 5x stands, 30secs rest
2/5 Achilles
50 High Knees (replaced a 100m sprint cos it was raining)
I quite enjoyed all of that. Varied. Seemed to work out most of my body. Was pleasantly exhausted at the end. Although the pullups and burpees in Achilles were punishing. I’m still not quite there with pullups, so did them as Assisted pullups.
Then I’ve been doing the programme of pullups that the Freeletics e-book suggests. It builds up intensity and frequency and there are lots of shoulder pullups and passive hangs, plus pullups. I can feel it getting easier and I’m on week 2. Week 3 next week, which I’m going to combine with my normal coach workouts and a swim at the weekend.
I’ve also been increasing the length of my swims by 50m each time. I’m now up to 46 lengths of a 25m pool. Considering when I started a few years ago 20 lengths was my absolute max, I’m pretty pleased with that. Have been trying to work on my technique too.
I’ve written about this before, but the weekly email from Freeletics today reminded me that my focus, determination and ability to work through something until it’s finished has massively improved since I started doing Freeletics. I really do believe that physical exercise has a big impact on your ability to concentrate. I find myself really pushing through difficult tasks at work, at home. I’m much more likely to just do something than to put it off. And I think the way that Freeletics is designed has helped me with that. The thought of not finishing a workout on the app and not being able to earn points or tick off the day means I always push through. Having a community of other people following me keeps me accountable somehow too.
I also use a habit-building app called Momentum where I can track my streaks with certain activities. That old Jerry Seinfeld thing about not breaking the chain inspires me to keep going and pull on that workout gear. I also track other stuff like eating well, reading, getting to bed on time, waking up early etc. Wanting to get a perfect streak compels me to train every week.
So people, what keeps you going? How do you motivate yourself?
I’m almost at the end of Hell Week. Worked out every day apart from Thursday when I was dealing with a crisis at work and had to have a meeting over the time I would have worked out.
Here are some things I’ve noticed:
I’ve slept more than I usually do; at least an hour more every night
I’ve drunk more water than I usually do
Getting training done in the morning is the right thing to do
I’ve lost weight. About 2kg
I haven’t really eaten enough. For two reasons: it’s been stressful at work and I lose my appetite when I’m stressed and because it’s still hot in the UK and I eat less in hot weather
My thighs really hurt
I still have a long way to go to properly master the pull-up
Jeez those 100x plank leg lifts in Amazona are tough
Achilles is really fucking tough. Almost gave up.
2 x Krios — I dunno why I have myself a star the first time I did this. I absolutely can’t do it with correct form. And I added time onto my PB
Just got Perseus and Poseidon to go and then I’m done.
Interval: 3 rounds of – 10x Incline Rows, Side Plank Twist, Plank Switches
Poseidon
I did jumping pullups in Poseidon rather than actual pullups. Still not quite there.
And five days later, my arms still hurt. Specifically my biceps. Ouch.
I worked out again the next day, including 3/5 Aphrodite. Took me 27 minutes. Absolutely exhausting.
I’m hoping that the achey arms will subside. A lot of blogs and articles say you should just work through it. But if they’re still achey in another week, I might get it checked out.
On another note, I’ve noticed the workouts getting a bit longer/harder. I wonder if that’s Coach listening to my feedback on workouts and upping the ante. I must have been saying “I can do more”. I’m quite enjoying being pushed a bit harder.
Last week, my workout included the following:
A Freeletics Journey 