Freeletics: Basic Package Week 3

Big changes occur in the third week of the Freeletics Basic Package, and instead of the Aphrodite workout that has thus far been the bread and butter of the program, we're given two completely new workout routines instead. The first is heavier on cardio, so if your goal is to lose weight, choose Dione; the second, on the other hand, is more focused on strength, so if you're looking to build muscle, choose Zeus. There is, of course, always the third option of choosing to alternate the two workouts for a more balanced approach, and this is exactly what I ended up doing with my sessions for the week.

Dione involves three rounds of high intensity cardio, with each round consisting of 75 jumping jacks, 25 burpees, 50 leg levers, 75 jumping jacks, 50 sit-ups, and 25 burpees. Compared to the mega sets of burpees featured in Aphrodite, Dione actually looks pretty easy on paper. This is a trap you don't want to fall victim to though, because once you start the workout, you soon realize that it's not the repetitions you have to worry about here; it's the recovery. The sit-ups, leg levers, and jumping jacks get the heart racing almost immediately and then they end so quickly that you hardly have time to catch your breath before you're off doing another set of burpees. It's an unbelievably intense workout that definitely gets the sweat dripping, and it's not one to be taken lightly.

A: Jumping Jacks | B: Burpees | C: Leg Levers | D: Sit-Ups

Zeus, the mighty ruler of the Olympians, is an entirely different kind of beast. This is a workout that is all about strength, and while there are two minutes of mandatory recovery between each round, the four rounds of 5 handstand push ups, 15 pull ups, 25 push ups, 35 sit-ups, and 45 squats will take some serious muscle if you're looking to pull off a star performance.

A: Handstand Push Ups | B: Pull Ups | C: Push Ups | D: Sit-Ups | E: Squats | X: Rest

At the start of the week, with Zeus looming on the horizon, I knew my ride on the star performance train would be coming to an end; there was just no way at this stage in the game that I was going to be able to do the handstand push ups and the pulls ups without switching to the modified versions. I did not, however, foresee that it would actually be Dione that would bring about the demise of my star streak. When it came to it though, I just could not get my legs completely straight up without having my hands beneath me, instead of having them at my sides.

While I still felt like I worked really hard, performance was obviously not a major success this week; the real victory was in fully embracing the whole "the world is your gym" philosophy that is often touted by Freeletics athletes and other bodyweight trainers. My wife and I went to visit her parents for the week, so I did the Dione workouts in the backyard to avoid annoying the rest of the house with all of the jumping around, and since I didn't have a pull up bar with me, I drove to a nearby park for the Zeus workouts. There was just something really invigorating about hitting the earth and kicking up grass. I wouldn't necessarily want to do it every day, but I really enjoyed it and I will definitely be incorporating some more outdoor workouts into my routine in the future.

As the week draws to a close for my Freeletics workouts, I'm left with only my long run to look forward to tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be perfect for a five mile jaunt, and once that's in the books, it will be just about time to start thinking about what the fourth week of Freeletics will bring.

Session 1: Dione (39:36) (PB)

Session 2: Zeus (31:16) (PB)

Session 3: Dione (38:42) (PB)

Session 4: Zeus (30:13) (PB)