Freeletics: C&S Coach Week 8

According to the Coach, the goal this week was to complete at least two of the assigned workouts with a star performance. I know that I had been struggling with motivation recently, but this was exactly what I needed to really get back into things. The goal was challenging but obtainable, so I felt particularly compelled to give it my all. At the end of of the week I had successfully pulled off a star performance on everything I attempted, not just the four workouts that the Coach had assigned, but on every workout and exercise that I had added myself as well.

I'm not entirely sure what led to my renewed zeal and fondness for the Freeletics program, but it's certainly a welcome reprieve from the monotony and dullness I had been experiencing. This week actually felt a lot like when I first started, back when I was excited to include additional workouts and when I pushed hard in every single session. Now that I'm closing in on the end of the program I just have to hope that this new found momentum can carry me through to the end.

Session 1: Metis 2x (13:41) (*) (PB) | 50 Sit Ups (1:53) (*) | 10 Pull Ups (0:27) (*) (PB)

Session 2: Venus [endurance] (15:33) (*) (PB) | 50 Mountain Climbers (0:24) (*) (PB) | 50 Sit Ups (2:22) (*) | 50 Mountain Climbers (0:21) (*) (PB) 

Session 3: Hades (26:16) (*) (PB)
Session 4: Gaia [endurance] (21:55) (*) (PB) | 50 Push Ups (1:58) (*) (PB) | 50 Sit Ups (2:19) (*)

Session 5: Hyperion [endurance] (7:43) (*) | 50 Climbers (0:24) (*) (PB) | 10 Pull Ups (0:21) (*) (PB) | 10 Pull Ups (0:38) (*)

   * blue text denotes additional workouts unassigned by the Coach

Freeletics: C&S Coach Week 7

The seventh week of Freeletics marks the halfway point in the program and it is given the moniker "Hell Days." Regardless of the number of training days you typically have set, the Coach assigns only three workout days for the week, but each day consists of two workouts. It's a far cry from the intensity of the Hell Week that concluded the Basic Package, which had workouts assigned for all seven days of the week, but nevertheless, this past week was definitely more challenging than any of the previous weeks in the program.

The Coach says that you can split the workouts into a morning session and an evening session, and that you should take a rest day between each of the workout days. Being up for a challenging though, I ignored both pieces of advice and did my double workouts back-to-back over three consecutive days. I even added in a Poseidon on the fourth day just to stick with my usual workout schedule.

I know that I could have taken it a lot easier than I did this past week, but I really wanted to push myself to help get me back in the swing of things. My motivation was really suffering last week and I found myself struggling to complete the workouts, so I made a point of it to go on the attack this week to build up some momentum again. I can't say that my motivation is back to where it was when I first started the program, but my approach this week definitely helped and I'm feeling a lot more enthusiastic about finishing than I had been. Now that I'm more than halfway through the program I'm basically in the home stretch, and that means that there's no reason not to push hard to the very end.

Session 1: Venus [2/4] (10:23) (*) (PB) | Hades (21:15)

Session 2: Gaia (26:58) (PB) | Venus [2/4] (9:54) (*) (PB)

Session 3: Kentauros [endurance 5/6] (26:21) (*) (PB) | Hades (21:15)

Session 4: Poseidon (5:46) (PB)

   * blue text denotes additional workouts unassigned by the Coach

Freeletics: C&S Coach Week 6

Between Helios, Hades, and Hyperion all on tap for this past week, it seems like the Coach got lazy when it came to picking from the alphabetical list of workouts. When I saw the schedule, my first thought was to stick with the pattern and tack on a Hera at the end of the week, but I had my school's annual overnight retreat and camping with forty middle schoolers just wasn't conducive to having the time to get an extra workout in. I was able to complete everything that was assigned, but unlike in previous weeks, I didn't have a chance to do much more than that.

I had gotten into the habit of adding extra workouts or exercises to nearly all of my assigned sessions, but that fell apart this week and brought a lot of my momentum to a halt. I know that with the camping trip I was a lot busier than I usually am, but that doesn't feel like the only problem here. Each session this week required a ton of mental effort to push myself through, and I'm really not sure why that was the case. Maybe it's because it's getting colder in the mornings, or maybe it's because I'm no longer seeing the same leaps in progress that I had been when I first started, but whatever it is, my motivation has really been suffering lately.

I'm not worried about finishing the 15 weeks—when I commit to something, I commit to it entirely—but it's hard to maintain the necessary level of determination when the workouts aren't feeling as fun as they had been just a short time ago. If things continue like this, it's going to be a real struggle to make it to the end, so I just have to hope that this week was a fluke and that my outlook will improve.

Session 1: Helios [endurance] (37:28) (*) (PB)

Session 2: Hades (27:51) (*)

Session 3: Hades (23:56)

Session 4: Hyperion [endurance] (7:57) (*) (PB) | Hyperion [endurance] (7:32) (*) (PB) | 50 Sit Ups (1:41) (*) | 50 Push Ups (2:12) (*)

   * blue text denotes additional workouts unassigned by the Coach

Freeletics: C&S Coach Week 5

September always brings with it the start of a new school year and the seemingly relentless temptation of sweets. Between birthday cupcakes, doughnuts in the faculty lounge, and surprise treats from the parent association, the opportunity to overindulge is ever present. Combine that with the fact that due to my foot injury I've been running less than half the weekly mileage that usually I do, and you have the recipe for some weight gain that I'm not too happy about. Realizing the need to counteract my dietary transgressions over the past month, I've committed myself to reverting back to the much healthier habits that I had no problem employing prior to the first day of school.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still split the occasional pizza or share a pint of ice cream with my wife—what's living if you don't splurge from time to time on the weekends—but I've sworn off the mid-week treats. I've also tacked on even more additional exercises than I normally do after my assigned Freeletics workouts this week and I've spent more time on the stationary bike. Tightening up my diet and shifting my workout balance towards more cross-training activities will have to be my plan until I can get back to my normal running routine.

Fortunately, the Coach seems to agree with what needs to be done and was happy to oblige since this past week featured a noticeable increase in the difficulty of the program. With the rare exception, I had gotten pretty accustomed to spending less than 10 minutes on each of my assigned Freeletics sessions, but this week essentially doubled the duration of my workout time. The four workouts that the Coach issued this week were all much tougher and longer than the majority of the ones that had been appearing in the program thus far, and looking ahead, it seems that next week is even harder. Attacking those tough sessions is exactly what I need though if I have any hopes of maintaining my fitness as I go through running withdrawal.

Session 1: Venus [endurance 3/4] (10:46) (*) (PB) | 50 Climbers (0:28) (*) (PB) | 50 Sit Ups (2:06) (*) | 50 Squats (0:40) (*) | 50 Climbers (0:27) (*) (PB)

Session 2: Hades (27:29) (*) (PB) | 50 Sit Ups (1:55) (*)

Session 3: Kentauros [endurance 4/6] (18:01) (*) (PB) | 50 Push Ups (2:13) (*) | 50 Sit Ups (2:08) (*) | 50 Squats (0:40) (*)

Session 4: Gaia [8/10] (20:57) (PB) | 100 Jumping Jacks (1:08) (*) (PB) | 50 Sit Ups (1:57) (*) | 50 Squats (0:38) (*) (PB)
Session 5: 50 Climbers (0:26) (*) (PB) | 10 Pull Ups (0:29) (*) (PB) | 50 Sit Ups (1:54) (*) | 10 Pull Ups (0:30) (*)

   * blue text denotes additional workouts unassigned by the Coach