I'm not dead

Well, I'm not dead (even if it looks like I was).

With my new job I haven't been able to train AT ALL these past few weeks. I get home very late every day and I'm super tired all the time. I keep having 2 to 3 soccer matches a week and I'm still attending yoga classes on Wednesdays. That only leaves me Friday, Saturday, Sunday (well, sometimes I play soccer on Sundays too) and Monday to train Freeletics... That's 4 days a week, in a row, to do 4 to 5 training sessions.  If I pulled it off, I'd be exercising 7 days a week with no breaks. 

I'm trying to be realistic here. Yes, I've said we NEVER quit before, but there's a saying that goes "never say never" and I think it applies all too well to my current situation. On the week-end it is impossible for me to train (I know I shouldn't use that word, but it's a fact). I've tried to pull it off during the week, training after soccer (usually past 11 PM) and stuff, but I'm having enough trouble getting up in the mornings as it is. I don't want to perform poorly in my new job and I think, for me, it's neither wise nor healthy to train that much. 7 days a week with no breaks... again, for me, I don't see the point of pushing things that far.  I'm not a pro athlete, and resting is as important for being healthy as eating right and exercising. 

That being said, I don't want to quit. I think I just need some time to settle in and figure things out. I hate leaving things halfway done, so I'm definitely finishing my Cardio&Strength guide... at some point. I know now it will not be done in 15 weeks (I've already lost a whole week...), but it will be done. 

Soccer is my life. Even if I think Freeletics is wonderful as an exercise and a way of living your life in a positive healthy manner, I started doing it to be better at soccer. So, of course, I'm not about to lower my number of soccer matches a week to do the workouts. Soon the leagues will be over and I'll have more time to squeeze the workouts. In the meaning time, I'll train as much as I can, but without putting myself the pressure of doing all 4 to 5 workouts a week.

In other news:

¡¡¡Happy Christmas Eve to you all!!!

Cardio&Strength - W5D3

 Poseidon: 00:11:00 

 Burpee MAX: *46 (in 300 sec) 

I've had a crazy week-end and it was impossible to train for a few days. Today I finally got the time to do day #3 of this week, and I just realized this week has got 5 training sessions planned instead of the usual 4!!! I will definitely have finish up week #5 in way more than a week's time... Day 3 consists in two new workouts with well known exercises; Poseidon, all strength with Pull-Ups and Push-Ups, and Burpee Max. 

I'm getting better at the modified Pull-Ups, but I still have a hard time doing them all the right way and lowering my body completely in a controlled manner. The good news is the Push-Ups are definitely under control and I will never again do the modified version, so that's definitely a progress worth noticing :-). 

The Burpees however were a bit disappointing. I thought I'd be able to do way over 50. Without putting much thought into it I was expecting over 100 repetitions... then as I was doing the workout I realized doing 75 would be a great number, but not even 50?! I think that's a bit of a shame. I think I must review my technique, because I'm not getting any faster when I consider I should.

Cardio&Strength - W5D2

1/2 Kentauros: *00:40:41

Today I had to do a new strength workout; Kentauros. It is composed of six series of a combination of lunge walk, high jumps and burpee frogs. 

If burpees were my personal hell at the beginning of Freeletics, burpee frogs are a whole new level of torture. And lunge walks seem easier than they are... but it's all a lie. Also, I do not recommend to do Kentauros with shorts and over cement; I got bruised knees very VERY fast, and they hurted all the way.

I'm unhappy and I feel disappointed. Remember that we NEVER quit? Well, today I quitted. I was absolutely unable to finish the workout. It took me 40 minutes to do 3 of the 6 series of Kentauros... And I couldn't keep on going. It was, I think, 70% a mental wall, 30% a physical one. I underestimated how tough this workout was. I really believed I would finish it quite fast, and I went for the star right away. I don't think doing the modified version of the exercises would have made that much of a difference, but maybe it would have been enough for me to be able to complete the whole thing.

Now I go to bed feeling ashamed and wondering what I could have done different not to be in this position. A big part of me shouts excuses like: "I was exhausterd today because I've been getting up early al week and last night I didn't sleep well", but I knoww deep inside there shoud be no excuses...

Cardio&Strength - W5D1

 Hades: 00:37:12 

Starting week #5, I realize I'm about to get to the "same" point as with the Free Guide... I was fearing I would get a "Hell Week" for week #5, but lucky me that didn't happen. In total I've been training (well, at the end of this week I will have trained) for 10 weeks. It sounds like quite a long time. There's been ups and downs, PBs beaten and struggles, a lot of sweat and almost tears... I feel I've come a long way from where I started (not even able to do a strict burpee... not even imagining myself doing a Pull Up etc.) and I'm very happy about that.

Yesterday I started at a new job. I will definitely miss being home and having tons of time to do whatever pleases me, whenever it pleases me. Of course that also means my training window has been dramatically reduced, I can't train at 1 AM anymore and, very important, I'm overall more tired. Today I got home late and exhausted. I had to do Hades again so I struggled quite a bit with finding the strength within me to train at 11 PM. I feel I have changed because, even with all that, I went out and trained, because WE REALLY NEVER QUIT, and that seems to have stuck with me for good. I did not beat my PB but today I don't care about that because for the first time I was able to do the modified Pull Ups the right way, i.e. getting down in a controlled manner, in (almost) every single repetition. It may have taken me almost 4 minutes more to finish the whole workout, but It's so worth it when I think that last week I was dropping down from the bar like a heavy potato while this week I'm lowering my body slowly!!! On top of that, I realized I'm getting quite good at the Push Ups; my struggles are a thing of the past, and so are the modified repetitions. I had no problem with doing all 15 repetitions the strict way!!!

So, there you have it. New job, new found strength, and soon new PB.
 Always remember: we are Free Athletes, and we NEVER quit.

Cardio&Strength - W4D4

 Dione: 00:36:53 

Last training of week #4!!! An old acquaintance: DIONE. Yet again I managed to be two minutes slower than my previous time. I don't know what's going on with me. I "feel" in better shape (and I think I look in better shape) but my times do not reflect that... 

What do you think might be happening?

Today I  tried to do the Leg Levers without modifications. I did a few -before I could not do a single one-, but It would have been really hard (almost impossible) to do all 50 of them, three times. My abs apparently are still not that strong because my back kept arching when I tried to do them. It is just SO much easier with my hands under my butt!!! Next time I hope I'll be better prepared and I'll just give it a go, no matter how long it takes.

Cardio&Strength - W4D3

 Metis: *00:09:58 

 Metis: *00:10:25 

Today is a double feature of Metis, all cardio, all sweat. I had a soccer match (baby soccer actually, a little different from what I'm used to) so I trained afterwards. As usual, not the best idea because I come into the workout already feeling a bit tired but hey, that's life when you are NOT sedentary, right?!

I was confident I could top my PB on the first run, and I was quite shocked to see it took me a minute longer to finish up! I would like to blame the soccer but I don't really know. I was expecting to perform worse on the second run, but to my surprise it wasn't much of a difference, just under 30 seconds. I think that's good, not taking that much longer, but I worry for not  topping my PB... I guess there are many factors to take into consideration and I shouldn't worry too much while I'm giving my best at each rep.

Cardio&Strength - W4D2

 Uranos: 00:45:20 

Today is my first time doing Uranos, a new cardio + strength workout. Uranos includes, among other things, a 2 km run, a series of 50 Pull Ups and a series of 50 Push Ups. PHEW!!!

I must be honest. I absolutely HATE running. With all due respect to the countless runners out there, I think it's the single most boring exercise ever. I always dreaded the times when I had to take those endurance tests in school and run long distances, or those 30 to 45 minutes of jogging the University soccer coach made us do before every training session... I'd much rather be chasing a ball than going round in circles! However, now that I'm in better shape running does not seem like such a hard thing to do anymore. It is still not my favourite thing to do, but I finished the 2 km in 12 minutes, which I think is quite a decent time, and I almost didn't have time to complain/suffer from it. I'm even confident I could have sped up and finished a bit earlier!

This week's instructions specifically say that the goal for week #4 is to take the workout outside one's house for the first time (mostly all workouts can be done indoors), and thus be forced to overcome external obstacles such as the weather. Lucky me, it's spring here, so the weather is good and not really an issue. I train late in the afternoon or night, so it's not that hot anymore. I don't have a park nearby though (well, there is one, but it's uphill so it's not ideal) so I decided to do the running in the street, and the rest of the workout in my yard. 

Let's call my house point A. I had already measured 200 meters (just counting steps, but it turned out to be quite an accurate measurement when I used the car to check) down the street to point B so I could do A→B→A and get the 400 meters I need for workouts like Hera. Yesterday I took the car and went from my house the opposite direction of point B, and measured 800 meters to point C. This way I have: B -200 m- A -800 m- C (1 km from B to C, with my house in between). So, for my 2 km run I did A→C→(A)→B→A and then I got inside to do the rest of the workout.

I've had some pain in my hands, arms and shoulders from all the Pull Ups I've been doing lately, but it's not nearly as bad as the first time. My gorilla grip is getting better and I hardly have any calluses forming. Today it still took me a while to finish the 50 repetitions, but I'm pretty sure it was way less than the 15 minutes it took me the first time. Baby steps, right? On the much much brighter side, I took it as a personal challenge to do the 50 Push Ups with a star, and I did!!!! I had to rest a bit every 10 repetitions or so, but hey, I think that's better than doing them girly style with the knees on the ground. I consider this a big achievement, perhaps my mayor breakthrough so far. I'm confident that rather sooner than later I'll also be able to do the Pull Ups the right way too so I can get a star on all these workouts!

Cardio&Strength - W4D1

 Hades: 00:37:55 

Starting week n° 4! It feels great to be moving yet another step closer to the 15 week goal. 

I woke up feeling a little bit sore and tired after yesterday's work out full of Pull Ups. Today I had to do Hades for the second time. As you may remember, this workout includes doing MORE Pull Ups. So you can imagine I wasn't thrilled by the thought of it. I absolutely dread doing Pull Ups. I suck so much at them that I even feel sorry for myself. It will take so much work for me to get decent at them... but that's the idea, right? To work your a*s off -specially at your weaknesses- to improve and be the best you can be. 

On the bright side, Hades also includes Push Ups and today I decided I was done being a baby and doing them girly style. I did all my Push Ups without any modified repetitions!!! (i.e. with my knees off the floor). I am super proud of this, and yes, I did not top my PB, and I went down almost 4 minutes, but finishing the Pull Ups series the proper way is so worth it! In no time I hope I'll be saying the same thing about the Pull Ups...

Cardio&Strength - W3D4

 Ares: 00:14:16 (PB!) 
 Sit Up Max: *123 

 Ares: 00:15:31 

 Sit Up Max: *125 (PB!) 

Last workout of the week!!! Or should I say workoutS... Four at once, to be more precise; this is a first! With soccer (I'll tell you about the finale on my next post) it took me a while to get to this last session (time and energy issues), but today I came in well rested, ready to kick some ass.

Ares includes 5 series with Pull Ups, and I seem to be getting worse and worse at doing them instead of better. I still get the tingling sensation in my left forearm after a few repetitions, and I loose strength quickly to the point where I can barely hold myself with the chin over the bar, let alone lower myself in a controlled manner. I sometimes feel like I'm "cheating" because I'm not even doing every modified repetition correctly, but this is something that is truly beyond my abilities right now. I'm working on it, and I can't wait to see the day were I can do 10 full pull ups straight, but until then I'll just have to keep on working and trying to do my best at each repetition. 

I'm starting to get calluses on my hands because of the Pull Ups (they hurt a little). I've been seeing several videos in YouTube and reading posts that address this issue. The best explanation on how to prevent the calluses all can be found here. I've been very carefull at gripping the bar correctly from the start (i.e. centering the bar at the base of my fingers >"the gorilla grip" rather than in the center of my palm), and I'm convinced that if I hadn't, my hands would be ripped by now. But still, I'm hanging from a metal bar, when I usually don't so I think it is only normal to have calluses developing. I don't like it though! Still, it's a little price to pay for getting stronger and better!.

Today I beat two PBs so I'm pleased about that, but I'm hungry for more...

Cardio&Strength - W3D3

 Hades: 00:33:26 

Do not confuse Ares with Hades. They sound, look and are very much alike, but still are two different workouts. This is my first time doing Hades, which involves many burpees and my  always dreaded pull ups and push ups. Evidently I didn't do it with a star... I still struggle very VERY hard with every single "pull up", if I dare call them pull ups considering I do them girly style and not that great. I'm still not satisfied with the way I manage lower my body... lacking strength and control. I try to follow the instructions, but I have a really hard time going all the way down in a controlled manner. Also it takes me forever to finish a series and I felt the that tingly sensation in my left forearm again. I know practice makes perfect, but I can't help to hate having to do Pull Ups! 

Push Ups were another story. I still did them knees on the ground (since I wasn't aving a star anyways) but at least I could finish the whole 15 repetition set with no breaks, quite fast and lifting my body all the way. I feel confident I will soon be able to do them with my knees off the ground.

Today I felt I was particularly slow. I struggled with the burpees, when I shouldn't anymore. I think I'm a bit too tired. I've been sleeping too little and working out very late, 3 days in a row so that may be the thing. As a matter of fact, my eyes are closing as I write this so, let's just leave it at that for now...

Cardio&Strength - W3D2

 Split Lunge Max: *123 (PB!) 

 Squat Max: *93 

 Sit Up Max: *115

 Squat Max: *82 

 Split Lunge Max: *89 

Today was MAX MADNESS day.

I was feeling good after yesterday's workout, with no pain and not tired at all. As usual, I ended up working out way passed my bed time. I really need to try and find a better moment to work out, because I'm loosing precious sleep hours for the sake of training in peace, with no interruptions or whatsoever... 

Today's training session focus was all about the legs. With the lunges I also felt I was exercising my butt, so we'll see tomorrow (or the day after) if that hurts too, and how bad.The second round of squats and lunges were quite hard to do and finish because I had already drained my legs, but I pushed through the best I could. I even managed to top my Split Lunge PB during the firs series!

My quads are becoming more and more toned. I can see a muscle contour appear just above my knee I could not see before, and it's so weird! I guess hard work does pay off, even if it's slowly. I've always had rather large muscular legs, but never toned, always a big muscly mass. In fact, I always have to buy pants that are a little big and wear a belt so that my legs are not squeeeeeezed all the time... I'm not really sure if getting my legs bigger is something I want but hey, can't do anything about that. On the bright side, bigger, stronger legs means more power to run faster, jump higher, and overall improving in soccer, so yay!!!

Cardio&Strength - W3D1

 Aphrodite: *00:29:27 

New week, old workout! 

It's been a while since I haven't done Aphrodite, so I was excited to do it again. I know the idea is to top your PBs every time, but I am realistic and I'd rather set myself a goal that I know it's possible for me to achieve (i.e. to finish the workout in less than 30 minutes, which I did) than one I know I'll probably not be able to accomplish (i.e. top my PB, which I didn't). I'm a minute and a half away from that PB though, but with all honesty, I think that today I could not have sped up more than I did (maybe 30 seconds, tops).

As I was writing the previous paragraph, I remembered this picture

I still have a hard time believing and incorporating into my system some of these messages, which I believe to be so true... Maybe I'm too rational and realistic, as I said before, to be able to really erase the "IM" in IMpossible. But we're getting there, right?

In spite of my "low goal", I gave my best trying to lower my time. I was sweating like crazy (ah, the good old days!), had shortness of breath and all those pretty things Aphrodite brings to your life. Even if the overall time does not reflect it, I made what I believe is an important progress: this time around felt like fainting during the 20 repetition series instead than during the 30 repetition series... I think that's a reflection of me gaining endurance; I could stand more repetitions before feeling dizzy! Also I did more squats in a row before needing to take a mini break. Again, I think that's the endurance kicking in.

All and all, I wish I had to do Aphrodite again this week to try and top my PB. I feel I always need one session to adjust to the workout change before I can really make it count, and with this new guide, every day has a different workout so it's not evident to do!

PS: playing soccer on Saturday was the best remedy for my sore muscles from last week's workouts. I scored 7 goals (yes, you heard me, 7 goals in one single match :-D) and we qualified to the final which will take place this Saturday, so I'll keep you posted on that! This week I'll train like crazy, hopefully from Monday (today) to Thursday straight, rest on Friday and then play on Saturday at the top of my game.

PS2: yesterday was elections day in Chile. We have to have a second round to define who will be the next president, even though everybody knows that answer already!

Cardio&Strength - W2D4

 Metis: *00:10:45 

 Metis: *00:09:57 

FINALLY, my last session of week #2: Metis, two times in a row.

Today is day 1 after Artemis -and my Dad's birthday-. I have some soreness in my pecs, shoulders and triceps from the push ups and pull ups. I also feel my quads tight (and getting tighter by the hour) from the sit ups. However, since it's only day 1, I'm still very functional; last week it was on day 3 were I couldn't take off my sports bra by myself... Hopefully, today's exercise will help me to feel less pain tomorrow, and specially on Saturday (the dreaded day 3) because I have a soccer semi-final, so I have to be at my best to get to the final, specially after loosing the other two semi-finals we've played these past two weeks... 

I did Metis without any modified repetitions (yay!), but I couldn't top my last PB. I was slown down because of the pain and stiffness in my muscles, but I still managed to get through the thing quite decently. I took a couple of minutes break in between the two Metises, and as I was warmer, the second time my muscles hurted a less so I managed to improve my time in almost a full minute. By the end of the whole thing I was pouring sweat like crazy; always a good sign. I feel like I could have pushed myself a bit harder tough... Next time I'll really strive to top my PB.

Tomorrow I'll rest, on Saturday I'll play soccer and on Sunday (election day here in Chile), I'll get started with week #3!. See you then!

Cardio&Strength - W2D3

 Artemis: 00:52:30 

Artemis is the f**king hardest workout ever (for me). It has, amongst other things, a series of 50 pull ups followed by a series of 100 push ups. My two favourite exercises, together and in a high number of repetitions. Wohow!

I was super sore for about four days after my fist pull ups during Ares, and even today I could feel my triceps tight when I lifted my arms (and it's been 6 days!). I had soccer matches on Saturday (we moved on to semi finals!), Sunday (I scored 6 goals!!!!) and on Monday (we lost the semi final at the penalty kicks... the goal keeper catched mine :-(... Yesterday I rested because I was absolutely beaten after those three days of soccer -and you know that recovering properly is as important as exercising properly-, so only today I could move on to day 3. At this rate, week #2 is almost turning into "month #2"!. The "good" news is all my leagues are getting to an end so I'll soon have a lot less soccer an a lot more time to do my Freeletics workouts. I intend to catch up with all this lost time, but we'll see how things go.

I think today I spent over 15 minutes doing the pull ups. Even with the modified version, (a.k.a jumping up to the bar and lowering myself in a "controlled" motion...) I struggled with each and every single one of them. Around the 35th repetition I felt something cracking in my left forearm, and from then on whenever I pulled, my arm tingled with a shooting sensation of pins and needles. It was weird and uncomfortable, but not painful. I don't really know what that was. I think it might just have been fatigue, even if the pain was not cramp-like... 

After that, I think I spent at least another 10 to 15 minutes to do the push ups, girly style (knees on the floor). At some point I wanted to give the finger to Artemis, lie down and just go to sleep. I don't like failing, and even if I did all the repetitions -which took me an eternity to do- I know I didn't do the exercises all that well because I didn't always lock my arms completely during the pull ups (I can't even lower my body all the way in a controlled manner!) and I didn't always lifted my arms from the floor when I got down at the push ups. 

As the picture says; I struggle very hard with these strength exercises today. In the near (hopefully) future my triumph over the pull ups will be glorious.To get there, I just have to keep on working hard-

Cardio&Strength - W2D2

 Hera: *00:25:45 

The other day I did Ares. The day after that I was tired, but OK. The second day I was feeling pain in my back, shoulders, triceps, elbows... Today I'm really really sore. The description of week#2 in my online coach says:

"Whether you already had to do pullups or not: Don’t let them discourage you. Even with breaks, many star-pullups in a row are a real challenge. At the beginning, it is totally normal if you can do less than five. Many of you will not be able to perform a single one. No worries. No one masters pullups without hard work. On the contrary, pullups take quite some time and effort. Make sure to lock out your arms completely - completely means all the way, not halfway - and enjoy having sore muscles. This particularly pleasant ache at your inner elbow even has its own name: T-Rex. Why? Take a guess."

Yes, I'm part of the many who can't do a single pull up. I try not to be discouraged by that. Also, I wouldn't describe my pain as an "ache", but I do get the T-Rex thing. I want so bad to do everything with my arms as close to my body as possible to avoid the pain... Today I had to ask my sister to help me take my sports bra off because it was sweaty and tight and I couldn't lift my arms and pull as stongly as I needed to to take it off. It was awful! 

I also discovered I had a muscle below my arm pits/back that I think I had never exercised before. I'm not quite sure if it's the Serratus anterior or the Latissimus dorsi, but either way it hurts A LOT. (I'm leaning towards the Latissimus more than the Serratus...)

Well, luckily today I did Hera, a cardio-only workout. It involves running a bit, which I absolutely hate, so I had a bit of a struggle there. on top of the fact that, when I moved my arms as I was running, my pull up sore muscles were hurting quite a bit.

Now I'm leaving for a soccer match. We'll see how that goes. Our first goal keeper broke her tibia about a month ago and now our second goal keeper tore her anterior knee ligament so we've been taking turns, and I think I would have to struggle a lot to play goal keeper today considering that just lifting my arms hurts! I'll keep you posted on that...

Cardio&Strength - W2D1

 Ares: 00:15:50 
 Split Lunge Max: *101 

It's been almost a week since I've been back from my trip and I'm just starting to get back to normal (for good). I had very important soccer matches on Monday (quarter finals) and Tuesday (semi finals). Against all odds, we won on Monday - I scored the qualification goal :-) yaaaay! - but we lost on Tuesday at the very F***ING last minute... They scored the second goal (the final result was 2 to 1), we got to the center of the field, the ball started to roll and the referee ended the match. We were absolutely devastated because we wanted so much to be on that final, and to come so close just to loose like that... 

Anyways, the idea for me to write this journal is to let people know my experience with Freeletics, how I combine it with soccer and my life in general, but also as a way of committing myself "publicly" to completing the program. This way I feel morally obligated with you to keep on going, so I also feel I owe you total honesty. 

It's been almost two weeks since my last HIWOD, and I was seriously -like never before- considering quitting today. I've been struggling with starting week #2 since I got back, mainly because the workouts got harder and more complicated to do. I got used to training very late (past 11 PM) alone and relaxed in my bedroom when people in the house were asleep or doing their things -so I didn't get interrupted-. Then I stretched, got to the shower and slept with a big smile. I think that's one of the main things that made me love Freeletics; I could do it wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted. But this week, my training program starts with Ares, a workout that includes pull ups and 40 meter sprints. Pull ups the hardest exercise for me to do + they require a pull up bar. For the sprints, well, it's obvious I can't do that in my bedroom at 11 PM. It took me a while finding the mental strength to overcome these technical difficulties -I know, it shouldn't be a big deal, but they were for me- but finally I got to it and did the workout today in my parent's yard. We live in a large piece of land and we have a swing, so I used that as a pull up bar and I sort of calculated 20 meters for sprinting. I know it's not the same sprinting 40 meters at straight than 2 x 40 meters but hey, at least I did it!.

As expected, no star on Ares because I have never been able to do a single pull up starting from a hanging position. It's on my MUST ACHIEVE list of life. The day I can complete a full pull up series (I don't know... 10 - 15 in a row?) starting from a hanging position I will be really really pleased and I'll consider myself truly fit. Today I even had a super hard time at the last repetitions with the modified version (jumping, chin over the bar and dropping in a "controlled" motion). My hands are super sore now and the controlled part was... not so controlled as I'd like it to be...

Luckily, besides Ares, I also had to do a new MAX; the Split Lunge Max, so that lifted my spirits. Before I started I set 100 repetitions as a decent cut off point for me for time and I got there barely with my 101 reps (not dalmatians). I was sweating a lot by the end and I could feel the back of my legs working like crazy!!! The two weeks off weren't free; I felt slower and more tired both during soccer and the workout. It takes much effort to get in shape, but you can loose that state in no time and with no effort at all!!! We'll see how I keep going this week... Hopefully I get back up fast!

I'm back!

Hello again and happy Halloween to all of you who celebrate it!

I'm finally back from my trip to  Ecuador .It was a lot of fun but of course, I'm glad to be home. I visited Cuenca, a city in the mountain area of the country, at over 2500 meters over sea level. I even went up to 4167 meters, and boy did I felt the height! It was a nice and calm colonial city, but the sun was extremely heavy. 

After 3 days there I passed through Guayaquil in a 5 hour drive to get to the beach of Salinas (yes, just like my last name!). From there I visited several beaches, of which I particularly loved Montañita, Ecuador's surf/party paradise. I even took a surfing lesson (lucky me, nobody else was there that day so it was a private lesson)! It was definitely the highlight of my trip. I had never surfed before and I found it was a) super-duper-extremely fun and b) a hell of an exercise!!! I was sore the day after, specially in my abs, pecs and triceps. I thought the legs and butt would get the harder exercise, but it turns out that you spend a lot more time struggling with the waves and the board, getting in position, paddling and then pushing up fast and strong to stand up in one single movement than you do standing up in the board... so there you go!

Unfortunately the Internet connection was not great most of the time, so I couldn't give you any updates from there... and what is worse, I couldn't find time to do my workouts. Shame on me, I know, but a trip is a trip and I was busy either knowing new places and doing stuff or too tired after a long day to train...

So I'm still stuck at week #2, but I'll get back on the horse right away and I'll give it my 200% percent to make up for lost time.

PS: Freeletics helped my with my beach body and I felt good about it =)

Ecuador

Well hello everybody. Last week was my birthday, and it was a hell of a birthday! Half of my family is sick, so I've been playing the role of nurse and looking after my 8 year old niece. I really haven't had a second nor the energy to train. I even had to skip my saturday and my monday soccer match because I had to stay home and look after my people!!!

Moreover, tomorrow I'm leaving for 9 days to Ecuador. I was hoping to be able to continue training there, but I'm not 100% sure it'll be possible. If I can, I will post updates from over there. If not, well... see you all in Halloween!

B-Day

Happy birthday to me!

Cardio&Strength - W1D3

 Aphrodite: *00:28:09 

It's day #3 of my first week with Freeletics' Cardio&Strength Guide. Exactly a week ago I donated blood and this is what my arm looks like today:

It looked way worse a couple of days ago, but I didn't want to be too gore and show it to you all then. The thing is I want to prove a point by showing you that you CAN donate blood (of course, it's better if you don't get a bruised arm but it's a risk that you have to embrace) AND still workout just fine Other than the first couple of days, I haven't felt much weaker or anything... Not even during soccer! Well, maybe just a little bit more out of breath, but it's completely manageable... so thumbs up to donating blood for good causes and still exercising!

Today I finished Aphrodite in 28 minutes, 9 seconds. I'm a bit upset that I haven't been able to get below the 27 minute mark but I'll keep working and going at it!

Remember to check out the Freeletics website were you can find the free 5 week training guide and the 15 week guides!

Cardio&Strength - W1D2

 Aphrodite: *00:28:57 

As I thought, my performance has decreased a little bit after my brilliant idea to donate blood last week. I've felt more tired during soccer, and more out-of-breath during the #Freeletics workouts. However I'm feeling much better compared to last week, and I'm hoping to get back up to my improvement curve soon.

I think I'm beginning to feel a bit bored by Aphrodite, but I know I still got 14 more weeks in front of me and I'm sure I will get new and more exciting workouts. In the meaning time I'm still trying to get below the 27 minute mark (hopefully below the 25 minute mark). I will keep giving it all my best during this week in spite of the boredom.

Cardio&Strength - W1D1

 Aphrodite: *00:31:55 

What do you do when you finish the 5 week free program? 

You see some results but not quite so many. You know you can do better. You know your times can still go down. You know you can get in so much better shape...

...so you get a Freeletics guide and start the next 15 weeks of your life!
Depending on your goals there are tree types of guides with instructions for 15 weeks of training: Cardio, Cardio+Strength and Strenght. I got the Cardio and Strength guide because, as I have previously explained, I'm looking for a balanced workout to gain endurance and also some strength (abs and back please!) We'll see how I do with this one, and who knows, maybe I can move to the Strength guide afterwards ;-)

The thing is, yesterday I donated blood. I know, it wasn't my brightest idea but well, it's done. I've donated quite few times before, and this is the first time I almost fainted while having my blood drawn >.< It was a bit scary but the nurse was super nice and calm and we got through it. I wasn't supposed to do any exercise, so yesterday I only went to yoga and skipped my Freeletics workout. Today was Aphrodite time -yet again- and boy did I miss those 400 mL of blood! I felt somewhat like I did when I first started training. Very dizzy in some points, like I was going to puke, breathless, just wanting to give up. I missed those red blood cells and the oxygen they were not carrying to my muscles! But, as usual, I kept in mind that we never quit, so I kept going, and I finished the workout in a decent time (31 mins, 55 secs), considering the circumstances.

Hopefully it will not take 3 months (the time I'll get back those missing cells) to regain my previous aerobic condition. I'm a bit scared for Saturday's soccer match...

You can check the detailed description of each guide at the Freeletics website (I've left a permanent link to the page by clicking on the Freeletics colorful logo in the sidebar). I'll keep telling you as much as I can from my workouts but I will not be providing detailed descriptions of the exercises anymore,

Me after Week #5

I've successfully finished the 5 week free #Freeletics program, and it's officially time to show you my results (so far) with a new set of pictures.

Besides my hair cut, I tried to keep everything the same so that comparisons are easily done. I took the photos in the exact same location, wearing the same clothes and trying to do the same poses. The lighting I could not control so much, but I think they came up quite similar. Without further ado, here I am after finishing Week#5 and back when I started the program:

After Week #5

Before Week #1

	Week #1	Week #5
Height	1,70 mt	1,70 mt
Weight	63 kg	62 kg	↓
BMI	21,8	21,5
Quads	?	56,5 cm
Gluts	98,5 cm	98,5 cm
Hips	86 cm	85,5 cm	↓
Waist	75 cm	75 cm
Bust	90 cm	90 cm
Biceps	29 cm	29 cm

As you can see in the pictures and read in my measurements, the changes I've experienced so far are almost imperceptible. I think the only slightly noticeable thing is a bit of definition in my abs (high, in between the last ribs).

Overall I feel stronger and in better shape and I know by other people's experiences that after only five weeks you can't really see that much of a change in pictures. I'm sure that the change I'm feeling inside, growing with every workout, will get to the surface rather sooner than later. 

Week #5 - HELL WEEK - Day 7 / Dione + Metis + Squat Max

 Dione: 00:   Metis: 00:  Squat Max: 

I was supposed to finish the workouts yesterday. The problem is, I had a soccer match and having done Aphrodite the day before, I ended up with a contracted quadriceps. Therefore, I didn't want to push it because I was afraid to get injured. I decided then not to do Day 7 right away. Also I had another match today so I couldn't risk it. With this, I've had two delays on Hell Week, so I don't really know if I should still call it that because the whole idea is to train everyday for 7 days straight. I'm pretty sure though that Hell Week does not consider that one would also be playing 3 soccer matches during those 7 days so... I sort of think soccer makes up for my skipped days (wishful thinking). 

Today the match was really easy (we won 10 - 0!). Before and after the game I warmed up and stretched a bit, but my quad still feels stiff. Of course, in the heat of the moment it does not hurt a bit, but it's after when the tightness kicks in. WIth all that in mind I still managed to score 3 goals =P. Since I have no more matches until Saturday, I can go for it today. I'm not expecting great results but it will still be a done workout.

Day 7 of Hell Week is actually supposed to be the  climax of Hell  with 3 workouts at once. First Dione, then Metis and finally Squat Max.

Week #5 - HELL WEEK - Day 6 / Aphrodite

 Aphrodite: *00:28:01 

Well, yesterday was crazy: I went to a Pride Parade downtown and walked my ass off with almost 30°C. Then I ran, changed clothes and played a soccer match (we won 4 - 2). Afterwards I showered and went to a friend's housewarming party until 3 AM. Of course, I couldn't find a decent time slot to train, and the day went by full speed ahead. I was doing so well this week! Even on crazy Friday I managed to train... It is a shame I skipped a day, but well, that's life... I did my best and this time it just wasn't enough. 

Today, Sunday, I did then my 6th day of Hell Week (which I shoud have done yesterday). It was Aphrodite again, and I finished the workout in 28 minutes and 01 seconds. It took me a few seconds longer than the other day so no PB, but I know I could have finished a bit earlier. I had a wardrobe malfunction which consumed me around 10 seconds +  I had eaten a little too close to the workout, so by the time I was at the 20 burpees, I wanted to throw up, so I had to slow down to breathe slower and better as to prevent my puking. If I had trained "normally" I would've beaten my PB. I guess we'll just have to wait and see for next time.

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Now let's talk about something funny.

I've always had a protruding bone in my lower back (very low). I'm not much of an anatomist, but I think it's one of my sacrum spinous tubercles (the protruding parts of the 5 vertebrae that fused into the sacrum)... anyways, this bone is just about where my butt crack begins, right in the zone were you tilt when doing sit ups. I've always felt pain during the sit ups because of that bone being crushed repetitively under my weight, but I've always pushed through, and ignored it because there's nothing really I can do about it. The thing is, this week I've done a lot of sit ups, every day, so during Friday's workout (Day 5) I felt way too much pain, so that night I looked myself in the mirror after showering and I realized I had a massive bruise just at the beginning of my butt crack and coming dow na little into the butt crack, in between the cheeks!!! I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry about that awful scene. Today the bruise is still not gone, of course, so it still hurted a lot when doing the sit ups, but well! Nothing there I can do! I always try to do the sit ups in a surface as soft as possible and I even remove any shorts or leggings with a thick elastic band that may contribute to the hurting. I guess this week that just wasn't enough. I'll have to think of better ways to protect my butt crack from future bruising!

Week #5 - HELL WEEK - Day 5 / Dione

 Dione: 00:34:56 

NEW PB!
I had to work out super fast today because I have plenty of things to do, but that is to show that you CAN manage to train even on a very busy day. Later I'll add some more thoughts on this post. For now, I'm enjoying my new accomplishment =).

Week #5 - HELL WEEK - Day 4 / Aphrodite

 Aphrodite: *00:27:53 

Day four of Hell Week and it's the turn of Aphrodite. I hadn't done this workout in a while, and I was excited to do it again (and hopefully beat my PB). It's amazing how my way of thinking changed this week from "I don't think I can get trough Hell Week" to "let's beat some PBs!" ☺.

I did Aphrodite today in 27 minutes and 53 seconds. That's almost a minute below my previous PB. It's not much, but it's still an improvement!. Moreover, I didn't feel dizzy and I didn't have to stop to catch my breath during the burpees... We've become BFFs this past weeks, me who started off hating them really bad! I only had to stop a few seconds during the sit ups, I still can't get 50 in a row. Up to 20 I'm good, then to 25 I struggle a bit and I have to stop a few seconds every 5 to 10 reps from that point on. Still, I'm improving and that's all that matters!

I'm also feeling that the sweating has gone down in intensity. I guess that's also a sign of me getting fitter, right? Overall, still happy, still moving forward and NEVER quitting!