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.