Week settings:
- Area of focus: Cardio-Strength
- Number of training days: 4
- Limitations: none
- Last week feedback: "Hard, but ok"
Training:
- Monday: Artemis standard (24:20*) +Metis standard x3 (23:43*)
- Tuesday: rest day
- Wednesday: Artemis standard (25:17*) +Apollon standard (21:24* -PB)
- Thursday: boxing training
- Friday: Poseidon standard x2 (13:35*) +Atlas (standard 21:24* -PB) +[bonus 2K run]
Statistics:
- 4'878 points
- 128 minutes
For some reason, in Week #5 I was convinced that I would get Hell Days. I thought that the Freeletics guys must have changed the way the program worked. It's only now that I'm sitting to write this post, that I realized that it's actually normal. Hells Days were already in Week #7 during my first program.
So, if timing of Hell Days remains unchanged, is there anything else new?
Well, the first time I was following the program via the website (it wasn't included in the app back then). So the first novelty for me was to see that the usual blue color-code of the app, turned to red. This warns you that your week ain't going to be a walk in the park (most likely you'll be taking a "lunge-walk" in the park instead).
The second thing that I noticed is that on a Hell Days week, the number of training days that you chose is irrelevant. If you have a closer look at the "Week settings" at the begining of this post, you'll notice that I asked to get 4 training days. But the coach only assigned my 3 days (which is the usual number of Hell Days).
Looking at the training content itself, the only real change was that each Hell Day was "only" made-up of 2 workouts. In the past it used to be 3 workouts per day (although 1 of the 3 was usually a very short workout).
On the first day, I was fired-up and slightly improved Artemis versus my previous week attempt (24:20* instead of 24:42*). This is a moderate gain, but it's always feels good to be going in the right direction.
I performed the Metis x3 only a few minutes after Artemis, so I was less juiced up! It felt difficult, but the good thing about these cardio workouts is that even if the pace is slower most of the time you can carry-on (as opposed to pullups, where you just have to just stand there starring at the pullup bar until your arms recover). I didn't score a PB, but that I didn't really expect to.
The second day, I had to split my training. Artemis was done in the morning before breakfast (I had to be home to do the pullups), while Apollon (which requires to be outdoor) was done later in the day. My personal preference is to do workouts back to back, but I have to do with logistical constraints.
The Apollon PB was unexpected. I had assumed that my shoulders would be a bit sore from the early Artemis session, but the burpees were very fluid. It's good to finish a Hell Day on a positive note.
For the last day, I also had to split my day in the same way. Poseidon x2 before breakfast and Atlas at lunch. Once again, I scored a PB. It seems that my running has been improving lately. I had some juice left, so I decided to run back 2 kilometers to my starting point.
Overall it was a good week. The training load was heavier than a regular week, but it remained reasonable. If I could still run after completing the entire week, it means that my muscles were not completely burnt out.
So don't be afraid of Hell Days, they won't kill you (but they will try...)
