Post-program (self-scheduled training): week #27-33

Here is an update on my training schedule.

Week 27:

• Tuesday: Hades (17:21*)
• Wednesday: Atlas (22:39* -PB)
• Thursday: boxing training
• Friday: Ares (07:57*) + Poseidon (04:25* -PB) + Metis (05:02* -PB) + Squat Max (196* -PB) + Pushup MAX (46*) + Situp MAX (124*)
• Saturday: Custom-made workout (14:02). I tested for a reader the following routine: 3 rounds of: 10 Burpees + 30 Squats + 45sec Plank + 2x5 (L+R) Spiderman Push Ups + 30 Mountain Climbers + 60sec Superman (note: I did Sipderman & Climbers assuming both sides = 1 rep)

Week 28:

• Tuesday: Kronos (38:50* -PB First attempt)
• Wednesday: Iris (30:30* -PB)
• Thursday: boxing training
• Friday: Hades (16:54*)
• Sunday: Ares (07:46*) + Lunge MAX (178* -PB) + Ares (07:53*) + Lunge MAX (191* -PB) + Pushup MAX (49*)

Week 29:

• Monday: Artemis (23:11* -PB)
• Tuesday: Dione (26:24*)
• Wednesday: Metis (04:36* -PB) + Hyperion (17:58 -PB)
• Thursday: boxing training
• Friday: boxing training + Poseidon (04:37*) + Leg Lever MAX (165*)

Week 30:

• Thursday: Aphrodite (18:59* -PB) + Pullup MAX (32*) + Pushup MAX (37*)
• Friday: Venus (21:52*)

Week 31:

• Monday: Hades (16:37*) + Poseidon (05:11*)
• Tuesday: Apollon (22:23*) + Pushup MAX (35*) + Pushup MAX (20* -holding 3s in locked arms positions) + Pushup MAX (12* -right arm only) + Pushup MAX (14* -left arm only)
• Wednesday: Zeus (21:25 -PB)
• Thursday: boxing training
• Saturday: Dione (23:17*)
• Sunday: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) Test to see how my body reacted to 100 PU broken into in 4 sets of 25 consecutive repetitions.

Week 32 (launch of the Pushup challenge):

• Monday:
• Morning: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Evening: Ares (07:56*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Ares (07:52*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Tuesday:
• Morning: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Evening: Aphrodite (19:07*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Wednesday:
• Morning: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Lunch: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Hera (21:40*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Thursday:
• Morning: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Evening: boxing training (included at least 100 PU)
• Friday:
• Morning: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Evening: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Saturday:
• Morning: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Evening: Artemis (21:46* -PB -includes 100 PU)
• Sunday:
• Morning: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Evening: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)

Week 33 (last week of the Pushup challenge):

• Monday:
• Morning: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Evening: Venus (20:29* -includes 200 PU)
• Tuesday:
• Morning: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Evening: Kronos (38:06* -PB includes 100 PU)
• Wednesday:
• Morning: Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Lunch: Iris (29:03* -PB) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*) + Pushup MAX (25*)
• Friday: running (3.32km in 16:58) + Pushup MAX (60*)

I have previously discussed the Pushup challenge, so I won't cover it further in this post. However another highlight of these past weeks is that I tried a new workout: Kronos.
If you have never met this workout before, you will learn very quickly to respect it! It only has 1 round, but what a Hell of a round:

• 100 Pushups
• 200 Situps
• 300 Squats
• 200 Leg Levers
• 100 Pullups

If you are new to Freeletics, unless you already have an excellent physical conditions pretty much each of these sets will be a challenge. You will need to break each of them into smaller bits (e.g. 10 sets of 10 pushups with short breaks in-between). So expect a very long completion time (over an hour).
In my case, "My Coach" never assigned this workout to me. For my first attempt, I was fortunate to already have 8 months of training (week#28) behind me. From the start, I knew that I would not be able to perform 100 consecutive pushups. Based on my past experience with Artemis, I did short sets (~20) to avoid killing my arms from the start but paying attention not to take too long breaks (~10-20 seconds). The effort was more manageable while avoiding losing too much time. The next 3 exercises were fine. Leg Levers have always been one of my strengths. 200 reps is nearly what I do in 5mn for the MAX, however it took me a bit more time. The effort is more difficult for abs after the 200 situps.
The real difficulty were the 100 pullups. The high number of repetitions makes this set very hard to complete, especially since the previous pushups have already taken a toll on shoulders. I spent nearly 10mn just on this exercise. On my second attempt (week #33), my PB had already improved by ~45s mostly due to better execution on pushups (thanks to the pushups challenge), but I had little gains on pullups side. Improving pure strength to reduce pushups & pullups completion time will be the key to drop further my personal best.



While it requires some time for me to sit down and write these long posts with all my results, it proves to be very useful. Often, I just do one workout after another, without giving too much thoughts about it. Writing these posts forces me to analyze my schedule and see if I stick to my good resolutions.
So let's see how I performed versus what I had planned last time:

• Training frequency: Over 7 weeks I performed 30 sessions for a total training time of ~661 minutes. That's 4 sessions per week on average, each lasting approximately 22 minutes. The increased training load of the Pushup challenge has offset the lack of training during my short vacations in week #30. Conclusion: average number of session/week increased as intended.

• Training content: while my first month without "My Coach" was a bit disorganized, I am getting closer to finding the right training balance. It's now part of my weekly routine to perform 1 outdoor training over my lunch break. This kills several birds with one stone: I regularly practice running, it frees-up one of my evenings, and by doing it on Wednesday I'm in much better shape from my Thursday boxing training (my body gets 36 hours of rest + running workouts don't strain much arms or shoulders). Additionally, I'm more careful to include some Cardio in my schedule as I had leaned a bit too much on the Strength side. 

• Getting out of my comfort zone: One of my fear was that I would follow the path of least resistance and end-up only doing the workouts that I liked. So far I have managed to be disciplined enough to include my routines workouts that I had not performed in months or the ones that I never tried. It's not perfect yet (for the moment I have managed to dodge doing Kentauros!), but workout diversity is definitely a criterion that I take into account when doing my schedule. Since training on my own, I have not organized any Hell Week, but I enjoyed the Pushup Challenge and I might use similar highly-focused training from time to time to push my limits.

As usual, another post will follow shortly to give an update on my body stats.

Overestimating How Hard We Exercise

I'm more used to write content instead of simply pasting links, but I just stumbled on an article published today in the blog section of the New York Times: "Overestimating How Hard We Exercise", by Gretchen Reynolds.
Some of you could find it an interesting read (follow the link to the article).

This relates to some reflections I have been having about the Freeletics method.

Having a fixed workout content and only completion time as a variable, is a great way to ensure high intensity.
Each time that I have a meeting with Aphrodite or one of the gods, I try to setup a new PB. I don't always succeed and sometimes it's mission impossible (bad day, sickness, doing several workouts in a row, etc.). But missing the PB is not that important. What matters most is how far I am from my peak performance.
If I finish in 20:00 instead of 19:00, I still got a good sweat in the process. But if I finish near 30:00, no matter how good my explanation, the clock doesn't lie: I am back to were I was 8 months ago. Hard to pretend that I was at maximum intensity...

Star rating (how to put a star) and how to correct an incorrect result submission

In my previous post explaining when to attribute a Star to a workout, I had assumed that readers knew what I meant by "getting a star". But it turns out that it's not so clear to everybody how to record it. So this short post will try to explain how the software works.

With Freeletics, your training results are self-reported. At the end of the workout either you stop the timer yourself, or for MAX workouts you input the number of repetitions. That's also when you indicate if the workout was completed in the most difficult version.

• If you use the Freeletics website to record results:

just select "yes" or "no" on the same screen where you submitting your training results.

 

• If you use the app to record results:

just before submitting your result you can write a comment (for your network friends to see), but also that's on this screen that you can record the star (or not).
As an illustration look at the 2 screenshots below. Left is the "no star" version (= modified pushups), right the "star" version (=all pushups done regularly).

 

•  If you record results on paper/computer:

 simply write down your results like I do on the blog "21" or "21*".

• If you want to correct a submitted workout (add/remove a star):

 On the app, recent updates have made correcting wrong submission less visible.. You need to know where to look, but it's possible to add/remove a star.

First go on the screen where all your recent results are listed. For the sake of the example let's assume that I want to correct my latest Pushup MAX to remove the star. I just click on the workout.

On the next screen with the graph with my recent results in Pushup Max, again I click on the workout that I want to correct.

 

Click on EDIT (top-left corner)

 

Then simply Tab/Untab the Star and save the correction.

 

On the website, it's even easier. Simply go under the "recent" section, click on the workout that you want to correct. In the top-right corner, click on "EDIT". Re-submit the workout. Note that on the website you can correct not only the star, but as well the time/repetitions and date when the workout was done.

That's all the IT support that you'll get today! ;-)

Breaking the push-up max ceiling

I have been training for over half a year now, and step by step my performance has been improving. Cumulated small gains, ended-up being big gains.
To illustrate my point, let's compare my current Personal Bests for a few workouts versus my first attempts (Oct/Nov 2013). In bracket I'm showing Alexander Villena's PB as benchmarks of top performance (I still have lots of work to do):

• Aphrodite: 30:49* → 18:59* (AV PB = 13:27*)
• Dione: 37:03* → 23:17* (AV PB = 19:51)
• Hades: 25:17 (no star) → 16:04* (AV PB = 13:43*)
• Pull-up MAX: 14* → 34* (AV PB = 59*)

Not surprisingly, enhanced physical activity has been leading to better results across the board. However, lately I have been growing disappointed with my (lack of) progress in push-ups. It that one specific exercise I felt like I had plateaued.
 
Below is a chart showing all my Push-ups max results since the beginning (PB are highlighted in blue).

While following the program, my PB went from 42 to 53. An improvement, but nothing spectacular. At first I didn't worry about it, thinking that I would probably get better results after completing my Cardio-Strength program simply by increasing the ratio of Strength-oriented workouts to my routine. In March-April I started making my own schedule, so I included a lot of Venus, Hades and Pushup MAX.

But nothing happened.

I once equaled my PB, but most of the time I was far below. Of course, often I had been performing the Pushup MAX toward the end of a session, when my arm muscles were already tired. So poor performance on any single day didn't mean much. But looking at the trend, it confirmed what my guts had been telling me: my performance stalled around 50.

By mid-May I was convinced that to progress further I needed a special training for push-ups. So I started looking for a method. The good news is that the Internet is full of advises on how to improve push-ups. The bad news is that there is no consensus: everyone makes different recommendations. Also, a lot of the suggested methods did not really fit with my schedule or my regular training. Many programs had very heavy training days followed by 48 hours of rest. I wanted to focus on push-ups, but not do only push-ups.

I wanted something that I could do in complement to my other Freeletics workouts. In the end, I took some ideas from 3 coaches' opinions on the matter and mixed them with a former Navy seal's 10 days program to come-up with a custom training plan. Using 50 reps as my baseline max, I setup the following rules:

• 10 consecutive of days push-ups training, followed by 48 hours of rest
• Total push-ups per day: 4 times my max (=200 push-ups per day).
• 25 repetitions per set (half my max).
• First 100 reps before breakfast, the last 100 in the evening with my regular training.
• I didn't want to risk injury from over-training, so if my evening workout already included push-ups, that would count toward my daily goal of 200.

Each set of 25 would be performed consecutively (no break) and recorded in the Freeletics app as a Push-up MAX. The idea was to keep track of my count, but also to force me to take breaks. Because a MAX lasts 1:40 and I only need half this time to do 25 push-ups, hence I would get ~1 minute of rest between each set.

I was wondering if that regimen would be too hard on my muscles. But 25 repetitions turned out to be a good number. It was exactly the number of reps that I could perform before getting into the grinding zone. The first few days my arms would be tired rapidly. In the first 2 sets I would do all the repetitions in 40-45 seconds. The 4th set was harder, my paced dropped to 55-60 seconds. After a 5-6 days my speed improved (35-40 seconds) and was constant during all 4 sets.

After a few days when I saw that my arms handled the effort well, for added difficulty, from time to time one of my kid would lay on my back while I performed the push-ups. The extra weight was respectively 15kg (33 lbs) or 11kg (24 lbs). It's cheaper than buying a weighted vest, but the downside is that for them it's like a merry-go-round ride. Once they try it, they want to get a ride every time...
 
After the 10 days of training and the 48 hours of rest, I took a new Push-up Max  to measure improvements. I ended-up doing 60 repetitions, largely breaking my 3 months-old PB. 


However, when completing this test, my shoulders still felt a bit stiff. I wasn't sure if I was in peak condition. I decided to do a second test after an additional 2 days of rest. Tonight I started my training with a Pushup MAX and completed 60 reps again. A few workouts later, I completed a second Pushup MAX ending at 55 reps.

The last 3 attempts have clearly been a notch above historical performance. So the special focus definitely paid-off. I will probably re-do a similar program in the future to keep driving improvements (may be pull-ups?). But this will remain occasional, in order to give my body enough rest.

Unexpectedly, I really enjoyed the quick push-ups session prior to breakfast. I'm thinking to do this more regularly. Total reps (100?), format (4 sets? 3 sets) and periodicity (daily? every 2 days?) are still to be determined. I will see in the next few weeks what routine feels the most natural.

Choosing gloves for cold weather training

The following post was inspired by a comment to my previous post where I listed the necessary equipment to train. Long time reader and fellow blogger Yury (@freeleticsslovakia.blogspot.com) asked me what gloves I used. After answering, I realized that this question concerns pretty much anyone training during cold winters. So it made more sense to give it proper visibility in a dedicated post, rather than leave it buried in the comment section.

It feels a bit awkward for me to bring this topic now. Summer is around the corner, I'm more in the mood to discuss sun lotion or compare the thirst-quenching benefits of piña colada vs ice-cold beer. But there are many readers who live in the southern hemisphere for whom this topic could prove useful in a few weeks from now. So let's talk about cold rainy days and gloves...
Last December, during week #3, I had my first outdoor training session with temperature just below 0°C (32°F). For the records all temperatures that I mention do not take into account the wind-chill factor.

I thought it would be training as usual, as long as it didn't rain or snow. May be even better, since low temperatures (i.e. cold but not very cold) help cool the body during effort, and while running over such short distances hands should remain comfortably warm.
What I had completely overlooked, was the heat loss from keeping my bare hands on the ground during burpees (for science-lovers out there, concrete has greater thermal conductivity not only than air but even snow!) After a few minutes my hands were numb. A bearable, but very distracting feeling.

I usually like to do research & compare product features before buying something. But in this case I wanted gloves. Fast. So I went to the nearest sports store and bought one of the few models available on shelf. It bought a pair of Nike Lightweight Tech Running Gloves:

 I chose these particular gloves were because:

• they are made of synthetic fabric (won't be ruined by dirt & water like leather or cotton)
• tip of the thumb is touchscreen compatible (important for smartphone users)
• designed for sports (let the hands breath)
• they happened to be on shelf when I walked-in

Are they the most perfect gloves for our sport? No.

But now that I have used these gloves all winter and most of spring, I start to have a reasonable idea of which characteristics were helpful or not. And hopefully this will give you ideas what to look for when shopping for your own gloves.

• Cold protection: under dry conditions these light gloves got the job done. I never had cold hands while running. During ground exercises, I could feel the cold concrete through the fabric, but it was infinitely better than bare hands. Bear in mind that where I live winter temperatures typically range from -5°C to 5°C (23°F to 41°F). So if you live near the arctic circle or any other "hospitable" location, you should probably look for thicker/multi-layered fabrics.
• Water protection: this type of gloves is not water proof. If you run under  rains the gloves will still offer a good protection. But for ground exercises, the best is to perform them somewhere where you are sheltered from rain. I performed a Kentauros workout under pouring rain and once the gloves were soaking wet my hands got cold quickly and it became a nuisance to perform the exercise with heavy hands. And you can't handle your phone with dripping wet gloves. If you are the hardcore type who will train in snow or rain, consider using water-proof gloves (but it will cost you more).
• Touchscreen compatibility: very useful. Sometimes it took a few repeated pressures for the app to register the touchscreen signals. This issue seemed to be partly driven by the app itself (it became less frequent after recent software upgrades). This touchscreen compatible feature works even if you wear the gloves and your phone is in a plastic armband.
• Durability:  I used a lightweight model intended for runners. Logically it wasn't designed to be resistant to friction with the ground. I don't think that they will last many years. I only trained outdoor once per week, and yet abrasions are clearly visible (esp. the touchscreen-compatible fabric):

I will probably keep using my gloves next winter until they are worn out. For the next pair, I will either for a similar but more resistant model, or try one of the alternatives below (not these specific models/brands, but same style):

The true cost of Freeletics & what you get for that price

Another set of questions that I often get from people who are thinking to start the training is:

• "the method looks great, but how much does it *really* cost?"
• "If it's a 15 weeks program, do I need to renew my subscription every 15 weeks?"
• "if I buy the program do  I need to buy the app as well?"
• "what kind of equipment do I need to buy?"

This post will try to cover all these points.



How much does it cost?

Honestly the prices are quite straightforward (there are no hidden fees). However, confusion can arise from the variety of products and channels available. The table below is an attempt at summarizing the various options, along with their price.
Please keep in mind that this review is based on what's available today (May 12th, 2014), it may change in the future.

As you can see there are 3 main type of products for sale: the app, the programs and the nutrition guide. Each is a stand alone product. So basically your spending can range from zero to 75 euros if you go for the complete package (app+program+nutrition guide).

Just to be clear, I don't intend to tell you what you should buy. My goal is simply to help you understand what each option entails. A student on scholarship or a Wall Street trader don't have the same price sensitivity... You are the best judge on how to handle your budget and therefore which purchase (if any) makes sense in your specific case. 

The nutrition guide:

This guide will not be covered in my review. I have not purchased the guide, so I have no legitimacy to be writing about it...



Zero euro training:

Both the free app and the free trial program are intended for people to test the method before deciding whether to buy it or not.
I always advise to do the free trial first. Even if you intend to buy the full program, it's probably better to ensure that you can handle the difficulty and have the discipline to stick to the schedule for a month, before spending your cash.
Whether you record your training results using the website, free app or pro app, all the data is centralized anyway. So you can start with the free app and upgrade to pro without losing any record.

On the long term, zero euro training is possible but it is the least convenient option.
You can either decide to spend the next few years doing only the 4 workouts in the free app. It's a very limited choice of workouts, but at least you can use your smartphone to record your results. 
Or there are plenty of forums, blogs and Youtube channels where you can find out how to perform each workout. But because the free app is restricted, you'll need to use your watch to record your results and write them down on a piece of paper. As I said, it's doable, it's just less convenient than using your phone.


   PROS:

• Free!
• Best way to know if the method can work for you.

   CONS:

• Limited number of workouts or need to keep track of training on paper
• No features (tutorials, network, etc.)

Pro App only training:

If you are on a budget and can't afford the program, using the Pro App this is probably the best option. This is also an option for people who have finished their program but have not re-subscribed (my case).

I always train using this app. I like being able to do everything in one place (record & check results, look at the list of workouts, etc.). The social network is a nice feature: it's a good way for athletes to motivate each others.
Also a key feature for beginners that a lot of people overlook is the video tutorials. When you look at Youtube videos to see how Hades works, you usually see people doing the most difficult version of a each exercise (i.e. the star version). Rarely do you see people showing the easier/modified versions. Sometimes I get questions from people who ask how it is possible to complete a training that includes pullups when that person cannot do a single pullup. If these people are getting stuck that's usually a sign that they haven't seen the tutorials.

 
Pro App only training is definitely a viable option, but keep in mind that the app does not provide any training guidelines. You are on your own to decide what to do. If you want to a receive specific training goals you'll need to consider purchasing a program.


   PROS:

• Cheap (5 euros)
• Full workout catalog, including video tutorials 
• Keep track of your results on your smartphone
• Social network

   

   CONS:

• 5 euros is still more expensive than zero euro...
• You need to know how to schedule your training plan
• Motivation (no external pressure to train more than what you are comfortable to do)

Premium programs:

To follow a premium program you will need to choose an area of focus. Here is how Freeletics defines each program:

• Cardio: "Improving the cardiovascular endurance as well as losing weight and defining the body (largest customer groups: endurance athletes and women)."
• Strength: "Gaining strength as well as gaining muscles without gaining fat (largest customer groups: Strength oriented athletes and slim men)"
• Cardio& Strength: "Broad improvement of athletic performance as well as gaining muscles while losing weight (largest customer group: overweight men and experienced athletes, as it contains the greatest athletic diversity.)"

[Edit start]
May 21st: based on reader input in the comments section (thanks Yury for keeping me up-to-date!), it appears that there is now the possibility to switch program focus mid-training. There is a question mark around the subscription duration. I'm modifying the paragraph below accordingly]
[Edit end]

Your choice will depend on your personal goals, just keep in mind that you cannot switch from one program after a few weeks. You have to finish your current program before starting another one, so choose carefully.

When you sign-up for 15 weeks, by going on the website or the app you can see your scheduled workouts for the current week. Only the current week. You cannot see yet what workouts will be assigned to you in the coming weeks (the workouts are supposedly generated based on your personal results). At the end of the week, once you have finished to record all your completion times, you click on a button to validate your weekly training. This is a definitive choice. This will generate your training schedule for the next week, and you cannot go back to see the previous week.
Additionally, you will have a limited time to complete the program. If the program is designed to be done in 15 weeks, your subscription lasts a few weeks longer than that, just in case you are delayed a bit in your training (sickness or whatever). But this additional time is limited. I don't recall the exact time, but we are talking 4-5 weeks, not months. [Edit: apparently subscription now only lasts 15 weeks. At first I found it strange that your coach would stop after only 14 weeks of actual training if you happen to miss 1 week for whatever reason, but this has been confirmed by Freeletics]

This is something important to understand. Because you cannot see the entire program upfront, and have a limited time period to complete it, when you sign-up, make sure that you intend to complete the 15 weeks in a row. If you are a student and know that you will spend your summer doing anything except training, then you probably shouldn't subscribe in May or June. Because when you come back in 3 months from your great vacations your subscription will be over (or you won't have enough to complete all 15 weeks anyway).

Once your subscription is over you don't have to subscribe again. Some athletes choose to do a different program, to try a different focus area or just because they prefer to have a strict schedule to follow. But it's not mandatory. You can just train on your own as you please.




   PROS:

• Full workout catalog, including video tutorials 
• Keep track of your results on website (even if you haven't purchased the app)
• You receive a specific training schedule to complete
• Motivation: most people won't go through Hell Week unless told to! 
• Motivation: it costs money, some people won't quit not to waste subscription!

   

   CONS:

• It costs money (40 euros). And you don't like to spend your hard earned money.
• If you already have the Pro App, you already have access to tutorials & workout catalog.
• Schedule not flexible (you don't choose the number of sessions per week, which can be an issue for people who already do sports on the side).

Premium program + Pro App:

This is what I did. If you don't mind spending the cash you get the best of both worlds: convenience of the app + a strict schedule to get you out of your comfort zone.
When I signed-up for the program, you had to purchase both separately. So I spent 45 euros in total. However, today as I was writing this post I re-installed the free app to double check something. When I logged into the free app, I realized that I had access to the full catalog of workouts!
My guess is that since the last software update when you purchase a training program the free app automatically gets upgraded to unlock the features of the Pro app.

I could be wrong, but in any case, if you have decided to to buy both the program and the app, try to buy the program first. If I'm wrong you have nothing to loose, if I'm right you'll save 5 euros.


Special equipment & additional expenses to consider:

Mandatory equipment:

• sports clothes & shoes
• pull-up bar. If you train at home you may have to buy one (cost: 15-30 euros)

Useful equipment:

• A thick towel, or ideally a yoga/pilates mat to avoid bruises and scratches after ground exercises (cost: 15-30 euros).
• If you have cold winters where you live consider buying sport gloves (choose a water resistant fabric, so that the gloves that won't be ruined when doing burpees outside).
• A water-resistant phone cover is nice to have during rainy running sessions 

Other potential expenses:

Sometimes I jokingly say that the most expensive thing with Freeletics is buying new clothes. If you followed my physical evolution, you know that I lost a few kilos and 6 cm of waist size. A picture is worth a thousand words, so let me illustrate what 6 cm (=2.4 in) means from a clothing stands point:

Most of my old pants & belt don't fit me anymore!

After completing the program I had to purchase a new set of clothes. The toll is currently at: 3 suits, 4 pairs of trousers, 2 pairs of shorts and 2 belts...
Honestly I'm a bit scared to make the exact calculation of what I paid in total. But what's sure is that I have been spending much much much more on clothes than the roughly 100 euros of training expenses (program + pullup bar + mat + gloves). There is really some truth behind that joke! If you intend to lose weight significantly, this is something you should keep in mind.
 

Body Stats: after 26 weeks

Let's break the suspense now: there is not much difference versus week 20 :


Height: 178 cm (5.84ft) 

Weight: 75.4 kg (166.2 lbs) - week 20 measure:  75.7 kg (166.9 lbs)

Waist size: 84 cm (33.1 in) - week 20 measure: 84 cm (33.1 in)

Nonetheless, I think that this lack of change is actually news in itself, considering that my training load has decreased significantly during the last 6 weeks. It means that exercising only 60 minutes per week on average (on top of my usual boxing session), was enough for me to maintain a stable physical condition.

After only a month & half, it's too early to make definitive judgments. But at least that's a first indication that my conclusions in the calories counting post were not completely off the mark. Long term impact remains to be seen, but at least short/medium term 3 sessions per week should be enough to stay in decent shape. Of course, this is based on my personal case, other people could experience different results, depending on their eating habits & level of activity.


 
To be honest, my workouts felt a bit too light lately. So my intention is to increase my training load in the coming weeks. I will probably ramp-up to 3-4 sessions per week, with slightly longer sessions. If I am disciplined enough to stick to this plan, my training will be around 90mn per week. Additionally, while I will stay focused on Strength, I will be increasing the share of Cardio in my training schedule.

The good news is that this adjustment will give the opportunity to test if my hypothesis is correct. If 60 minutes of intensive training is the minimum to stabilize my physical condition, any additional training should lead to a deficit of calories and I will start to dig into my fat reserves. I don't expect radical changes: I have already lost most of my overweight during the first 20 weeks. Besides my targeted 90 minutes is still less time that what I was doing when following the program. My guess is that in or month or two, I will weight around 74kg and lose another cm at the waist. Next body stats update, we'll see if my "prediction" was any good!


Here is the traditional pic (week 26):

Post-program (self-scheduled training): week #21-26

I had not reported on my training since completing the program. It's only now that I'm writing this post that I realize that 6 weeks have already passed. Time flies.

While I kept training every single week, overall the past weeks felt much more relaxed. Partly because there were more relaxed (less workouts), but also because peace of mind came from adjusting my training around my schedule.

My training was the following:

Week 21:

• Tuesday: Aphrodite (19:43* -PB) + Leg Levers Max (196* -PB) + Ares (08:16*)
• Thursday: boxing training
• Friday: Venus (21:24*) + Leg Levers Max (192*) 

Week 22:

• Monday: boxing training
• Tuesday: Hades (16:04* -PB) + Sit up Max (133*)
• Wednesday: Venus (20:58* -PB)
• Thursday: boxing training
• Saturday: Venus (19:23* -PB) + Leg Levers Max (187*) 

Week 23:

• Monday: Venus (20:14*) + Pullup Max (32*) + Pushup Max (41*)
• Tuesday: Pullup Max (34* -PB) + Pushup Max (47*) +Leg Levers Max (186*)  + Lunge Max (173* -PB) + Aphrodite (20:09*)
• Thursday: boxing training
• Saturday: Venus (21:05*) + Pullup Max (28*) 
• Sunday: Pushup Max (49*) + Pullup Max (29*) + Pushup Max (41*)

Week 24:

• Monday: Venus (21:13*) + Leg Levers Max (188*) + Pullup Max (30*) 
• Tuesday: Venus (21:38*)
• Thursday: boxing training
• Saturday: Aphrodite (20:00*) + Pushup Max (42*) + Leg Levers Max (183*) + Pushup Max (53*) + Pullup Max (31*)
• Sunday: Pullup Max (30*) 

Week 25:

• Tuesday: Hades (17:42*) + Situp Max (145*) 
• Wednesday: Aphrodite (19:38*)
• Thursday: boxing training

Week 26:

• Monday: Venus (24:24*) 
• Tuesday: Hades (17:35*) 
• Thursday: boxing training
• Friday: Venus (19:38*)

If I exclude, the Sunday were I just did a single MAX session for fun, over 6 weeks I performed 17 sessions for a total training time for ~339 minutes. That's 3 sessions per week on average, each of approximately 20 minutes.
True, the average is slightly lowered by Week #21, which was very light on purpose to recover from the preceding Hell Week. But figures don't lie. As outlined in a previous post, I intended to reduce the number of session and focus on strength workouts (which tend to be shorter than cardio).

Free training is new to me, so I'm still experimenting and trying to find the best balance between personal life & training. I will do a separate post for body stats after these 6 weeks, but there are already a few take-away:

• Adjusting training on the spot to fit unexpected schedule changes is great. That's the kind of flexibility I was looking for before starting Freeletics...

• ...but, I will probably need to fix myself a few strict guidelines. An absolute minimum number of 3 sessions per week is probably a good rule to put in place. As you can see on week 25, one schedule constraint after another led to only 2 sessions being done. It's not dramatic once, but it should not become a habit. Another rule that I'm contemplating is to do each workout at least once every 3 months. Just to avoid becoming too comfy by never doing the messy workouts that require you to crawl in the dirt (like Kentauros).

• Performance gains in Strength workouts have been slower than anticipated. As you can see, I have scored very few personal best lately. With the amount of push-ups that I have performed, I would have though that each new Venus would be easier than the previous one. But it wasn't so. I will need to be more patient to see progress, but also add a bit more Cardio sessions in my training mix (more time for muscles to recover and to keep good stamina).