Motivation is often something we look for regardless of what we are striving to achieve. Which is why we often set new year resolution. The ‘new year new me‘ mentality seems motivating but of course, setting goals is never a bad thing. But 1 month down the road, we gave up.
Why does that happen?
Every year till 2016, I have the same fitness resolution of getting six packs. A pretty normal resolution set and so I joined the gym with the aim of achieving that goal. But the time spent travelling to and from the gym just does not fit into my daily schedule. I ended up giving up within 3 months. A year later, I made the same fitness resolution to join a gym nearer to my place. But again, I gave up.
I soon realized that what I am lacking is not motivation but something else. That motivation I had every year is just the initial drive that pumps me up. But I need more than motivation to reach that goal. Consistency and discipline have always been key.
The Realization
That realization makes me reflect a little in the mid of 2017 when I wanted to sign up for a gym membership. I have a busy work schedule in which my working location will be changing almost every week. Time and location of work are not in my control.
Signing up for a gym membership does not seem that feasible in this case. Even if I have the time, would I be disciplined enough to drive to the gym every single day after work? I am generally a morning person and gym usually do not open till 7 in the morning.
What I need is not a gym, but something which gives me the flexibility and allows me to be consistent.
I found Freeletics
Through my daily scrolling on social media and the amount of money Freeletics is spending on ads, I stumbled upon Freeletics which is a bodyweight based workout application. What I love about this application is how easy to use and how consistent I have been on Freeletics. It is a free app but of course, you can pay to unlock the premium features in which I did.
I thought to myself that this is it. An app that gives me the flexibility to workout anywhere and anytime. I started the free feature first and ended up paying for the premium version. Sure I can easily workout on my own without Freeletics but what I like about Freeletics Premium features is that they craft daily workout routines for you. That means there is no repetitive routine. I am someone who is conscious of my spending and paying for this was a hard decision.
Here’s my rationale:
• Flexibility to workout anytime I want
• The workout does not require any heavy equipment so I can do it anywhere as long I have some space
• It cost way lesser than a gym membership
• No more boring routine as different routine is crafted daily
• The app automatically tracks your progress
Cool! Something which allows me to be consistent. Back when I first signed up for a gym membership, I gave up as it takes me roughly 2 hours to get to the gym, workout and travel back. Now, all I need is to open the app and I can get started instantly. This has allowed me to be way more discipline. I still slack a little once in a while though.
Here is a quick look at Freeletics.
The app is generally free if you do not wish to pay for it but of course, there are no free meals out there. The free feature has very limited features. If you love the concept, you can always opt to pay for the premium one. There are both Nutrition Coach and Training Coach.
I did not pay for the nutrition coach so I will not talk about it but you get crafted meal plan I suppose. In terms of the training coach, you get full access to all the training features if you opt for that.
Free Feature:
When you first signed up (regardless of the free or premium feature), you have your own profile which will lay out the total workouts you have completed and the level you are at. It is like the Facebook of the fitness community. You can follow your friends, see each other updates, challenge and motivate each other.
You will have access to some of the basic workout plans which are named after Greek gods (Ares, Zeus and etc.). Pretty cool! If you enjoy the concept, you can then opt for the paid version.
Paid Feature:
Similar to the free features, you have access to the Freeletics community. But now you unlock ALL the workout plans. Here’s what makes the premium features interesting, upon signing up for the training coach, you will have a quick body assessment whereby a crafted workout plan will be generated to suit your fitness level. You can choose what goals you are looking at from Strength, Cardio or Strength + Cardio. And tell the coach how many days in the week you are able to commit and a weekly routine will be crafted for you!
Each time you finish your workout, you will tell the coach if you are able to perform the workout effectively and how exhausting it was. Based on your performance and feedback, a workout plan that fits your fitness level will be crafted the following week and it keeps going on. Each daily workout is different and if it does repeats, it is the feature whereby you beat your past performance.
The paid feature also include warming up and cooling down routine which is pretty normal as you can easily warm up without this. Certain workouts require a huge space in which you may not have. If you are someone that travels a lot and do not have much space to work out, they have the 2 times 2 feature. This will change the routine to another alternate workout variation to replace that workout. So now you have zero excuses even if you have not much space.
Should you?
I am now in week 10 with Freeletics and there is nothing that I do not like about this app. If you are interested, do give the free feature a try. And if you enjoy the concept then you can look into the paid feature. What works for me may not work the same for you.
If you do enjoy it, here is a quick invitation link to save 20% of the cost.