After 7 Freeletics Workout!

After 8 days of Freeletics, this is what I've achieved. As I have limitation due to the displacement of my right arm and my knee pain, I'm quite selective of the workout. I'm doing workouts that does not put too much strain on my right arm/elbow. I also want to ensure I do not put too much strain on my body that will render me useless to take care of my young baby.

As a beginner, my hubby suggested that I do the NEW workout by Freeletics, Athena. The standard version sounds easy enough and no burpees! Dream come true. LOL! Truly easy except for sit-ups. My core has really hit rock bottom after giving birth. Body ache quite a bit but not too bad.

Day 2, again, my hubby suggested another NEW Freeletics workout, Nyx as he too wanted to try it out. In order to motivate me, he attempted the workout first while I observed. As my core has gone weak, this is a really tough and painful workout! True enough the next day, my abs hurt so bad, everytime my baby touch any part of the abs, I cry out in pain. I was moving in slow motion. The pain was so bad, it lasted 2 days after the workout!

As the abs still hurt, hubby suggested that I workout other parts of the body, upper and bottom. So happens, Morpheus (yes, also NEW!) does exactly that! Push-ups was my ultimate killer. My arms was way weaker than my abs. So after this workout, my arm and the muscle joints around my shoulder ached for another 2 days! Talk about self-punishing.

After trying several new workouts, time to go back to Metis. I've attempted this before but only did 2/3 as my knee hurt really bad. This time, I've decided to do Endurance level instead. Towards the end, I almost couldn't lift up my knees! Shows that just because it's Endurance level doesn't mean it's not challenging!

The time has come to attempt Nyx the second time. I wonder if it's a Free-athlete thing or it's just me, I wanna "enjoy" the pain in my abs again. I was motivated to break my PB and correct my standups form. HELL YEA! I did it! 8 secs faster and gosh, ZERO PAIN! My body must have adapted. That's FAST!

Ah.. Aphrodite. My hubby asked me to SUCK IT UP and do this major workout. I haven't even finish Round 1 and I wanted to quit. The knee was starting to act up, I was losing my focus. Then I told myself, at least finish Round 2! I did and then suddenly I felt hey, just 60 more reps of each exercise! My hubby spurred me on and when Round 5 ended, I felt a sense of victory! I thought I couldn't finish but I did! Hooray to me, the wuss!

Workout number 7, I thought I reward myself by doing easier ones. Athena again! As you can see, I did it 10 secs slower. I was very much disappointed but then I had some "unforeseen circumstances" that was roaming around me. My baby decided to exercise too? Oh well, next time then.

T'was a bad day of cranky baby and damn I felt so tired and lazy. It was already late and I've yet to exercise for the day! Decided to see how "FIT" I am now by challenging myself to a game of SPEED exercises. Started with speed lightning squats. I was going up and down like FLASH! I was panting away and I think my thighs still exist. Up next, let's put these flabby tummy to work! Could be better but hey, until I get those rock hard abs, I'm happy with this 2 minutes timing. Finally, 10 burpees just to SHIOK SENDIRI.

If you've never tried Freeletics or have only thought about it, don't wait. Do it today. Download the app. It's free. Let's continue to lose fat or die trying TOGETHER.

I QUIT!

You read it right. I'm gonna quit exercising. Why? Simply because I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm sleepy and grumpy! Whine whine whine whine whine...

I told my hubby that it's taking a toll on me. I'm already tired from taking care of my cranky, clingy baby. I'm also tired from PMS (yes, the monthly thing that hits women). Writing this blog also seems to be difficult as there's no time and I'm already too tired and sleepy after handling baby and everything else (currently half asleep). I told him, " I QUIT!"

I said this as my cranky baby continues to cry and I'm super sleepy from the long night yesterday. While I whine, I, like any other "normal" human, posted my ranting on Facebook. As expected, some negative comments and then the positive comments started pouring in. Then one by one, PM me to commend on my ability to exercise. I suddenly got some motivation to not give up as these ladies all felt my pain, my tiredness. Suddenly, I felt energised. Hubby came home from work, didn't mention a thing about exercise as he was tired himself. Dinner came and passed. Then I said, "hey, I've decided not to quit." Seeing the determination on my face, my hubby also decided to workout with me.

So anytime you wanna quit, RANT! SHOUT! Do whatever! Someone will come along and motivate you to continue. Of course, ensure you have a healthy crowd of friends that will NEVER stop spurring you on. A community is also great. Join us to get a dose of motivation. Anytime you feel down, tired, know that you're not ALONE! If I as a mother is still doing it, why can't you?

So continue to LOSE FAT or DIE TRYING! Give us a like on our Facebook to follow our posts today!

3 Ways to identify a Freeletics enthusiast!

Now that my wife, Nicole has been diligently putting up new articles for Lose Fat or Die Trying blog on a daily basis, I thought I should pull my own weight and put up a post as well.

Not sure if this post would be factual or funny, but here goes.....

3 Ways to identify a Freeletics enthusiast!

No. 1 : He or she always carry an exercise mat and a bottle of water

There's a high chance a person that lugs around an exercise mat and a bottle of water to be a Freeletics enthusiast. The best example occurred to me today. My wife and I were walking towards our workout area at the park, carrying our exercise mat and a bottle of water. All of a sudden, a person just approached us and ask are you guys into Freeletics? We were like, hell yeah...come join us. This proves that whenever you see a person carrying a mat and a bottle of water at a park, most likely that person is a Freeletics 'kaki'. 

No. 2 : That person keeps checking the phone every few minutes when working out

Yeap, this is another sure fire way to determine that a person is into Freeletics. Under normal circumstance, most non Freeletics workouts are targeted at finishing respective pre determined routine without any distraction, especially the phone. 

On the other hand, when one does a Freeletics workout, he or she is required to look at his or her phone every couple of minutes. For many onlookers, it does look as though that person is obsessed with the phone more then the workout. So the next time you see someone exercising yet checks the phone regularly during the workout, he or she is likely to be using a Freeletics application while working out.*

But then again, there's a small chance that this person could really, really, really be obsessed with the phone.

*The Freeletics application requires one to tap the phone upon completion of each set of exercise in the workout. Hence the frequent looking at one's phone during workout!

No.3 : Freeletics enthusiast greet each other differently. 

If you want to know if a group of people is doing Freeletics or not, just observe how they greet each other when meeting up and when leaving. Unlike the usual handshake or high fives, Free-athletes greet each other with the "Clap-Clap" gesture.

Here's a video of how Clap-Clap is done:

I can only think of 3 ways to determine if one is into Freeletics or not. How about you? Do you have other ways to identify a free-athlete? Share with us your opinion by posting at the comments below.

Cheers, Stay Fit and most importantly Clap-Clap!

Minimising Injury During Workout

Recently, I've been approached by several friends to join me on my journey to a healthier and leaner body. It's awesome to have more training partners as we can all motivate each other. If one is down, there's a few more to help each other to get up and get going again. Although they are still thinking about it, they are really interested and enthusiastic about it. One of their major concerns are injury. I'm no doctor or a professional to give advice but as my husband has gone through it before, he shared his personal experience (refer to his blog post here) with them.

I've read about HIIT programs that have higher risk in suffering injuries but as I read further, I've discovered that one of the reason was the workout move was not done properly. They had not followed proper instructions as to how the move is to be executed. Example, burpees, if the posture is wrong, can damage your knees and causes strain to your lower back. So before starting any form of workout, study and read about the move before execution. Do some practice moves while facing the mirror to ensure the posture is right or get your training partner to check for you. This will lower the risk of any injury.

Getting good equipment is also a good step.

http://earhustle411.com/

A good mat to minimise bruises and slight cushioning for the body. In this case, a yoga mat is pretty good. Comfortable clothings that is not too tight or loose so it won't be restricting your workout. A pair of shoes with good cushioning to absorb the impact eg: running shoes.

As of all workouts, there's always a training alternative. Alternative moves to facilitate beginners to first build their endurance. Example, Burpees alternative is Sprawls, Sit-Up alternative is Crunches.

From medical side of view, apparently doing the right exercise will help protects us from the injury. Example, if you have knee injury, by building the muscle around the knee joint will help decrease further stress. All in all, if you're still worried, do consult your own physician first before beginning any workout program.

Best Workout Time

No, the best workout time is not when you FEEL like it. That's not even what I meant when I typed the title. I meant timing of the day to workout as in morning, afternoon, evening or night.

Most people workout in the evening, normally after work. Their excuse? No time before work. Gotta rush to work due to traffic. I can't wake up early. Now, after work is their best time as it's after work! There's no reason rushing anywhere. Rush hour traffic is crazy so might as well workout in gym.

However, I find that working out after work or in the evening has a set back. If you're single, you probably wanna go out on a date, have a life, etc. If you have a partner, definitely hanging out together. If you're married, well, it's home you go! Now, I'm just being general. Of course, for working folks, there's the OVER TIME, business appointments, etc. So by the time you're finished with all these IMPORTANT things, you're already tired from stress (be it mental or physical) and motivation to workout is probably lesser. Even for SAHM like me, I'm already tired out from handling my child.

My husband has tried all time of the day from early in the morning to midnight and he personally preferred working out in the mornings. For him, he feel refreshed which gives him extra energy to last through the day. Although most people perceive that after a workout, we'll be dead tired and not motivated to work, it's actually otherwise. After exercising, the blood has got our body pumping. Like an engine, already revved up and ready to GO GO GO! He feels energetic after a workout in the morning unlike a workout in the evening puts him into this bear mode.

http://breiterphoto.com/

I'm also more motivated to exercise in the morning. After a night's rest, our body recovers from whatever it is we endured the day before and ready to start again. In the evening, I have this tendency to find an excuse to escape exercising. If not for my hubby's insistence, I would definitely just rush off to cook as an excuse, each and every time. Recently, most of my FEEL for exercising is in the morning. I'm more eager to the idea of workout as mentioned in my recent post. I accepted the idea of the Freeletics challenge straightaway (ok, I did think of weaseling away). I feel so good that I even wanted to go for a nice run to end the day.

Another point of working out in the morning is some have the tendency to eat a big meal after a big workout. Isn't it better to have a BIG BREAKFAST to energise the day than a big dinner/supper before sleep? Which do you think is faster in losing fat?

pureprimal.files.wordpress.com

Try and make that extra effort to workout in the morning. Give it go. Share with me how you feel.

If you like this blog:-

1. Share this post on your Facebook!

2. Like our Facebook page

I Challenge You!

I'm someone that is easily demotivated. Stuff like sickness, holidays, anything that breaks my routine, it can be difficult to get me started again. So the past few weeks, I've tried to get my workout regime going but I've been sick and injured. Seriously demotivated, I stopped exercising giving the excuse that I'm gonna get sick/injured again. Then a friend of mine that has been exercising, shared this fitness test (Insanity fit test) that got me wondering, "hey, how fit am I?" She didn't exactly challenged me but I felt this competitiveness kicking in. Being the curious cat, I decided to do this workout with my sick hubby. Yea, he was sick but he also wanted to test out his fitness even in this condition.

Here's our result:-

Thanks to her "challenge", I'm somewhat motivated again and it created a spark deep inside. Then my sister's friend saw my blog post and decided to join me on my journey. This really got me going. My blog has motivated her which in turn motivated me! So here I am, up and going again.

We were supposed to start off exercising together but due to unforeseen travelling arrangements, we're 333km apart and here I am thinking, what if we lose the motivation to exercise? My hubby whom has never stopped encouraging me, challenged me this morning, "Hey, do a freeletics routine. Athena would be a good one." I groaned and asked how hard it is. It's 5 rounds of climbers, sit-ups, squats with round 1 at 25 times, rest 25 secs, round 2 at 20 times, rest 20 secs, round 3 at 15 times, rest 15 secs, round 4 at 10 times, rest 10 secs and round 5 at 5 times.

Ok, I've been challenged again so here goes! I did the workout and it was refreshing! Definitely a workout for beginners as I didn't feel breathless unlike insanity fit test. Immediately I thought of my sis and her friend and I challenged them to do this workout! By challenging them, I'm motivating and at the same time bring out the competitiveness in them. I'm thinking if it works for me, surely it will work for others? By the way, I'm also challenging you readers, download the Freeletics app and start!

So challenge yourself today. Challenge your friends. Challenge US even! Let's all LOSE FAT or DIE TRYING!

If you like our blog:-

1. Share this post on your Facebook!

2. Like our Facebook page

How do you define "HEALTHY" eating?

This is a question most people ask and get millions of different answers. Then we hear the word eating "CLEAN". Truly, it is a very subjective question and with so many type of diets out there, no doubt it is and can be confusing. Just to name a few, there's the Paleo diet, LCHF (low carbs high fat), Atkins diet and so on. I won't go into details of these diets, instead let me share with you, my idea of eating healthy.

I'm a believer of balance. I believe in slowly cutting out food or stuff that is not good to the body (eg: sugar, salt, oil). I believe in gradual change rather than sudden change that shocks the body. Example, if you are used to eating 2 bowls of rice and you immediately cut out rice from your diet, I foresee a rebound or snacking worse than eating 2 bowls of rice. Currently my diet is eating less carbs, less sugar, less salt, less oil. I do not cut these ingredients out of my body. This diet works for me. I know I can sustain and it suits my lifestyle and body. Let me give a scenario. My MIL has cut out salt and oil in most of her cooking. She does use a little once in a while but more often than not, she's very strict on herself due to her health. She's able to do this as it suits her lifestyle and this is her idea of eating healthy. It may not bode well for me but I don't mind a meal or 2 as I feel it's quite cleansing to the body. I joined a health group that has members practising the LCHF. Honestly, I'm unable to stomach the idea but it has shown results and according to them, it's a good diet for diabetic patients.

What works for me may not work for you and what work for others may not work for me. Choose a diet that you know you can sustain and don't restrict yourself too much. Don't be too hard on yourself but also don't be too lenient on yourself. Balance. Keep track of yourself. Let go once in a while, eat that doughnut, drink that soda, give yourself a treat. With 7 days in a week, I give myself a treat once a week, go out, drink whatever, eat whatever but of course I still have a slight restriction. I still try to eat as healthy as possible. Less carbs still apply, drinks that are less sweet or plain water or coffee (somehow it works to curb hunger so you eat less). I restricted myself to consume fast food once a month. If anymore, it's probably because I have no other better options or it's the only thing I can grab on the go.

All in all, most importantly is cook for yourself. When you cook, you can control what goes in to your body. It's also good for your wallet. :) Here's a few pictures of stuff I cooked for dinner. Some may look fattening but how bad can your own cooking be in comparison with outside food that is laden with MSG, oil and salt? BTW, who said healthy meals can't be yummy? Keep eating healthy and LOSE FAT along the way or DIE TRYING!

 Balance meal: Fruits, Chicken breast meat, vegetables, steam tofu with mushrooms

Steam chicken + stirfry cabbage + mapo tofu

Homemade baked wantan! Not fried. All baked in my little oven.

Homemade burger from scratch! Chicken breast patty, caramelised mushroom+onions.

Big Breakfast

Starting the day right is very important as it's gonna determine if you're gonna be in a foul mood or chirpy like a bird. How it was during the night is one thing, how you gonna start the day is another.

As a mother, recently I had nights of horror whereby my daughter won't sleep but play with me til the wee hours. 3~4 am and I'm awake with matchsticks supporting my eyelids to stay open. It's been difficult to wake up in the morning for me but I still needed to get up to attend to my daughter. YES! She still wakes up early despite the late night!

So there I was, feeling foul and hungry from the long night of empty stomach. For a woman, no sleep and hunger is the worst combination EVER! Luckily, those few mornings, I had my hubby/family to bring me out for breakfast. Normally, if I'm home alone with my gal, I just grab whatever that is in the fridge, eg: scramble eggs or cup of Milo+crackers or cereal with milk. Nothing to shout about and obviously those kind of mornings, I'm super grumpy.

However, the past few mornings have been wonderful. Dimsums for breakfast, a super filling and tasty meal that got me happy and satisfied. Hakka Mee with pork and vege as side dishes. Big American breakfast and unlimited refills of coffee. These meals got me up and going all day long and I was barely hungry during lunch.

Unlike those normal day's breakfast, I snacked less and ate lesser as the day progress. I guess the theory of "Eat Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and Dinner like a Pauper" works! I hope this will continue to help me LOSE FAT OR DIE TRYING!

Big American Breakfast

Yummy Dimsums

Reaching Your Limit

Ever felt that you can't do it anymore and you want to stop? Then someone (training partner/trainer) just motivates you and then suddenly you felt that surge to push it! However, how many times can you push yourself? When do you really reach your limit? I know someone once said the sky's the limit but surely you reach the limit at some point then you surpass that limit another day. So how do you know?

After my first Freeletics session that day, I felt a sudden surge of excitement to try out other routines. Hubby suggested Metis which is the "easiest". So there I was, eager to start the next day. Then my daughter decided to stick close and cry several times that night. Panda eyes and super tired, I was still out and about town as I had some errands to run. Also, it was the weekend, my "freedom" day from prison week. So by evening, I was already out of energy from my needy girl and desperate to sleep.

However, my hubby as my motivator and training partner, "pushed" me to exercise instead. He said that if I skip this time, I'll skip the next and the one after that. With these words, I mentally told my tired body to "PUSH" it! So there I was, tired and sleepy, started to do the routine. As I progress through the workout, I realised that I've never done high jump before and didn't know how to do it exactly. It always looked easy when my hubby did it but I just stood there stumped. I asked my hubby to demonstrate but I didn't get it as my brain was already half down from lack of sleep. I tried and I didn't get it right. My knee started to hurt really bad when I did it but I ignored it and scrape through the first 10.

Round 2 of the routine progressed pretty slowly but I continue to push on with my hubby's motivation. Then the high jump came. I still couldn't do it right and I felt like I was at my limit. I was getting more and more agitated and my anger was growing. I started to shout at my hubby to demonstrate to me again and shout further to ask if I'm doing it right yet. I was determined to finish this "EASY" routine and I was not gonna quit! I kept trying but I still didn't get it and then I snapped! I got really, really angry and screamed at my motivator. Eventually, I got it and I pushed myself to finish the 25 reps.

I finished Round 2 but I broke down and cry. I was in pain, I felt upset that I can't do the last round. I felt disappointed and cried like a big baby. My knees hurt, hands felt like it's sprained, muscles ache like I've never felt before. Hubby who pushed me on earlier immediately said, "There's a difference between tired and pain. Stop if it really hurts." I just kept crying and it really hurt. I was regretting that I exercised instead of resting my tired body and sleepy mind. My body and my pride hurt. I didn't finish the "EASY" Metis. I had reached my limit.

So now I know when it is my limit. It's when it hurts. When no matter what anyone says, you just can't do it anymore. I would be in killer mode. If someone asks me to do 1 more, I would kill that person. This session taught me to say no to my training partner. I should have told my hubby I'm much too tired and would injure myself if I do push it. Some of you probably say that I pushed my limit! However, pushing this limit has rendered me to suffer in pain. My daughter suffers too as her beloved caretaker is down and incapable of caring for her.

So next time you intend to push your limit, think of the consequences. Is it worth it? I had reached and pushed my limit but at a cost that I wasn't willing to pay. Having said that, this doesn't mean I've given up. I would make better judgment next time and to push or not to push, that is the question. So continue to LOSE FAT OR DIE TRYING!

PS: I "died" this time. LOL!

My First Freeletics Session

Just went for my first Freeletics session in Seremban. How was it? Let's say, for a beginner like me, I didn't do the whole thing, just the tip of the iceberg.

More and more Freeletics sessions are popping all over Malaysia and there's one in my own hometown Seremban. So on a nice Friday evening, we went to the popular park, S2 park. We parked a distant away and jogged our way there.

My initial plan was to go for a nice run while my hubby joins this Freeletics group but as we approach, there was a friend whom we've not met for a long time. They had already started the session. So as we chit chat and hubby joins in, I was contemplating to join or just go for a nice run. I saw these 2 ladies doing their best and the competitiveness in me just kicked in. So I asked my hubby what's the workout and stepped right in! They were doing Aphrodite and the part I dread most was not the burpees but the situp as I still have this tailbone problem that hurts quite bad. Still I mentally told myself, I'm gonna do the best I can and see where it's gonna bring me.

As I hear my hubby explains Aphrodite to me, I'm like, how am I gonna finish this?! Something my hubby gonna finish while I'm still burpee-ing away. Still, 50 burpees went by and my legs wobbled as I do the squats. As I lie down and think of my situps, I told myself, DO IT DO IT DO IT! Suddenly 10 situps passed, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40. Oh God, the final 10! In one breath I finished the last 10 and everyone else was wrapping up. I was thinking to myself, "What? Did I take that long? There's a total of 100 reps of each workout remaining! Then hubby explained that they are only doing parts of Aphrodite as they're beginners. Instantly I felt a wave of relief and then I realised, hey, I actually can do it too!

I did Round 1 (50 reps of the workout) in 15 minutes in which I think is not too bad as I just started my exercise regime for just a week. If I had really pushed myself, I might have been able to do it in less than an hour? Maybe I should attempt this again this week. As my current short term goal, FINISH APHRODITE IN 1 HOUR! I'm sure with motivation and competition, I can do it! Continue to follow me and see what happens.