Pre Program Research

A little history about myself before we get deep into the workout program.  I am a 44 year old firefighter living in the southwest desert town of El Paso, Texas.  Don't get your hopes up high when you read firefighter.  I am not a physical specimen of mens health and don't line the pages of our department's annual firefighter calendar.  I am an average Joe with a small family who gets up to go to work each day like the rest of  you.  I have always been the type of person that would workout on and off, willing to experiment with the latest trends in exercise philosophies.  I thank my wife for my current and hopefully lifelong mindset to continue to workout and stay healthy.  About two years ago she committed herself to get healthier and started going to the gym on a regular basis.  When asked why the sudden need to exercise she simply answers with, "I don't want to be fat."  Not a large person by any means, she saw herself creeping up in weight and became alarmed with the prospect of the future if her lifestyle wasn't drastically changed.  Neither one of us has been a dieter but we have made changes in our eating habits.  Our diet is basic, don't consume more calories then your body will burn off each day.  If your clothes become tighter, time to watch your diet a little closer and workout a little harder.  Simple, right? My current work detail is at a desk and does not lend itself to staying fit.  Sound familiar?

Here's how my exercise history has played out.  I've done traditional gym routines of chest and triceps, back and biceps, legs and abs.  Never been an enthusiastic runner preferring to swim or road cycling.  P90X, done it.  I got really strong but like I said, I'm an average Joe and like to eat and enjoy a beer in the evenings.  I never got the body Tony Horton promised.  Insanity, tried it.  After my experience with the P90X program I just couldn't bare to watch another series of exercise videos, beside who carries a dvd player around with them to their gym or wants to stink up their living room while working out.  The Beachbody products do work, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't the type of person that enjoyed being stuck in front of TV while working out.  I enjoy being in a gym or outdoors when I am working out.

The Stronglift 5 x 5 workout, you guessed it, done that also.  This was a great program to get me back into shape after one of my many off again exercise periods.  I recommend this program to almost anyone just getting back into an exercise regimen.  It does however become frustrating once you reach your maximum weights.  Once I got to the point where the 5 x 5 program had set a solid foundation for weight training I switched over the Crossfit platform.  I absolutely love the Crossfit program and have been doing it for the past year, with significant improvements.  I lost 21 pounds and dropped my body fat by 10% this past year.  Like I said though, average Joe who eats and drinks.  I certainly have more I could do.

I stumbled upon this workout program while looking for a way to accommodate my work place gym, which doesn't have weights, just cardio equipment.  While the Crossfit program has served me well over the past year, it becomes difficult sometimes to get to a place that has weights I can use to workout.  Here comes the Freeletics body weight only program.  It certainly appealed to me as an alternative to my current program.  As I read more about it, bought the Pro app and reviewed the workouts, I quickly realized that it was much the same as Crossfit without the weights.  Ideal, I thought.  I decided to give the program a try and maybe get that elusive body Tony Horton once promised me.  I am not using the Freeletics Coach option because I am a certified personal trainer for our fire department and can tailor a program, with the Freeletics workouts, that fit my needs best.  Besides, there are plenty of other people out there who are also doing the program and posting what they have done to succeed.  I don't really see the need to pay for a coach at this point.  I've had a few setbacks this year, two minor surgeries over that past three months and am still waiting to be cleared from my Dr. to start working out again.  Hoping to start the Freeletics program on the 13th.