“Fitness isn’t an option anymore – it’s a part of my life!” - Gundula’s story

Although Gundula enjoyed working out when she was in a routine, it always felt impossible to jump back in when life got in the way. This had ripple effects across her life, putting Gundula’s overall well-being at risk due to unhealthy habits.

Then, she decided to prioritize herself and turn to Freeletics for support. To help her restart her fitness journey, focus on her health and well-being, and most importantly, feel like herself again. Oh, and because she’s not stopping there – nail a Pullup. Here’s her story:

“Starting the Transformation Challenge, I was excited and scared. Excited because I had been waiting for such a chance of support for such a long time, but also scared because I knew it would get pretty hard. I never was able to maintain such a lifestyle change before and failed attempts in the past made me doubt myself.

Starting a routine is always the hardest part for me – I never enjoyed it in the beginning. But I know that once I manage to build a routine, I do enjoy exercise from time to time.

I chose Freeletics simply because I liked the idea of working out with just my body without weights - it's something I'll never get bored with! However, I did start training with weights during the challenge and it turned out to be way more fun than I thought.”

“My life before starting this challenge was a lot – too much work, lots of stress, a diet filled with quick foods like bread and pasta, and little to no vegetables and fruits.

My days were chaotic and I always put everyone’s needs above my own. Mostly because I had no idea what I really needed to feel good or like myself. To realize and accept this wasn't easy, but it brought me to Freeletics and the Transformation Challenge. I knew I wanted to reset my life.

My goal for this challenge was clear: to prioritize myself, my health, and my well-being. I wanted to feel like myself again. Ultimately, the biggest change I wanted to see was how I felt about and viewed myself.

Beyond that, I wanted to feel “light” on a physical and also on a psychological level. I wanted to develop new habits around eating and training and try to find a way to set boundaries. I also wanted to drop the bad eating habits of quick fixes and not eating regularly.”

“At the beginning of the challenge, when my energy was low, fitness was still something I had to do. Some days I enjoyed it, some days I didn’t. But by the end, fitness wasn’t an option anymore – it became part of my life!

Since the halfway mark, working out makes me happy. During and after a workout, I'm both exhausted AND happy at the same time.

When I train in the mornings, my mood is way better for the whole day. I have more energy, I’m more relaxed, and I’m more resilient than without it – it’s like a drug. Plus, my schedule is fixed and my day starts with this precious time for myself!

I can’t believe the enormous effect fitness has had on my mood and energy levels – it’s something I would have never expected. Especially since I was already showing signs of exhaustion and depression before the challenge.

But only after a few weeks, those symptoms were gone. I learned how to prioritize both my mental and overall health and ultimately started to feel like myself again.

When I turned on my music before sunrise and just started the training, that was the moment when nothing else mattered other than me, myself, and I. And I loved it!”

“Throughout the challenge, I made a lot of lifestyle adjustments other than exercise which improved my stress levels.

My diet became healthier and more wholesome, and proper planning took away a lot of the stress around eating. Meal prep was a game-changer for me. It's amazing how simple healthy choices can be if you don't need to think about where you'll get those healthy meals from.

Another big learning in this challenge was to give my body and mind the time to rest, which I tend to forget in our driven society. And this is still a struggle.

Getting enough sleep, for example, was and still is an issue for me with a full day and time constraints, but I try my best. Ultimately, I have more energy than ever before.”

“One of my goals for the challenge was to complete one Pullup and I didn’t quite get there. But that’s okay!

I’ve made enormous progress, and the resistance bands to support my Pullups keep getting thinner and thinner. I will make that Pullup happen in the next 3-4 months – I know it!”

“I didn’t anticipate how unimportant my weight and looks would become during the challenge. Yes, it was a sign of my efforts, but it wasn’t and isn't as important when compared with everything else I got to experience.

I can do more exercises and hold them longer! And that feels amazing! I can hold a Plank for two full minutes now – I couldn’t even hold it for 10 seconds in the beginning.

That feels awesome because I learned that I can do way more than I even imagined. So I try out a lot more exercises, and I can do them – which is a little triumph every time.

And this isn't just something I experience with exercise. I’ve become braver and more spontaneous and just try things without thinking about whether or not I can do it.

Just try and find out, and if you can’t do it now, like the Pullup, you will get there one day!”

“Don’t think about your expectations for your journey, just trust the process. Because everything you could imagine is limited. The only thing you can expect is for the first two months to suck because they will. But after that, you‘ll never wanna go back!”