Mina had always been active, but had never seen the results she wanted. But it wasn’t just physical, she was also feeling unmotivated and dissatisfied in other areas of her life. When the opportunity to train with a Freeletics group came around, Mina thought this would be just the thing she needed to get herself back on track. This is her story.
Before Freeletics, I wasn’t happy with myself and I didn’t know why.
When I started training with Freeletics, I wasn’t satisfied with how I felt physically and mentally. It was as if there was a blocker in my brain; I couldn’t think straight and I just didn’t feel like myself. I knew that I could be different, that I had the potential to change and to be strong enough to face challenges head on, but I didn’t know how to get there.
I used to train with Freeletics a little bit, but it wasn’t part of my routine; I didn’t use the Coach properly and didn’t do anything to improve my nutrition. I also used to go to the gym, but I didn’t have a clear plan and never set myself goals, so I didn’t push myself and wasn’t really going anywhere.
I wanted to learn the discipline to tackle challenges head on.
I knew that following a proper training plan had the potential to untie the knot in my mind. I thought that it would give me the strength to cope with things and to organize my life and thoughts. I didn’t feel strong mentally and this was affecting my self-confidence - the training with Freeletics seemed like the thing I needed to change this.
Paying attention to my nutrition made all the difference.
Throughout my journey, I followed both the Training and Nutrition Coaches. Paying attention to my nutrition in particular made a huge difference. I’ve always eaten fairly healthily and had already cut out sugar and carbs, but this time, I really focused on portion sizes. The real lightbulb moment for me was when I realized that my body didn’t actually need as much food as I thought it did to function; I could cut my portion sizes in half and still feel full. I learnt to trust the Nutrition Coach and it wasn’t long before I really saw the differences. I think this is what really made my transformation successful.
There were times when I felt demotivated because I couldn’t see myself improving, but when the milestones came, they felt incredible.
Getting into the routine of training regularly was difficult. I’d never really trained in the morning, so switching my daily routine was a challenge, but I soon got used to it. Sometimes I’d have setbacks and wonder why I still couldn’t do certain exercises or why the people I was training alongside seemed to be making more progress than me. But there were also big breakthrough moments, like when I did twenty clean Pushups and 25 unbroken Burpees for the first time. This was when I could really see that I was progressing and improving.
Going through the same hell together helped me to keep going.
Training with other people was a big reason why I could get through even the most difficult days. We pushed each other every step of the way; regardless of our goals and the challenges we faced, we were all in it together. Training alongside other people made me actually enjoy training. Getting up early to train together soon stopped being a chore and started being something I looked forward to. When you know that other people are counting on you to show up, you don’t want to disappoint anybody by letting them down.
I became more positive and started thinking more clearly.
After just a few weeks of training, the knot in my mind started to loosen. I felt more prepared to face challenges, could tackle problems more easily and didn’t run away from problems. A few months later, I felt stronger than I ever had, both mentally and physically. I felt like myself again.
I still train regularly with Freeletics and it has become part of my daily routine. I’ve accepted that this is an ongoing, long term process that doesn’t have one ultimate endpoint. It’s not just about the physical transformation - for me, this was just a side effect of a much more significant mental transformation that has totally changed how I approach life.
I feel like I could do absolutely anything now.
Freeletics taught me that you can do way more than you thought you can. Knowing what I have achieved, I’d say that nothing is off limits. I’ve just signed up for my first 10k and next, I want to do my first Obstacle Course Race. After that, who knows! I’m curious to do things now because I know that I can.
