I pretty much only do the Dumbbell Training Journey and there’s something that always felt like an unnecessary problem.
Everytime a journey ends and a new one starts I have to tell the coach my hypothetical performance in 4 exercises.
Not only it isn’t very factual (3 or 4 series, “comfortably”), we can’t be very precise either as we usually know our performance in the context of the broader day training, which may have already tired us a bit.
And the worse is we need to navigate through the huge list of exercises, with no search function, to locate something similar in reps and series (but never the same), sometimes from a long time ago (not reflecting our current shape).
But why do we need to do this? Not only Freelectics has that data (in a much richer and updated way) already for those 4 exercises, but also it has that data for ALL exercises!!!
Why can’t Freeletics just keep the data from the finished journey and continue its algorithm through the new journey?? Why is all that valuable data thrown away??
My coach could be using a continuous string of years of information to refine itself… and instead it starts over pretty much blind every couple of months.
The answer on that post is well argumented but I feel it isn’t fit for my real needs.
The data I’ll provide (the hypothetical reps per weight per 3 or 4 series) will be pure speculation with no precision or reliability (the “3 or 4” by itself will guarantee that). It won’t be a proper base for the algorithm to work from.
The algorithm should be able to estimate that -and known where to, and how to, push me further based on my performance and feedback- far better and more accurately than me.
I’m not sure why you would do this Almost all good weights training plans will include regular RM tests. Even if you were seeing a Personal Trainer in a gym they will get you doing this at the end of each training cycle to ensure the training continues at the correct level, and this is absolutely no different.
Performing a 1-rep or 10-rep max test like that in the assessment is an intense and demanding activity in itself, one that puts a significant strain on your muscles.
I’m not sure if I understand totally what you mean… (Nor why it makes you sad )
If Freelectics asked me to “Do this exercise, 1 series, up to failure!” to evaluate me, I’d be ok.
But what’s asked is something much different. Is it 3 or 4 series? Because it’s not the same, nor nearly the same. Just there there’s a 33% volume difference!
And what’s comfortably? The range for “comfortably” is immense!
That answer (even if I decide do try to figure out how many reps I should do to reach the last series “comfortably” and execute it) will never be precise enough to be meaningful for the algorithm: it will more likely create either a too easy program or a too hard program (that’s exactly my experience).
(I also I don’t really understand this ambivalence between the algorithm knowing me and simultaneously not knowing me that well and needing me to inform him of what I can do everytime a journey starts, even though it has years of consecutive data for that same journey that I’m guaranteed it’s being used.)
It doesn’t sound like you are referring to the beginning of training journey assessment
The start of journey assessment asks nothing about “3 or 4 series”. They are simple RM questions, essentially what is the best weight you can lift. It’s one series/round, although you can choose the reps for this. Like I said previously, some will treat it exclusively as a 1 RM, others more, I personally would do something like 5 RM.
Likewise with the below The assessment doesn’t state this anywhere.
Potentially, I think some confusion comes from our names for Training Journeys. I would think of it this way, each time you do a Dumbbell Training Journey, you are doing a single training cycle. At the end of this cycle, as with any training cycle given by a half decent trainer, you would do a RM assessment.
Also, what doesn’t help Athletes, as many have commented elsewhere, is that we don’t inform you as to what this RM is at the beginning of each Training Journey (or cycle if you want to think of it that way). This way you would could look back at each assessment, and then throughout your training, and see how you were progressing.
For the small weights assessments, the assessment is indeed different in this regard i.e. 3-4 sets, but the importance of the assessment is still the same
There is a “cheat/workaround” if you don’t want to do the assessment, and that is to select the “I’ve never trained with DB before” on the previous screen. Doing this, the Coach will essentially default to your previous training, and won’t update them using the assessment.
Doing the assessment is still useful though! Like I said, almost all training cycles will do something similar.
I’m sorry for sowing more confusion earlier-I should have double checked what Journey you were doing
I don’t have any doubt it would be useful if the data we provided could be precise. But it’s not due to many factors, including how the question is formulated. (Again, 3 or 4 series and “comfortable” won’t produce reliable information.)
It would be useful if it said “do this exercise with a certain weight to failure”, for instance.
Thank you for the cheat: it’s useful.
It shouldn’t be a cheat, though: it should be an option. (“Use previous journey data” or something like that.)
Almost all good weights training plans will include regular RM tests. Even if you were seeing a Personal Trainer in a gym they will get you doing this at the end of each training cycle to ensure the training continues at the correct level, and this is absolutely no different.
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