Hi,
I’m new and not subscribed yet, so before subscribing: I’m a cyclist already doing cycling training 4 times a week. Would it be possible to combine a Freeletics program with cycling training?
Would I get rapidly into overtraining?
Any experiences which can be shared?
Thanks
Keep in mind that I am not a doctor, coach, physical therapist, or Freeletics ambassador/employee. This is all from my experience and personal research.
Freeletics is great for building muscular endurance and correcting strength imbalances. The workouts tend to be on the higher intensity side but ultimately you get what you put into them. For instance, if the coach assigns you 25 burpees, you can do all 25 as fast as possible for maximum intensity, or you can do one at a time, slow and controlled, taking breaks in between, for minimum intensity.
Which way you go and which Journey you choose entirely depends on your goals and cycling training intensity.
If you are training for a cycling race, and are trying to optimize for maximum cycling performance, then you will likely want to maintain your cycling weekly miles and at least a few hard cycling sessions per week. If you do this, then you might not have enough gas in the tank too take on some of the more intense Freeletics workouts that will be assigned that week in one of the higher strain Journeys like Hardcore or Explosive Strength. If that is your goal, then you may want to do a journey like Weights Free Gain, which will be lower reps and higher muscle activation for strength building, or 15 Minute Fit, which will be high intensity but for a limited duration and can be done without causing too much strain on your system.
If you are a cyclist because you enjoy it an simply want to be a stronger cyclist for your own pleasure, then you may benefit from temporarily backing off your cycling to 2 or three days per week and including 2-3 days of Freeletics Coach workouts with a higher intensity program. Eventually, your body will adapt to the new training load, and you will likely be able to begin ramping up your cycling again.
I was in the latter group when I started using Freeletics, but as a runner. This was before Freeletics had running as part of the coach. I backed off running entirely and did Freeletics 4 days per week. After my first Journey, I started to add running back into my training schedule and noticed that I was a better runner when I returned. I attributed this to the increased VO2 Max, Strength, and Muscular Endurance that I gained from doing a high volume of bodyweight workouts.
Now, 5 years later, I run 3 days per week (2 long and easy, 1 interval), do Freeletics Hardcore 2 days per week, and a KettleBell strength routine once per week. My running is stronger than it has ever been and I have reached a level of strength that was unattainable as just a runner (upper body for obvious reasons, but lower too).
I really hope that all this helps!